CC SR 20200505 J - Quarterly Updates Wireless
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 05/05/2020
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: Charles Eder, PE, Senior Engineer
REVIEWED BY: Elias Sassoon, PE, Director of Public Works
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Staff Report regarding City Council direction for 5G Master Deployment Plan
Request for Proposal (page 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 W ireless 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.
Quarterly Report
On July 29, 2019, Crown Castle submitted one new SWF application (ASG No. 31 on
Crestridge Road) under the new ordinance, which was eventually deemed complete on
December 10, 2019. The wireless antenna was shown to be attached to a new street
light pole to be owned by the City upon the completion of project. The location of the
pole was shown to be in the median of Crestridge Road to east of Crenshaw Boulevard.
Subsequent to sending notices to residents within a 500’ radius of the proposed
location, the City received about a dozen written comments from residents opposing the
location of the SWF. On January 15, 2020, Staff held a community outreach meeting
where Crown Castle agreed to toll the Shot Clock, explore alternative location for the
pole, resubmit the application to the City with a new location, and send out new notices
to residents showing the redesign and the new location for the pole. On April 13, 2020,
Crown Castle resubmitted the SWF application proposing a slight redesign of the
antenna to be attached to a new street light pole. The new location of the street light
pole is the west side of Crenshaw Boulevard, approximately 375 feet south of
Crestridge Road. This proposed street light pole will be owned by the City upon
installation. This new location of the pole was discussed at the outreach meeting which
was held on January 15, 2020 and the residents who attended the meeting were
favorable to this location. The City has not yet received a complete submittal. Upon
receipt of a complete resubmittal, notices will be sent out to the adjacent property
owners.
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On September 17, 2019, Crown Castle submitted two new SWF applications (ASG No.
08 on Arrowroot Lane and ASG No. 15 on Bayend Drive) under the new ordinance.
Both applications were deemed complete on December 10, 2019. Notices were mailed
out to residents and the City received no comments. The City provided Crown Castle
with Construction Design Comments for each application to obtain the construction
permit.
On March, 12, 2020, J5 Infrastructure Partners, LLC., on behalf of Verizon, submitted a
new Eligible Facilities Request (EFR) application, which is “any request for modification
of an existing wireless tower or base station that involves — collocation of new
transmission equipment; removal of transmission equipment; or replacement of
transmission equipment.” The application (Sunnyridge MC A2 at 28880 Palos Verdes
Drive East) is under the new ordinance which was subsequently deemed incomplete in
March 20, 2020. J5 Infrastructure Partners, LLC has not responded to the incomplete
notice.
On April 2, 2020, Crown Castle, on behalf of AT&T, submitted one new EFR application
(ASG No. 29) at Palos Verde Drive East & Miraleste Drive under the new ordinance.
This application is under review at this time.
On April 14, 2020, Crown Castle, on behalf of AT&T, submitted one new SWF
applications (ASG No. 30) at northeast of Via de la Vista and Silver Spur Road under
the new ordinance. This application is under review at this time.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
5G Master Deployment Plan
On March 17, 2020, the City Council authorized Staff to prepare a Request for Proposal
(RFP) for the purposes of developing a City 5G Master Deployment Plan (Attachment
A). Staff is currently working on preparation of this RFP which is scheduled to be
issued by early June 2020. The development of this 5G Master Deployment Plan will
fulfill City Council Goal No. 17 on the 2020 Goals and Action Plan which states the
following:
“Develop a Citywide 5G Master Plan that identifies the preferred and least intrusive
locations to install small wireless facilities including co-locations.”
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 03/17/2020
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to develop a citywide 5G Small Wireless Facilities
(SWF) Master Deployment Plan.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
1)Receive and file a report on the discussion for the development of a citywide 5G
SWFs Master Deployment Plan; and,
2)Provide direction to Staff regarding how to proceed.
FISCAL IMPACT: None at this time
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Charles Eder, PE, Senior Engineer
REVIEWED BY: Elias Sassoon, PE, Director of Public Works
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. July 5, 2019 Memorandum to City Council (page A-1)
B. August 13, 2019 Planning Commission Staff Report (page B-1)
C. August 13, 2019 Planning Commission Minutes (page C-1)
D. August 27, 2019 Planning Commission Staff Report (D-1)
E. August 27, 2019 Planning Commission Minutes (E-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
On September 27, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a
Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order (“FCC Order”)
(https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-18-133A1.pdf) significantly limiting state
and local management of Small Wireless Facilities (SWFs) in the City’s public rights-of-
way. On April 16, 2019, the City adopted Ordinance No. 621 to update the regulatory
framework and standards for wireless facilities within the public right -of-way, based on
the recent FCC ruling.
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On July 5, 2019, then-Planning Commission Chairman Bradley sent a memorandum to
the City Council (Attachment A) to recommend the development of an integrated cellular
deployment master plan, and begin discussions to explore the benefits and detriments
of various courses of action throughout the Peninsula.
On July 9, 2019, the Planning Commission voted to continue the item to August 13,
2019.
At the August 13, 2019 Planning Commission meeting, the Commission reviewed the
Chair's memorandum to the City Council regarding the development of a Peninsula-
wide 5G SWF Master Deployment Plan (Attachments B and C). After discussing this
matter, the Commission unanimously agreed that such a master plan was in the City's
best interest and should be forwarded to the City Council for its consideration. The
Commission also felt that coordination with the other Peninsula cities should be
encouraged, but that a plan should at least be created for the City. The Commission
further agreed that the City should consider forming a committee to develop a
Peninsula-wide 5G SWF Master Deployment Plan (Attachment D) and the City Attorney
should explore how effective such a master plan would be in light of the recent FCC
order. The development of this master plan would allow the permitting of SWFs to be
processed in a more efficient manner, thereby proving an incentive for wireless network
providers to participate in the development of the Master Plan. This item was continued
to the Planning Commission’s August 27, 2019 meeting to allow additional discussion
with then-Commissioner Bradley.
At its August 27, 2019, the Planning Commission opened the public discussion
regarding the development of a Citywide 5G SWF Master Deployment Plan (Attachment
E). The Commission discussed the aesthetic impacts, and the timing and process of the
agenda item. A resident also supported the need for a master deployment plan. The
Commission voted unanimously to finalize input for the City Council’s consideration if
placed on a future agenda.
Preparation of this master plan would require coordination with residents of the City and
wireless network providers, as well as our neighboring Peninsula cities. Councilman
Bradley brought this item forward through the Planning Commission as a City Council
action item.
The initial step in developing a master deployment plan is to identify the locations where
the services are not provided or the signals are weak for various providers. This is
accomplished by performing a Citywide benchmark driving test, in which an equipped
mobile vehicle can analyze the serviceability of the providers. This analysis may cost
approximately $25,000. The next step is to perform a field survey with a team of
engineers to identify the least intrusive and preferred locations to place future SWFs in
areas that avoid, to the best ability possible, residential neighborhoods. Subsequently,
public workshops will be held to gather community input on identifying preferred
locations based on the survey analysis. In considering preferred locations, one
determinate is if various providers should co-locate on one pole minimizing the
proliferation of SWFs in a concentrated area or if each provider should have its own
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pole. The cost for this step is estimated to be approximately $75,000. Further, a
consulting firm will need to be hired by the City to assist Staff in preparing this master
plan and services. The overall cost to the City for preparing a 5G SWF Master
Deployment Plan is estimated to be around $125,000.
CONCLUSION:
Developing a 5G Master Deployment Plan would benefit the community, as well as
carriers, by identifying the least intrusive and preferred locations for the future
placement of SWFs in area away from residential neighborhoods, which would
inherently streamline the permitting process. If directed by the City Council, Staff will
prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for the preparation of this master plan, and report
back to the City Council regarding the cost and schedule.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendations, the following alternative actions are available
for the City Council’s consideration:
1.Direct Staff not to proceed with the preparation of a Citywide 5G SWF
Master Deployment Plan
2.Take other action as deemed appropriate by the City Council.
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