August 10, Sacramento County Planning and Community Development 827-7th Street Sacramento, CA Tricia Stevens, Principal Planner

Transcription

1 August 10, 2010 Sacramento County Planning and Community Development 827-7th Street Sacramento, CA Attn: RE: Tricia Stevens, Principal Planner Conditional Use Permit Application Material / Justification Statement MetroPCS Project ID SAC-354E / Sunrise & Cavalli 5150 Sunrise Blvd. Assessor s Parcel No Fair Oaks (Sacramento County), California Dear Ms. Stevens: Please accept this letter and enclosed materials as a complete planning application, justification statement and neighborhood outreach plan supporting a request from MetroPCS California LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ( Applicant or MetroPCS ) for a Use Permit to construct, operate and maintain a wireless communications facility on a 2.73 acre-parcel within the BP (Business and Professional) zone. The proposed facility includes an eight-foot tall faux chimney / antenna support structure on the roof of an existing office building with equipment cabinets to be located within the building being utilized for the antennas. Thank you very much for your assistance with this project. I look forward to working with you, other members of the department and community on the project. I am available at (916) to answer any questions, comments or concerns that may come up. I can also be contacted via at ken.crouse@sbcglobal.net. Very truly yours, Kenneth E. Crouse, Authorized Representative MetroPCS California, LLC Encl: Application Information Form & Filing Fees Statement of Applicant Responsibility Letter of Authorization & Photo Simulations 500-foot Radius Land Use Map, Ownership Information and Address Labels cc: Wildridge Office Park, LLC, property owner 785 Orchard Drive, Suite 200 Folsom, California (916) Fax: (916)

2 JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APN Proposal: Applicant, MetroPCS California, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ( MetroPCS ), requests approval of its application for a Use Permit to construct, operate and maintain a wireless communications facility at 5150 Sunrise Boulevard in Fair Oaks (Sacramento County), California The property is approximately 2.73 acres in area and is situated at the southeast corner of Sunrise Blvd and Wildridge Drive. The parcel measures approximately 662 feet in length along Sunrise Blvd and is approximately 219 feet in depth along Wildridge Drive. Improvements on the property include eight small office building, each providing office space for four or more private office suites. Access to the property is by means of a driveway along the south side of Wildridge Drive. MetroPCS proposes to install an eight-foot tall faux chimney on the roof of building E. The faux chimney will screen from view six (6) panel antennas. The exterior dimensions of the faux chimney will be 5 x 8 and the new panel antennas each measure 81 x 11.3 x 5.3. The exterior finish of the faux chimney will be consistent with the design features of the existing building. Please refer to the enclosed photo simulations for specifics. MetroPCS will lease suite E-4 from the property owner and install its equipment cabinets within the office suite. The equipment cabinets measure approximately 82 (height) x 36 (width) x 30 (depth). MetroPCS will initially install three (3) cabinets and there is sufficient room within the suite for additional cabinets that may be needed in the future. There is direct access to Suite E-4 from the existing parking lot. MetroPCS will also install a coaxial cable tray on the exterior of the building and along the north side of Building E (between buildings D and E ) to carry appurtenant coaxial cables running from the antennas to the equipment cabinets. As indicated on sheets A-1 and A-2 of the plans, the coaxial cables will be screened from view in an overhead trellis that will be finished to match the exterior of the building. The trellis will run between buildings D and E and will not impact other tenants of the building nor will it be visible from traffic along Sunrise Blvd. Background: MetroPCS is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) as a provider of wireless communications services. Applicant s parent company, MetroPCS Communications, Inc., has a corporate headquarters in Richardson, Texas (a suburb of Dallas) and a Sacramento market office located in Folsom. MetroPCS offers wireless broadband personal communication services on a no longterm contract, flat rate, unlimited usage basis in selected major metropolitan areas in the United States. Since MetroPCS launched its innovative wireless service in 2002, it has been among the fastest growing wireless broadband PCS providers in the United States as measured by growth in subscribers and revenues during that period. MetroPCS currently owns or has access to wireless licenses covering a population of approximately 146 million in the United States. As of March 31, 2010 MetroPCS has over 7.3 million subscribers. Shares of the parent company s stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 19, 2007 under the symbol PCS. MetroPCS initial 2002 deployment of sites in the Sacramento marketplace included sites along the major transportation corridors, near large employment centers and in more densely populated sections of the market. The proposed facility will enhance wireless services for MetroPCS customers along Sunrise Boulevard between Madison Avenue and Fair Oaks Blvd. and in adjacent neighborhoods. Page 1 of 4

3 Site Selection and Design Overview: The need for the proposed site is dictated by the lack of adequate wireless coverage for MetroPCS customers along Sunrise Blvd. in the vicinity of Sunset Avenue and in the nearby neighborhoods. As indicated by the yellow (marginally acceptable), blue (outdoor, vehicular coverage) and red (no coverage) areas in the below diagram, MetroPCS coverage is less than adequate to the south of the Project Site. Project Site In determining an appropriate location for a new facility, consideration is first given to existing MetroPCS sites that will be impacted and support (or hand-off ) calls from the proposed site as customers travel through the region. As it applies to the project area, MetroPCS nearby sites are located as shown on the below table: Site Reference Address / APN Latitude Longitude Site Type Planning Reference SAC-244A / St. Mark s Lutheran Church 7959 Kingswood Dr. / APN Roof-top installation City of Citrus Heights CUP SAC-039A / Bella Vista High School SAC-243A / Miller Park SAC-024A / Sunrise & Fair Oaks SAC-094A / Del Campo 8301 Madison Ave / APN Kenneth Ave / Fair Oaks Blvd. / Sunset Ave / APN Co-location on (e) football stadium light Co-location on (e) monopole at park Co-location on (e) monopole at Sac Metro Station Co-location on (e) monopole 00-UPP UPP UPP-PAP UPP-0466 Page 2 of 4

4 As shown on the above table, the new facility will be supported by five (5) existing MetroPCS wireless facilities: (i) in a northerly direction at a facility located at St. Mark s Lutheran Church (SAC- 244A); (ii) in a northeasterly direction at a facility located at Bella Vista High School (SAC-039A); (iii) in a southeasterly direction at a facility located at Miller Park (SAC-243A); (iv) in a southerly direction at a facility located at Sac Metro Fire Station 31 (SAC-024A); and (v) in a westerly direction at a facility located at 7437 Sunset Avenue (SAC-094A). As part of the site selection process, MetroPCS also considers all co-location opportunities within the project area. MetroPCS first choice was a possible co-location / roof-top installation with two other existing wireless carriers (AT&T and T-Mobile) on an existing building to the south situated at 4944 Sunrise Blvd (northwest corner of Sunrise and Cavalli (APN ). However, at the time of our consideration of the parcel there were title issues that could not be satisfactorily resolved. MetroPCS also evaluated a possible roof-top installation at 5207 Sunrise Blvd. (northwest corner of Sunrise Blvd and Wildridge Drive (APN ). However, as indicated in the above diagram, the coverage lapse is to the south, so moving further north would not provide the same adequate coverage as the proposed site nor an acceptable hand-off to the Miller Park site. Construction of the site at 5207 Sunrise would also have required extensive underground construction through the driveway / parking lot and the installation of equipment cabinets outside of the building. The zoning ordinance specifies a preference for the indoor or roof-top installation of equipment cabinets and an installation at 5207 Sunrise could not have met that standard. The design of the proposed facility was done to meet or exceed the standards in the zoning ordinance for roof-top antennas in a Group II zone. Specifically, (i) the equipment cabinets utilized in connection with the antennas are located within the building being utilized for antennas, and (ii) the antennas are located towards the center of the roof and the height does not exceed 12 feet from the roof top (the antenna support structure / faux chimney extends 8 feet above the roof top). As indicated in the below diagram, the installation of the faux chimney / antenna support structure will result in significant improvements to the wireless services provided by MetroPCS along Sunrise Blvd to the south of the project site and in nearby neighborhoods. Page 3 of 4

5 Project Site NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH PLAN CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APN MetroPCS is committed to working with any and all neighborhood groups wishing to comment on this application and agrees to attend any public hearing, neighborhood or community meeting where this project might be discussed. Additional, MetroPCS representative for the project will gladly meet informally with any neighbor seeking additional information on the project. MetroPCS is providing a listing of 168 property owners for notification of the project. Page 4 of 4