Use Permit - Sprint Mods - 2015ITEM N0.2
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o , CITY OF CAMPBELL • PLANNING COMMISSION
~~ Staff Report • June 9, 2015
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PLN2015-029 Public Hearing to consider the application of Judith Justice on behalf of
Judith Justice Sprint for a Conditional Use Permit (PLN2015-029) to allow for a
/ Sprint modification to an existing wireless telecommunications facility on property
located at 16146 Mozart Avenue in a P-O (Professional Office) Zoning
District.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning Commission take the following action:
1. Adopt a Resolution, incorporating the attached findings, approving a Conditional Use
Permit (PLN2015-029) to allow for a modification to an existing Sprint wireless
telecommunications facility, subject to the attached Conditions of Approval.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find that this project is Categorically Exempt
under Section 15301, Class 1 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pertaining to
minor alterations to existing private structures.
DISCUSSION
Project Location: The project site is located on the southwest corner of Mozart Avenue and S.
Bascom Avenue, north of Highway 85 (reference Attachment 3, Location Map). The site is also
developed with a nonconforming single-family residence north-west of the wireless facility
(reference Attachment 4, Project Plans).
Back r~ ound: In 2004, the County of Santa Clara approved a Use Permit to allow the installation
of a 70-foot tall monopole for a wireless telecommunications facility. The property was
subsequently annexed into the City of Campbell in 2006. The existing 70-foot tall
telecommunications monopole currently holds three carrier arrays - T-Mobile, Sprint and Metro-
PCS. The Sprint array is located below T-Mobile's antennas. On October 8, 2013, the Planning
Commission approved the existing Sprint installation comprised of (3) larger replacement
antennas, (6) new RRUs, and one (1) new microwave dish to be flush mounted to the monopole.
The 2013 approval allowed for the RRUs to be collar mounted flush to the monopole
approximately five feet below the antennas, but the RRUs were temporarily mounted at ground
level in anticipation of the currently proposed Sprint upgrade.
Applicant's Proposal: The applicant is seeking approval of a Conditional Use Permit to modify
an existing 70-foot tall telecommunications monopole with a new Sprint wireless antenna array.
Additionally, the application includes the installation of three (3) cables within the monopole and
supporting equipment within the existing Sprint cabinets. The new Sprint array will vary from
the existing array in that the existing four foot wide flush-mount design will be replaced by an
Staff Report -Planning Commission Meeting of June 9, 2013 Page 2
PLN2015-029 ~ 16146 Mozart Avenue
approximately 12-foot wide T-arm design (see Attachment 4). The proposed Sprint array would
include three (3) new 65-inch T-arms, three (3) new panel antennas, and three (3) new RRUsI.
The project also involves relocating three (3) existing Sprint antennas and six (6) existing RRUs
from their flush mount location to the end of each new T-arm. While the RRUs were previously
approved approximately 3 to 8 feet below the antennas, the RRUs would now be located at the
same approximate height as the antennas with the notable change of being located at the end of
each new T-arm. The applicant states that "the RRUs need to be mounted as closely as possible
to the antennas in order to achieve data speeds needed to support high capacity 4G sites." The
applicant also states that the minimum distance between the existing antennas and the new
antennas "must be 30 inches or greater in order for the technology to function properly".
PROJECT DATA
Zoning District: P-O (Professional Office)
General Plan Designation: Professional Office
Surrounding_ Uses
North: Commercial/office uses
South: Highway 85
North-East: Residential uses
North-West: Residential uses
A1~IALYSIS
Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Standards: The City's Wireless Telecommunications
Ordinance (CMC 21.34) provides for two permitting processes for telecommunications facilities.
Facilities that are designed to be concealed within the built environment and meet the definition
of a "stealth facility" can be considered for administrative approval by the Community
Development Director. Facilities that do not meet the "stealth facility" definition must be
considered for approval by the Planning Commission through a Conditional Use Permit
application.
The proposed application is a "non-stealth" facility. Therefore, the project requires approval by
the Planning Commission. While the primary responsibility of staff and the Planning
Commission is to ...minimize the adverse visual impacts and operational effects of these
facilities using appropriate design, siting and screening techniques while providing for the
personal communications needs of residents, local business and government of the city and the
region (CMC 21.34), the City has very little discretion due to recent federal legislation adopted
on October 17, 2014. Under FCC 14-153 ("the Spectrum Act"), a local jurisdiction's discretion
is limited when the application does not substantially change the physical dimensions of the
existing structure. The FCC defines a "substantial change" as "The mounting of a proposed
antenna that would involve adding an appurtenance to the body of the tower that would protrude
from the edge of the tower more than twenty feet, or more than the width of the tower sty°ucture at
the level of the appurtenance, whichever is greater, except that the mounting of the proposed
antenna may exceed the size limits set forth in this paragraph if necessary to shelter the antenna
from inclement weather or to connect the antenna to the tower via cable."
' A remote radio unit (RRU) is a remotely located radio unit that transmits and receives radio frequencies.
Staff Report -Planning Commission Meeting of June 9, 2013 ~ Page 3
PLN2015-029 ~ 16146 Mozart Avenue
Zoning District: The project site is located within the P-O (Professional Office) zoning district.
The wireless telecommunications facility is an existing 70-foot tall tower and is considered
existing non-conforming at 70-feet. Its current height exceeds the maximum 35-foot allowable
height for the PO Zone. Section 21.34.170(f) of the City's Wireless Telecommunications
Ordinance does allow facilities to exceed the maximum height if there is a valid reason for the
additional height and if limiting the antenna to the maximum allowed height would effectively
prohibit normal operation. The project would not increase the height of the existing monopole or
the mounting height of the existing panel antennas as shown in the following table:
Facility Height Existing Proposed Height Maximum in PO district
Top of Tower ~70-feet No Change 35 feet
Top of Antennas ~63 feet ~63 feet 35 feet
General Plan: The General Plan Land Use Element provides the following Strategy for wireless
telecommunications facilities:
Strategy LUT-9.31: Wireless Telecommunication Facilities: Minimize the visual impact of wireless
telecommunication facilities by designing them as an integral architectural feature to a structure.
Consistent with Strategy LUT-9.31, the City has strongly encouraged new and modified wireless
telecommunications facilities to be designed as visually unobtrusive as possible. Staff has asked
the applicant to "flush mount" the installation in the same manner that was approved by the
Planning Commission in 2013. However, the applicant has requested the applicant approve the
application as submitted, relying on FCC 14-153, as previously described.
Site and Architectural Review Committee: This application was reviewed by SARC at its May
26, 2015 meeting. SARC recommended that the project move forward to the Planning
Commission as proposed. The SARC also recommended that the applicant inform Sprint and
other carriers that future applications should make an attempt to be as unobtrusive as possible, in
an effort to respect the community's expectations regarding the visual image of the City.
Attachments:
1. Findings for Approval of File No. PLN2015-029
2. Conditions of Approval for File No. PLN2015-029
3. Location Map
4. Project Plans
Prepared by:
Cindy Mcmick, Senior Planner
Reviewed by:
Honda
Approved by:
Paul Kermb~an, Community Development Director