101-Staff Report.pdf
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
CITY HALL
1010300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255
TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3308www.cupertino.org
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: November 29, 2010
Subject
Appeal of a Director's Approval forapersonal wireless service facilityat 11371 Bubb Road.
Recommended Action
Deny appeal(See Attachment A.Planning Commission Resolution No. 6616)
Description
Application: DIR-2010-28 Appeal
Applicant: Dayna Aguirre (for T-Mobile)
Appellant: Shaul Berger
Location: 11371 Bubb Road, APN 356-23-047
Application Summary: Appeal of a Director's Minor Modification to allow a personal wireless
service facility with three panel antennas and four associated equipment boxes to be installed on
an existing PG&E pole located in front of 11371 Bubb Road.
Discussion
Background
On September 7, 2010, the Director of Community Development approved a Director’s Minor
Modification to allow a T-Mobile personal wireless service facility (microcell) to be mounted on
an existing Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) utility pole (Attachment B). The Director’s action
was noticed to a 1,000-foot property owner radius and was appealed by an adjacent neighbor on
September 20, 2010 (Attachment C). Please refer to the Planning Commission staff report for
the detailed discussion on the appeal basis (Attachment D)and the draft meeting minutes for the
Planning Commission hearing deliberations (Attachment E).
Planning Commission
On November 9, 2010, the Planning Commission heard the appeal and recommended that the
Council uphold the Director’s decision with a 4-0-1 vote (Giefer recused –see Attachment D&
E). The Planning Commission discussed the following issues at the hearing:
Height of antenna -The proposed antenna cannot be further raised in height due to the type
of utility pole and Public Utilities Commissionlimitation.
Radio Frequency -The radio frequency emission from the proposed antenna met the federal
safety standards and the City is prohibited from making decisions basedon health effects. To
ensure that the radio frequency emission of the proposed antenna meets federal standards, the
Commission added a condition requiring post-construction radio frequency energy exposure
testing before full operation of the facility andafter one (1) year of operation, at specific
locations.Please refer to Condition No. 6for full details.
Aesthetics -No aesthetic concerns were found with the antenna proposal.
Appellant & Public Concerns
The concerns and comments expressed by the neighbors at the Planning Commission hearing are
summarized below (Responses areprovided in italics):
The proposed facility is inappropriate in a residential area.
Response: The Wireless Master Plan specifically recommends this type of facilitydesignin
residential areas.
The long-term exposure of people to radio frequency energycan cause health concerns.
Response: The federal government has established a safe exposure level for radio frequency
energy for the general population that allows for continuous exposure regardless of gender,
ageor infirmity of the individual. The radio frequency energy study determined that
estimated exposures are well below that federal safety standard.
It would be safer if the antennas were higher up on the utility pole.
Response: The applicant stated that the proposed antenna could not be mounted higher on
the power pole due to safety restrictions set forth by the Public Utilities Commissionaround
the power transmission lines.
The project radio frequency engineer did not consider the terrain of the surrounding area
when evaluating the maximum radio frequency emission of the project
Response: -The project radio consultant confirmed that hisequations and calculations of
the radio frequencyenergy exposure of the project were all consistent with adopted FCC
procedures. All data, assumptions and equations are either fully documented in his report or
could be easily obtained online from manufacturer specifications (Attachments F&G).
One resident supported the project and said that the radio frequency energy from a personal
wireless service facility is minuscule compared to the radio and microwave energy people are
exposed to from cellular handsets, microwave ovens and other wireless devices in the home.
_____________________________________
Prepared by: Colin Jung, AICP, Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Gary Chao, City Planner; Aarti Shrivastava, Community Development Director
Approved for Submission by:David W. Knapp, City Manager
Attachments:
A.Planning Commission Resolution No. 6616
B.Director’s Minor Modification Approval, DIR-2010-28
C.Appeal Petition from Shaul Berger for DIR-2010-28
D.Planning Commission Staff Report dated November 9, 2010
E.Draft Planning Commission Meeting Minutes dated November 9, 2010
F.T-Mobile West Corp. Proposed Base Station (Site No. SF24189D/11371 Bubb Road,
Cupertino, California prepared by Hammett & Edison, Inc. dated July 28, 2010.
G.Supplemental Response Letter on Appeal Points prepared by Hammett & Edison, Inc.
dated October 26, 2010.
H.Public Correspondence
I.Photosimulations of T-Mobile Proposal (3)
J.Existing and Proposed Coverage Maps
K.Plan Set