Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPA2022-0268_20230117_Applicant responsesTelecommunications Project Management January 16, 2023 Peter J. Blied PlanCom, Inc. 250 El Camino Real, #117 Tustin, CA 92780 City of Newport Beach Attn: Afshin Atapour, Planning 100 Civic Center Dr. Newport Beach, CA 92660 Re: First Review Comment Response and Expanded Findings Letter Case# PA2022-0268 - DISH Site #: LSSNA01150B 2001 Westcliff Dr., Newport Beach, CA 92660 Dear Mr. Atapour: Thank you for your initial comment letter and feedback regarding our project at the address listed above. Per your letter dated January 5, 2023, we have corrected the site address on the drawings and included a revised set with this letter. Thank you also for the preliminary comments from Building, EMP, PW, and Fire. For clarity, my response will mirror the order and form of your letter. Property Development Standards: 1.a. The drawings address is updated 1.b. The RF propagation coverage map is accurate. There is currently NO coverage in the area, so all coverage is proposed. This is a new carrier proposing new service. Additional Findings: Per your request here are the additional findings from Section 20.49.060.H.(1) related to our requested project. a. The proposed rooftop project has been designed to blend into the modern geometric aesthetic of the building. The new screen walls are designed as small as functionally possible to properly screen the new wireless communications rooftop equipment. As shown in the site pictures and photo- simulations, the project is not significant in mass or bulk and will blend into the commercial corridor within which it is being placed. All of our screen walls expand on, and are connected to existing screen walls already in place. Other buildings in the area have various screen walls for HVAC or other miscellaneous rooftop equipment; we are not introducing a new, onerous feature into this neighborhood and as such are visually compatible. PA2022-0268 City of Newport Beach January 16, 2023 Page 2 of 3 b. The proposed telecom facility complies with the location and design standards required by the Code and does meet the height requirements that provide allowance for up to 10 feet of height increase if the antennas are fully screened and integrated into the building. At a proposed height if 6’-6” tall, and held back at least 7’-4” (or 15’-0” for 2 other sectors) from the edge of the rooftop, our screen walls will not be obtrusively visible from most public viewpoints. Use of color and material to blend into the predominant color and texture of the building will further comply with the provisions of the Code. c. An alternate site location further from residential uses or public parks or facilities is not a specific concern at this location. Harper Park, Bob Henry Park, and Pinkley Park are all between 1390 and 2000 feet away. The nearest residential properties are northeasterly across Westcliff Drive and southwesterly across Sherington Place. These are reasonable and safe separation distances and typical of this area of Newport Beach where there are narrow commercial strips surrounded by large areas of single- and multi-family homes. Practical experience and standard RF/EME reports indicate that this is a reasonable distance from the very homes and customers we are trying to serve with this new service. The City of Newport Beach has approved numerous projects in similar scenarios as this, some of them only blocks away. This site has been specifically chosen to reach a targeted area of Newport Beach and this location will achieve coverage objectives. d. As a fully screened rooftop wireless communications site, we believe this meets the test for the most desirable type of site. It will be the least obtrusive option. This is the type of site nearly all cities and communities prefer, in Code and in practice. Per your request here are the additional findings from Section 20.49.060.H.(2) related to our requested project. a. The proposed height request is reasonable and will not create a visual nuisance or degrade public views. This building is already a large commercial office building with a screen walls at various points on the rooftop. The size of this requested screen wall is 6’-6” above the roof deck height of 44’-0” AGL and 2’-6” inches above the other roof elements that are 48’-0” AGL. There are buildings scattered about this area of Westcliff of various height and sizes and the requested change will not interrupt or significantly change the skyline. This statement is supported by the fact that the proposed screen walls will consist of only 508 SF (square feet) on the existing rooftop of approximately 9,900 SF; in other words about ½ of 1% of the roof area. No significant impact will be caused by the proposed installation of the antennas, equipment platform and their related screen walls. As described above, the screen walls are set back from the edge of the building reduce their visibility and minimize their mass to both the casual observer and the possibly concerned neighbor. PA2022-0268 City of Newport Beach January 16, 2023 Page 3 of 3 b. The proposed height is essentially perfect for the signal propagation desired by our RF Engineer. We are not prosing to install a new vertical element that would be potentially disruptive to the streetscape, skyline, or suburban aesthetic. We are making use of an existing structure that is a familiar sight to all in the area. As a survey of regional wireless communications sites would relay, a typical new wireless communications facility, whether free-standing or roof-mounted, would place the antennas of a macro site such as this between 40 and 50 feet in the air in order to provide adequate signal propagation. This height provides not only the ability to avoid nearby obstacles such as trees and buildings, it also allows for the signal to reach an ideal coverage area of about ¼ to ½ mile radius. This existing office building rooftop provides what is needed and was chosen specifically to introduce DISH Wireless services to this focused area of Newport Beach. We have kept our screen walls and antenna placement as low as possible (i.e. only 6’-6” above the roof deck) in order to minimize the appearance of our new project and reduce the “amount” of a variance we need to request. There are no viable tower or building options nearby that can provide what this chosen site can provide and so we have requested this variance to the Code at this location. While we recognize a variance is not always justified, this request is reasonable and justifiable. This site makes use of an existing commercial building rooftop, takes visual design cues from the architecture, and will provide a valuable service to the surrounding community. This building provides a location that nothing around it can provide and in the least impactful way possible. The requested variance is a simple height request to allow for the proposed wireless communications facility to operate at it’s best. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and look forward to working with you to process this application. After reviewing this application package, please contact me directly with any questions or concerns at (714) 262-0651 or peter.blied@plancominc.com. Sincerely, Peter J. Blied Sr. Project Manager PlanCom, Inc. For DISH Wireless PA2022-0268