CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission on Tuesday granted a use permit and variance for a Verizon cell phone tower facility in the Burns Valley area.
Commissioners Cheryl Hutchinson, Dirk Slooten and Chairman Carl Webb voted in favor of the project while Commissioner Nathalie Antus voted against the proposal. Commissioner Bill Perkins was not in attendance.
The cell tower's proposed location is a 40-foot by 40-foot parcel at 14549 Burns Valley Road, within a walnut grove, which commission clerk Julie Burrows said is lined with oak and pine trees. The tower is a “monopine” tower, designed to resemble a pine tree.
Complete Wireless Communications, who submitted the project application on behalf of Verizon, requested a variation to height limitations in the Burns Valley zone.
The company proposed developing a wireless telecommunications facility that includes the 70-foot-tall tower, which is twice the allowable height within the zone.
The surrounding land uses include residential to the north and vacant to the south, east and west.
Commissioners Slooten and Antus questioned the fall-zone of the proposed tower.
Jenny Blocker, Complete Wireless Communications' senior site acquisition and planning manager, said she did not have information related to the fall-zone; however, she said the tower is structurally engineered to prevent it from falling.
She said she is unaware of any report of a fallen tower. She also said there is no report of a one combusting, in response to a question by Antus.
Blocker said developers worked with city staff to select a site that satisfied the city's desires for development and Verizon's goal to improve telecommunication services, including that which supports public safety. Burrows said 10 sites had been reviewed.
Patrick McMahon, a board member for Calvary Church of Clearlake – which owns property on two sides of the proposed development area – spoke against granting the variance.
McMahon said the monopine would be 20 feet higher than other trees in the area and the shrubbery that is there currently differs from that of the proposed design.
He also expressed the church's concern for a possible decrease in property valley as a result of being near a cell tower, reiterating the concern of resident Laurie Frazier related to emission and potential health risks.
Cell towers “may not be as safe as they say they are,” McMahon said.
McMahon implied such safety concerns also have the potential to affect future development of the church's property next to the tower.
In addition to the monopine, the project proposal consists of a 30 kilowatt diesel emergency backup generator with a self-contained 132 gallon fuel tank, prefabricated equipment shelter with nine antenna sectors and two microwave dishes and outdoor equipment cabinets.
The facility is to be enclosed by a 6-foot tall fence with colored slats and a 12-foot wide access gate and will include underground power and telecommunication utilities.
According to Burrows, an acoustic study was completed in March and submitted to the city, confirming the equipment will not exceed acceptable noise levels.
An initial study, she said, was prepared pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act and a mitigated negative declaration was being proposed.
Burrows said mitigation measures to reduce potential impacts to less than significant levels have been incorporated into the project, which is consistent with the city's general plan.
Ultimately, the mitigated negative declaration was accepted with amendments and changes suggested by Slooten, including a requirement for certification and survey of the leased area for flood zone requirements prior to construction.
Another amendment offered, and ultimately accepted by the commission, required a change in location for the placement of the cell tower on the leased property.
The amendment required the tower and facility by relocated 20 feet west of its currently proposed location.
That relocation would move the tower a total of 70 feet from the property line shared with Calvary Church.
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Clearlake Planning Commission approves cell tower project
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