It'll be
back to the drawing board – again – if Verizon Wireless continues
the quest to locate a cell tower adjacent a major thoroughfare in one
of Yorba Linda's prestigious residential areas.
So far,
the company's attempts to solve “gaps” in coverage in an East
Lake Village area have run afoul of a longtime city policy requiring
cell towers to employ “stealth design” principles, in which
wireless facilities are camouflaged to look like something other than
what they are.
Verizon's
design for a three-panel antenna was deemed “visually obtrusive,”
“obvious to the casual observer” and “easily seen from dozens
of surrounding...homes, public horse/recreation trails [and] public
sidewalks,” according to a report from senior planner Greg Rehmer.
A number
of residents in the neighborhood of Paseo De Las Palomas, just east
of Paseo Del Prado, also opposed the design, which consisted of a
five-foot-six-inch-tall, two-foot-wide cylinder, called a “radome,”
placed on top of a 29-foot-high street light pole.
In fact,
resident Michael Green carried a real-size cardboard mock-up of the
cylinder Verizon proposed to mask the antennas to the City Council
meeting that included the governing body unanimously upholding a 4-0
Planning Commission denial of a needed conditional use permit.
Council's
action was “without prejudice,” meaning Verizon can reapply for
the permit for substantially the same use before a one-year time
period expires. Previously, city staff who handled the application
requested Verizon consider a different location or design.
But,
stated Rehmer's report, “the applicant never met with staff nor
made any attempt to relocate/redesign the project as directed.” He
also noted no state law prohibits local governments from “taking
into account aesthetic considerations” for cell tower permits.
Verizon's
letter appealing the Planning Commission denial complained of
“inaccuracies” in a staff report that were relied on in
decision-making and said the city overstepped its authority in “the
scrutiny applied to this project,” arguments Rehmer's report
strongly rejected.
Also
criticized was Verizon's plan to install four new equipment cabinets,
three between a sidewalk and horse trail and one beneath a
10-foot-wide multipurpose trail.
The
council resolution upholding the Planning Commission denial noted:
“There are reasonable design or location alternatives to the
requested use that would have less adverse effects on the surrounding
property or be less detrimental to the public health, safety and
welfare.”
Six
years ago, Verizon presented a similar proposal to the Planning
Commission that involved installing the “radome” cylinder to
camouflage the antennas on a tennis court light standard in a park
less than a block away from the latest proposed site.
Commissioners
denied that plan due to the same design concerns the city and
residents expressed regarding this year's application.