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CC RES 2005-075RESOLUTION NO. 2005-75 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES APPROVING REVISIONS TO CONDITION NO. 19 OF CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 230, THEREBY APPROVING THE COMMERCIAL USE OF CERTAIN ANTENNAE AND RELATED SUPPORT STRUCTURES AND EQUIPMENT ON THE SITE OF A SINGLE - FAMILY RESIDENCE, LOCATED AT 26708 INDIAN PEAK ROAD, IN THE GRANDVIEW COMMUNITY. WHEREAS, on June 21, 2001, the applicant/appellant, Mr. James A. Kay, Jr., submitted applications for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 and Environmental Assessment No. 744 for after - the -fact approval to establish the then - existing 5- masted, roof - mounted antennae and related support structures and equipment on the site for commercial use; and, WHEREAS, on September 19, 2001, the applications for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 and Environmental Assessment No. 744 were deemed complete by Staff; and, WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq. ( "CEQA "), the State's CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 15000 et. seq., the City's Local CEQA Guidelines, and Government Code Section 65962.5(f) (Hazardous Waste and Substances Statement), Staff found no evidence that Conditional Use Permit No. 230 and Environmental Assessment No. 744 would have a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, the proposed project was determined by Staff to be categorically exempt (Class 1, Section 15301); and, WHEREAS, after the submittal of these applications on June 21, 2001, and while the Planning Commission was conducting the public hearings on this application, the applicant installed at least twelve (12) additional vertical antenna masts with attached antennae onto the previously existing roof - mounted antenna support structure and array, including additional cables and conduits for the additional antennae; and on November 8, 2001, the applicant submitted revised plans to the City depicting a total of twenty (20) vertical antenna masts with attached antennae on the roof - mounted antenna support structure and array; and, WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on October 23, 2001, November 13, 2001, and November 15, 2001, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence; and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission, on November 15, 2001, adopted P.C. Resolution No. 2001 -43 conditionally approving the project; and, WHEREAS, Mr. Kay timely appealed conditional approval by letter dated November 28, 2001, based on disagreement with "all conditions regulating the location, number and placement of antennas on the project site.... "; and, WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing on February 19, 2002, March 19, 2002, March 25, 2002 and April 16, 2002, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence; and, WHEREAS, the City Council, on April 16, 2002, adopted Resolution No. 2002 -27, thereby denying the appeal, modifying certain conditions of approval and conditionally approving the project; and, WHEREAS, on May 15, 2002, Mr. Kay filed suit against the City in Federal District Court in order to overturn the City's decision on the grounds, among other things, that it violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996; and, WHEREAS, on July 14, 2004, the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled in the case of Kay v. Rancho Palos Verdes and ordered the "City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to issue a new resolution allowing James A. Kay, Jr. to use his five mast antenna structure for commercial purposes, subject to reasonable conditions "; and, WHEREAS, the City revised the conditions of approval for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 to allow the commercial use of Mr. Kay's 5- masted, roof - mounted antenna array, which array existed at the time and was depicted on plans provided to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes with the original submittal of the application for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 on June 21, 2001; and, WHEREAS, this matter was agendized for the City Council's review and consideration on October 5, 2004, and November 16, 2004, but on both occasions the matter was continued to a subsequent City Council meeting at Mr. Kay's request in order to allow his legal counsel to discuss additional proposed revisions to the conditions of approval for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 with the City Attorney; and, WHEREAS, the City Council, on December 21, 2004, adopted Resolution No. 2004 -109, thereby revising eight (8) conditions of approval for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 pursuant to the July 14, 2004, order of the United. States District Court; and, WHEREAS, Mr. Kay subsequently petitioned the United States District Court to vacate the conditions of approval imposed by Resolution No. 2004 -109; and, WHEREAS, on April 4, 2005, the United States District Court issued an order in response to Mr. Kay's petition, finding that the provisions of Condition No. 19 of Conditional Use Permit No. 230 requiring "that Mr. Kay maintain the property as his primary residence [were] not reasonable," but also finding that all other conditions of approval imposed by Resolution No. 2004 -109 were reasonable; and, Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 2 of 9 WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code, the City Council held a duly- noticed public hearing on July 5, 2005 to consider revised language for Condition No. 19 of Conditional Use Permit No. 230, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence: NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: The City Council hereby makes the following findings of fact with respect to the application for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 to legalize the use of existing roof - mounted and interior antennae and related support structures and equipment on the site for commercial purposes: A. For the purposes of this determination on the subject application and throughout this Resolution, the terms and phrases "existing antenna(e)" and "existing roof - mounted antenna array" refer on to the antenna(e) and antenna array depicted in the plans submitted to the City by the applicant on June 21, 2001, and in photographs accompanying the application for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 and Environmental Assessment No. 744. The terms and phrases "existing antenna(e)" and "existing roof - mounted antenna array" do not include any parts, elements, components or other features of the antenna(e) and antenna array that are not depicted on the plan submitted on June 21, 2001, or in the above - mentioned photographs, regardless whether these parts, elements, components or other features were, or are, physically present on the subject property as of the effective date of this Resolution. B. The site is adequate in size and shape to accommodate the proposed use and for all of the yards, setbacks, walls, fences, landscaping and other features required by the Development Code or by conditions imposed to integrate said use with those on adjacent land and within the neighborhood because, as conditioned, the proposed project complies with the development standards for commercial antennae, as specified in RPVDC Sections 17.76.020(A)(2) through (A)(10). The site provides for at least two (2) off- street parking spaces for maintenance and service vehicles and the existing roof - mounted antenna support structure and array does not require special markings or lighting to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. Although there is existing foliage on adjacent properties and rights - of -way, this foliage does not adequately screen any antenna support structures or antennae on the roof of the structure from view from many surrounding residences in the neighborhood and from nearby public rights -of -way, especially those residences located directly across the street and the residences located downslope from the rear yard on Fond du Lac Road. As such, the approval of this application is conditioned to require the removal of all but five (5) of the existing eight- and -one- half -foot long masts and two of the television antennae from the roof of the residence. With the removal of all but the five (5) vertical antenna masts that existed on June 1, 2001 and were depicted on the project plans submitted to the Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 3of9 City on June 21, 2001, the aesthetic impacts of the antenna array will be no different or more significant with its conversion to commercial use than they were for amateur use only. This condition is necessary to maintain the appearance of the structure as a single - family residence, and to integrate the commercial use into the residential neighborhood. In this case, the imposition of stricter limitations upon both commercial and non- commercial antennae than are otherwise required by the City's Development Code is necessary to protect the aesthetics of the neighborhood while still allowing reasonable use of the site to transmit on both amateur and commercial frequencies, because the applicant's representatives have testified that the antennae at the site can be "diplexed" so that each antenna can be used to transmit on two different frequencies at the same time. By comparison, allowing the applicant to use all of the antennae that were placed on the property in 2001 while this application was pending before the Planning Commission will dramatically alter the residential character of the home and create the appearance of a commercial antenna farm, which will adversely affect the surrounding residential neighborhood. C. The site for the proposed use relates to streets and highways sufficient to carry the type and quantity of traffic generated by the subject use because the subject property is served by Indian Peak Road, which is a public residential street. Aside from normal residential traffic associated with the existing house, the only additional traffic expected to result from the proposed project is an occasional service vehicle, and would rarely involve large trucks or other equipment that could adversely affect local traffic for any extended period of time. Any adverse effects of any additional traffic are mitigated by the conditions of approval imposed by this approval. D. In approving the subject use at the specific location, there will be no significant adverse effects on adjacent property or the permitted use thereof, due to the conditions that are being imposed as part of this approval. Although service personnel would visit the site periodically, any impacts related to the maintenance and operation of the existing antennae would be very minor and have no significant adverse effects on surrounding properties. The existing antennae are visible from homes across Indian Peak Road and from Fond du Lac Road below. With the removal of all but the five (5) vertical antenna masts that existed on June 1, 2001 and were depicted on the project plans submitted to the City on June 21, 2001, the aesthetic impacts of the antenna array will be no different or more significant with its conversion to commercial use than they were for amateur use only. However, the approval of this proposal will be conditioned to require maintenance of the roof - mounted antennae and support structures that are permitted by this conditional use permit in a neutral color so as to blend better into the background sky and the gray color of the existing antenna support structure. In addition, no future changes to the location or configuration or which increase the number or the height of any approved antennae or element of the remaining roof - mounted antenna array will be permitted without an amendment to this conditional use permit that is approved by the City Council, in order to prevent further visual intrusion upon the surrounding neighborhood. Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 4 of 9 E. Any issues related to interference impacts upon electronic and other types of equipment, and actual or perceived effects upon human health, are strictly within the purview of the FCC, since Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits the City from "[regulating] the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the [FCC's] regulations concerning such emissions." F. The proposed five -mast antenna structure is contrary to the General Plan, but is being approved by the City Council, due to the orders of the United States District Court that were issued on July 14, 2004 and April 4, 2005. The subject property and the Grandview neighborhood are designated Residential, 4 -6 DU /acre, which is a land use designation intended to accommodate medium - density neighborhoods of detached, single - family homes and related accessory uses and structures. No evidence has been provided that the owner has ever resided at the existing home, and this property has not been occupied for at least the past six years. The evidence demonstrated that, in the past, the property had not been maintained in a manner consistent with the quality of the surrounding neighborhood prior to the initial hearings before the Planning Commission in 2001, and the residential character of the neighborhood was eroded by the increasing deterioration and commercialization of this site. To prevent the proposed commercial use of the property from exacerbating the substandard condition of the residence, the approval of the proposed project includes conditions to address these past deficiencies. The conditions include: 1) requiring landscape and maintenance services in the event that the home not properly maintained in conformance with the conditions; 2) requiring the removal of all but five (5) of the existing vertical antenna masts, which are the most visible exterior evidence of the commercial use of the property; and 3) requiring the house to be maintained in a manner suitable for occupancy as a single - family residence. These conditions will allow for the provision of wireless telecommunications services at this location, while minimizing the visual and aesthetic impacts of this commercial wireless operation on the surrounding residential neighborhood. G. The required finding that, if the site of the proposed use is within any of the overlay control districts established by RPVDC Chapter 17.40 (Overlay Control Districts), the proposed use complies with all applicable requirements of that chapter, is not applicable because the subject property is not located within any of the overlay control districts established by RPVDC Chapter 17.40. H. Conditions of approval, which the City Council finds to be necessary to protect the health, safety and general welfare, have been imposed and include (but are not limited to) removal of all but five (5) of the existing eight and one -half feet -long roof - mounted antenna masts and two of the television antenna(e), and prohibiting any further modifications to them without first obtaining approval of modification to this conditional use permit; limiting regular maintenance hours to 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday; requiring the property to be landscaped and painted and Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 5 of 9 that weekly landscape and general maintenance services shall be provided by contract with a qualified provider of such services if the residence is not properly maintained in accordance with the conditions; requiring the house to be maintained in a manner suitable for occupancy as a single - family residence; requiring the applicant to obtain and maintain a valid business license; and reviewing the project for compliance with all conditions of approval within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date of the City's final action on the application. These conditions are imposed through the City's authority over placement, construction and modification of personal wireless service facilities, as expressly reserved to local government under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. I. The required findings that no existing or planned tower can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna or proposed service area, or that the proposed tower cannot be located on the site of an existing or planned tower, are not applicable because the proposed project does not involve the construction or placement of a new antenna tower, and there is no antenna tower currently located on the subject property. Section 2: The City Council finds that the proposed project —as conditioned — qualifies for a Class 1 categorical exemption from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Section 15301. The exemption applies to alterations to existing minor structures and uses "involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination." As conditioned, the existing roof - mounted antenna support structure and array would be modified so that most of the antennae are removed or relocated to the inside of the house, and the negative aesthetic impacts of the existing antennae are minimized. In addition, the property will be required to be maintained in an appropriate manner that is consistent with City standards. Without the imposition of these conditions, and if the antennae and other elements that have been added to the property since the submittal of the application to the City were to remain in place, the City Council would not be able to find this proposed project exempt from the requirements of CEQA, due to aesthetic impacts which could be potentially significant and thus would require further analysis pursuant to the requirements of CEQA. Section 3: The City Council finds that the approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 230 —as conditioned —is consistent with the City's Wireless Communications Antenna Development Guidelines. This application was heard by the Planning Commission within the time lines established by the State's Permit Streamlining Act and CEQA (Guideline No. 1). Although the Guidelines express a preference for existing, non - single - family structures as antenna sites (Guideline No. 2), installations on single- family residences are not prohibited and have been approved previously elsewhere in the City. In addition, the conditions of approval for this project will help to enhance the residential character of the neighborhood by requiring the applicant to upgrade the appearance and maintenance of the property. As a condition of approval, most of the exterior antennae will be removed, so the project will have no significant impact upon any view corridors (Guideline No. 4). The removal of these antennae will also serve to balance the aesthetic impacts of the antennae upon the neighborhood with the applicant's financial benefit from the operation of the Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 6of9 commercial antennae on the site (Guideline No. 5). Finally, with most of the antennae removed from the roof of the house, they will be more effectively screened from view from adjacent properties or rights -of -way (Guideline No. 9). Section 4: The City Council finds that the approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 230 —as conditioned —is consistent with the orders of the United States District Court for the following reasons: A. The conditional approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 230 "[does] not unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent services... and [does] not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services" (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7), subsections (13)(i)(1) and (11)). In reviewing all of the applications to provide personal wireless services on other residentially -zoned property within the City, the City has applied consistently its regulations to these facilities so as to approve facilities that are compatible with surrounding uses and to modify or deny applications that do or will have adverse visual, aesthetic or other impacts upon surrounding properties. The instant application is being approved with conditions requiring the removal of most of the exterior antennae because it will otherwise result in adverse visual and aesthetic impacts upon adjacent properties. The City's conditional approval of this specific proposal does not prohibit the applicant from providing wireless communications services because the applicant still has the ability to provide these services from the remaining exterior antennae. The applicant's representative has stated at a public hearing that the applicant has the capability to "diplex" the antennae in order to utilize more frequencies. The applicant has also admitted that he has transmitted commercially from the site since 1998, allegedly from antennae located inside the residence. The City has previously approved applications for commercial antennae for a variety of commercial wireless services and service providers, including applications for properties that were zoned or used for single - family residential purposes. Accordingly, the conditional approval of this particular application also does not result in a ban or prohibition of, or have the effect of prohibiting, the placement of these types of facilities within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. B. The application for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 was deemed complete by City Staff on September 19, 2001. The City has acted on the applicant's request for Conditional Use Permit No. 230 "within a reasonable period of time afterthe request [was] duly filed with [the City], taking into account the nature and scope of such request" (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7), subsection (13)(ii)). This application has been processed by the City in a timely fashion and in accordance with the time lines established by the State Permit Streamlining Act and CEQA, and the Telecommunications Act. The only delays in the processing of this application are attributable to the applicant's request for a waiver of the penalty fee (which was denied by the City Council on September 18, 2001); the applicant's request for a continuance of this application from the Planning Commission meeting of October 23, 2001 to the meeting of November 13, 2001; the applicant's appeal of the Planning Commission's conditional approval and request for continuance of the Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 7 of 9 appeal from the City Council meeting of February 19, 2002 to the meeting of March 19, 2002; and the applicant's request for continuance of the reconsideration of the appeal from the City Council meeting of October 5, 2004, to the meetings of November 16, 2004 and then again to December 21, 2004. . C. In conditionally approving the application for Conditional Use Permit No. 230, the City has not "[regulated] the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the [Federal Communications] Commission's regulations concerning such emissions" (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7), subsection (B)(iv)). Although interference and radio frequency emissions were raised as issues of concern to surrounding residents at the public hearing and in correspondence to the City, none of the required modifications to the existing antennae on the site are in response to these concerns. Instead, these modifications are imposed only to address the aesthetic impacts of the antennae upon the surrounding neighborhood. City Staff advised the Planning Commission and the City Council that neither body could consider any environmental effects of emissions that comply with FCC regulations, including purported impacts upon health or alleged interference with television reception. The Planning Commission and City Council relied upon that advice and the provisions of the Act and, therefore, has not based its decision to conditionally approve the proposed project in any respect upon any actual or perceived environmental effects attributable to radio frequency emissions. Rather, the conditional approval regulates the aesthetic impacts and land use compatibility issues traditionally addressed through the exercise of local governmental police powers. D. The previous provisions of Condition No. 19 of Conditional Use Permit No. 230 requiring that Mr. Kay to occupy the property at 26708 Indian Peak Road as his primary residence have been eliminated. However, language requiring the property to be maintained in a condition suitable for such occupancy has been retained in the revised condition. The City Council finds that the revised language of Condition No. 19 will ensure that, notwithstanding the roof - mounted antenna array, the property will be maintained so that it can be used as, and have the appearance of, an occupied, single - family residence, which was the City Council's original intent in adopting Condition No. 19. Section 5: The City Council is approving the commercial use of the pre- existing five- masted roof - mounted antennae array to comply with the orders of the United States District Court issued on July 14, 2004, and April 4, 2005, in the case of Kay v. Rancho Palos Verdes. If either or both of these orders are reversed, the City Council hereby reserves the right to vacate this decision and resolution and reinstate its prior decision or, in the alternative, to re -open the public hearing. Section 6: Modifications to the conditions of approval entitle the applicant/appel - lant to a refund of one -half of the appeal fee, pursuant to Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code Section 17.80.120. Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 8 of 9 Section 7: The time within which the judicial review of the decision reflected in this Resolution, if available, must be sought is governed by Section 1094.6 of the California Code of Civil Procedure and other applicable short periods of limitation. Pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v)), any person adversely affected by the City's final action in this matter may, within thirty (30) days after such action, commence an action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Section 8: For the foregoing reasons and based on the information and findings included in the Staff Report, the testimony and evidence presented at the public hearings before the Planning Commission and the City Council, the Minutes and the other records of this proceeding on file with the City, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes hereby approves Conditional Use Permit No. 230, thereby approving revisions to Condition No. 19 of Conditional Use Permit No. 230, thereby approving the commercial use of certain antennae and related support structures and equipment on the site of a single - family residence, located at 26708 Indian Peak Road, in the Grandview community, subject to the conditions contained in Exhibit W, attached hereto and made a part hereof by this reference, which are necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 5th day of July 2005. Attest: State of California ) County of Los Angeles ) ss City of Rancho Palos Verdes ) I, Carolynn Petru, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that the above Resolution No. 2005 -75 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on July 5, 2005. Resolution No. 2005 -75 Page 9of9 RESOLUTION NO. 2005-75 - EXHIBIT 'A' CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NO. 230 (26708 Indian Peak Road) The following condition of approval from Resolution No. 2002 -27 and Resolution No. 2004 -109 is hereby revised to read as follows: 19. Within ninety (90) days of the date of the City's final action on this application, the applicant shall complete the necessary improvements to make the house habitable, including a functional kitchen, toilet and bathing facilities, heating, and utility connections for gas, electricity, water and sewer, which shall be maintained continuously, regardless of whether or not the house is actually occupied. The applicant shall arrange for the provision of weekly landscape and maintenance service at the property to ensure that the structure and grounds are maintained free from litter, debris, and overgrown vegetation in compliance with the City's Municipal Code so as not to become an eyesore. Except as expressly modified herein, all of the prior recitals, findings of fact, conclusions of law and conditions of approval from Resolution No. 2002 -27, as originally adopted by the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on April 16, 2002, and Resolution No. 2004 -109, as originally adopted by the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on December 21, 2004, remain unchanged. Resolution No. 2005 -75 Exhibit A Page 1 of 1