CC SR 20191217 G - 3rd Quarterly Updates WirelessMEETING DATE: 12/17/2019 CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to receive and file a third quarter report on the
implementation of the City’s Wireless Telecommunications Facilities in the Public Right-
of-Way Ordinance (Case No. PLCA2019-0002)
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file a third quarter report on the implementation of the City’s
Wireless Telecommunications Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way Ordinance.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Amy Seeraty, Senior Planner
REVIEWED BY: Terry Rodrigue, Interim Director of Community Development
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, Interim City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Then-Planning Commission Chairman Bradley’s 5G Master Deployment Plan
memorandum to the City Council (A-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
On April 2, 2019, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 620U, repealing and
replacing Chapter 12.18 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code. This urgency
ordinance aligned the City’s Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Ordinance (Chapter
12.18), with a September 2018 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order, and
included numerous standards changed by the FCC order, including those related to
small wireless facilities (SWF), reduced shot clocks, fee caps and aesthetic
requirements. Also, since the aesthetics-related portion of the FCC order went into
effect on April 14, 2019, the urgency ordinance needed to be adopted before that date.
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That same evening, Ordinance No. 621 was introduced and was then adopted on April
16, 2019 by the City Council, under the regular ordinance adoption process,
establishing the regulatory framework and standards for permitting wireless facilities
within the City’s public right-of-way in accordance with the recent FCC ruling.
Ordinance No. 621 went into effect on May 17, 2019. Similar to the urgency ordinance,
this new ordinance provides permit and review procedures, as well as operation and
maintenance standards. It includes the new administrative review process for wireless
telecommunications facilities (WTF), which specify that most WTFs in the public right-of-
way will be reviewed by the Public Works Department, with the Planning Commission
only hearing applications that are referred by the Public Works Director or on appeal.
On April 16, 2019, the City Council requested Staff provide quarterly updates on the
implementation of Ordinance No. 621 to monitor the effectiveness and potential impacts
the new regulations would have on the community and to determine whether
modifications should be considered. Ordinance No. 621 became effective on May 17,
2019 and Staff submitted the first quarterly report to the City Council on June 18, 2019.
The report determined that there had been little activity in response to the new
ordinance, but that Staff had met with Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)
and had discussions with Crown Castle and Verizon Wireless regarding the new
ordinance. On September 17, 2019, Staff submitted a second quarterly report to the
City Council, which reported that Crown Castle had submitted one application to the
City for review. It also reported that Staff had continued discussions with
representatives from AT&T, Verizon and SoCalGas, which have each indicated they
have several applications forthcoming.
Third Quarterly Report
On July 29, 2019, Crown Castle submitted one new SWF application (ASG 31 on
Crestridge) under the new ordinance, which was subsequently deemed incomplete on
August 8, 2019 (within the required 10-day review period). On September 19, 2019,
Crown Castle responded to the incomplete notice with additional and/or revised
information and materials and after multiple resubmittals and reviews, the City deemed
the application complete. The application shot clock is set to expire on January 29,
2020. The City has until then to either approve, conditionally approve or deny the
application.
On September 17, 2019, Crown Castle submitted two new SWF applications (ASG 08
on Arrowroot and ASG 15 on Bayend) under the new ordinance, which were
subsequently deemed incomplete on September 26, 2019 (within the required 10-day
review period). On November 14, 2019, Crown Castle responded to the incomplete
notices with additional and/or revised information and materials, and after additional
Staff review, the applications were deemed complete on December 10, 2019. As the
application shot clocks are set to expire on February 13, 2020, the City has until then to
either approve, conditionally approve or deny the applications.
On September 19, 2019, Crown Castle submitted a new Eligible Facilities Request
(EFR) application (ASG 46 – Hightide Drive) under the new ordinance, which was
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subsequently deemed incomplete on October 24, 2019. On November 14, 2019, Crown
Castle responded to the incomplete notice with additional and/or revised information
and materials and a Shot Clock Period Extension Agreement that extended the shot
clock through December 3, 2019. On December 3, 2019, the City deemed the
application complete and the application was conditionally approved. On December 5,
2019, an encroachment permit was issued to Crown Castle allowing for the
development of the wireless site.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
5G Master Deployment Plan
At the December 3, 2019 City Council meeting, under future agenda items, Councilman
Bradley asked if Staff can proceed with developing a 5G Master Deployment Plan. This
5G Master Deployment Plan would evaluate an entire network of SWFs rather than
individual wireless facilities on a case-by-case basis. During Councilman Bradley’s
tenure as Chairman of the Planning Commission, he proposed the same idea to the City
Council in a memorandum on July 5, 2019 (Attachment A). Staff will schedule this item
for the City Council’s consideration on how to proceed early next year.
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A-1
Memo
To: The Honorable Jerry Duhovic, Mayor Rancho Palos Verdes
From: David Bradley, Chairman of the Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission
CC: 1) Rancho Palos Verdes City Council
2) Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission
3) Doug Willmore, City Manager
4) Ara Mihranian, Rancho Palos Verdes Director Community Development
Subject: Deployment of new Fifth Generation (SG) Cellular Phone and Data Networks
within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes
The technology to implement and deploy 5G cellular networks is quickly reaching main stream, and we
have been seeing initial applications for limited deployment, within the City of RPV and the Peninsula
in general. The RPV Planning Commission has been diligently reviewing and trying to guide the
deployment of individuals 5G (micro) sites throughout our city, but this has been done on a single site
by site basis and primary for only one carrier (AT&T). Recent Federal decisions have reduced much of
the City and Planning Commission's discretion on how individual sites can be deployed. I believe it is in
the City's vested interest to begin the development of an integrated 5G deployment master plan. This
plan should layout an implementation strategy that will ensure each of our residences gets the
maximum benefit from this new technology regardless of their carrier. The employment of new
technology, while beneficial to our residences, must be executed in conjunction with maintaining the
rural and esthetic beauty of our City .
The promise of 5G cellular and network technology is significant. Upon deployment, 5G will allow
better cell coverage throughout the Peninsula, while also promising to support high bandwidth
streaming video into the home. This increase in data rates, bandwidth and service does come with
some challenges. To support these higher data rates, the 5G systems operate in a higher frequency
that usually reduces the distance each antenna can cover. To overcome this frequency challenge, a
larger number of smaller (micro) sites are required to be deployed throughout the City. While each of
the new micro 5G sites is much less intrusive than that of the large cell sites most of us are familiar
30940 Hawthorne Boulevard, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
T: 310-544-52 00 W: http:/ /www.rpvca.gov/
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with, their sheer numbers could overwhelm our City, particularly in residential neighborhoods if not
planned appropriately. Today each ofthe various carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Xfinity, US
Mobile, California Gas Co. and others} require individual antenna due to unique frequency
requirements and modulations. With each carrier deploying individual vertical infrastructure for their
systems, we could quickly become overwhelmed with cell sites (>400 sites based upon city topography
and individual vertical infrastructure deployment}. The analogy would be if several cable companies or
utility companies wanted to deploy above ground infrastructure poles into a neighborhood, we could
have several poles right next to each other in the public right-of-way. In order to prevent the
deployment and proliferation of duplicative infrastructure, inefficient utility implementation and to
ensure our residents are afforded the best technology available, I'm recommending to the City Council
that we immediately direct staff (and its consultants in the event such expertise is not available with in-
house staff} to develop an integrated cellular deployment master plan, and to begin policy discussions
within both the RPV Planning Commission and the RPV City Council to explore the pros and cons of
various courses of action. In the interest of the overall Peninsula, such planning efforts should, if
possible, involve the participation of our three neighboring cities.
The Integrates Cellular Deployment Master Plan should contain, at a minimum, the following elements:
• Extensive survey of current SG wireless technology, frequencies, power spectral densities, data
rates, frequency spectrum, frequency modulation and other key technical parameters that
would pertain to a measured and optimal deployment throughout the City
• Topographical survey of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, with population density assessments,
over-laid on short line of site assessments of nominal SG coverage radius, facilitating the
development of a City sponsored and endorsed cell site deployment map that could be given to
all prospective carriers seeking to deploy facilities within the City.
• Assessment of the ability to multiplex multiple frequencies and transmit I receive various
carriers' signals using single multiplexed antennas or vertical infrastructure
• Coordination with other Peninsula cities, the deployment of vertical infrastructure throughout
the Peninsula (cell signals don't stop at city boundary lines ... } to help create an integrated map
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