Planning Commission Meeting

DocuSign Envelope ID: 689CE112-EA62-4027-9549-EB36E651B9D0 MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION EVENING SESSION ONLY Tuesday, March 10, 2020 7:00 PM-11:00 PM 580 PACIFIC STREET, COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Commissioners Present: Brassfield, Dawson, Fletcher, Freeman, Latasa, Millich, Reed Commissioners Absent: None Staff Members Present: Community Development Director Cole, Administrative Assistant Rose 1. Meeting Procedures CALL TO ORDER Chair Brassfield called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. CONSENT ITEMS Approval of Minutes 2. February 25, 2020 Action: Approved as submitted. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS None. On a motion by Commissioner Latasa, seconded by Commissioner Fletcher, and carried by the following vote, the Planning Commission approved the February 25, 2020 minutes as submitted: AYES: 5 MEMBERS: Brassfield, Dawson, Fletcher, Freeman, Latasa NOES: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSENT: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: 2 MEMBERS: Millich, Reed RECUSED: 0 MEMBERS: None **End of Consent Agenda** PUBLIC COMMENTS Nina Beety requested that anyone attending the Planning Commission meeting put their cell phones in airplane mode. She said she had submitted a letter to the Planning Commission regarding an item on the evening’s agenda. She said she had submitted the letter at 2 am but DocuSign Envelope ID: 689CE112-EA62-4027-9549-EB36E651B9D0 that it was not sent to Commissioners until 1:30 p.m. She hopes this type of delay will not be repeated. PUBLIC HEARING 3. Consider 23625 Holman Highway; Use Permit 20-0039 to Allow a New Wireless Facility; Applicant Ben Hackstedde Sequoia Deployment Services; Owner: Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula; PC Zoning; Commercial General Plan Designation; Exempt from CEQA per Article 19, Section 15303, Class 3 Action: Approved as amended. Staff Presentation/Committee Member Questions Contract Planner Jerry Hittleman presented the report and took Commissioners’ questions. Vice Chair Freeman asked Mr. Hittleman if there was an authorization letter from Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) requesting this facility. Mr. Hittleman said yes and that the authorization letter was signed by the Vice President of the hospital authorizing the facility. Vice Chair Freeman read a letter from the public that questioned the claim that the hospital has no service indoors or outdoors. The letter says this claim was not evaluated by City consultants. Public Comments Applicant Ben Hackstedde of Sequoia Deployment Services presented to the Commission and answered Commissioners’ questions. Commissioner Dawson asked if the type of service could be changed at the facility. Mr. Hackstedde said he is not a radio-frequency (RF) engineer and did not feel comfortable answering that question. He said that when reports are created, they take into account the highest energy capacity possible. Commissioner Dawson said that the antennas would be pointing out to the surrounding area and not toward the interior of the hospital. He wondered how this would improve reception inside the hospital. Mr. Hackstedde said phones would be served in the hospital by the facility because antennas are pointed toward surrounding areas and the area beneath the facility would still have service. Commissioner Dawson had another question related to power put out by the facility, but Mr. Hackstedde declined to answer the question because he is not an RF engineer. Commissioner Freeman asked Mr. Hackstedde what his experience has been with antennas at other hospitals. Mr. Hackstedde said he personally could not cite any examples that involved his company. He said there are all kinds of landlords, not just hospitals, and that everyone has questions and concerns. He said the reason this site was chosen was because the facility can be co-located. Commissioner Reed said that according to coverage maps it looks like the facility would improve coverage along Highway 68 and Highway 1. Mr. Hackstedde said that there are many gaps in coverage in Monterey and improvements would occur. DocuSign Envelope ID: 689CE112-EA62-4027-9549-EB36E651B9D0 Commissioner Latasa asked if this application was for a 4G or 5G facility. Mr. Hackstedde said it is a 4G facility application. Ms. Cole said if equipment changed to 5G in the future, a new application would be required along with new RF reports. Commissioner Brassfield asked if emergency services were contacted about protocol. Mr. Hackstedde said that this subject was not in his purview. Ms. Cole said that the fire department knows to call the phone number posted on site before accessing the site. Susan Nine said the application is flawed and should be rejected and require further study. Nina Beety said that there is missing information in the RF report and that Verizon has lied about service just as they did about 13 small cell towers. She said that the proposed facility is not a small facility and that CEQA exemptions are not valid under the true definition of a facility. She wanted her letter to the Commission entered into the record for the hearing. Jeannie Ferrara said that there is a connection between cancer and wireless radiation. Bret Silvestri, Director of Facilities Planning for Montage Health, said the hospital did contact Verizon at the request of doctors and patients who have had poor Verizon reception in the hospital. Commissioner Dawson said that the information Mr. Silvestri provided concerning poor reception for doctors and patients contradicted claims provided by the public which cited excellent reception in the hospital. Mr. Silvestri disputed those claims made by the public. Commissioner Latasa asked Mr. Silvestri if there have been any studies of how hospitals deal with RF radiation. Mr. Silvestri said he could not comment on that because he is not qualified to answer. Commissioner Latasa asked if the roof of the hospital is concrete and Mr. Silvestri said it is concrete. Chair Brassfield said that Mr. Hackstedde could not answer some of the questions asked of him. He said this issue appears to be a recurring problem for this type of project. Chair Brassfield asked Mr. Silvestri if the hospital had discussed the medical aspects of the installation of transmitters. Mr. Silvestri said he was not privy to any conversations. Tom McCartney, local health professional, said he was concerned about the amount of radiation being put out into the community and hospital. He said he also has sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Reed said the Commission has all the information required to approve the application. Vice Chair Freeman said that all of the information needed to approve the application has been provided but that there have been conflicting comments by the people that presented the information. City Attorney Christine Davi said that as long the site complies with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards, that this is the end of the City’s inquiry. She said that all criteria are met in this application and that effective prohibition analysis does not come into play. DocuSign Envelope ID: 689CE112-EA62-4027-9549-EB36E651B9D0 Commissioner Millich said there did not appear to be any conflict in testimonies concerning cell coverage. He said that the Commission is precluded from taking into account the health effects of the site so long as they are within the prescribed limits set by the federal government. Chair Brass field thanked City Attorney Davi for being available to answer questions. He said the Commission has to set aside the consideration of health issues. He was concerned that people representing the applicant were unable to answer questions posed by the Commission. He said it is not working in the applicant’s favor that questions cannot be answered. There were changes made to the motion language. Commissioner Freeman wanted the following language included in the motion: “shall submit to the Planning Office for review a post-construction RF coverage map”. A second change was to require a posted network operations center (NOC) phone number at the site. A third change removed “natural person” from the motion language. On a motion by Commissioner Reed, seconded by Commissioner Millich, and carried by the following vote, the Planning Commission approved Use Permit 20-0039 to Allow a New Wireless Facility as amended: AYES: 6 MEMBERS: Brassfield, Fletcher, Freeman, Latasa, Millich, Reed NOES: 1 MEMBERS: Dawson ABSENT: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 MEMBERS: None RECUSED: 0 MEMBERS: None 4. Consider 490 Camino El Estero; Application HP-20-0025 for H-2 Historic Zoning; PC- D-ES Zoning District; Commercial General Plan Designation; Exempt from CEQA per Article 19, Section 15305, Class 5 Action: Approved Application HP-20-0025 for H-2 Historic Zoning at 490 Camino El Estero. Staff Presentation/Committee Member Questions Community Development Director Cole presented the staff report and answered Commissioners’ questions. Public Comments Robert McIntyre, representing El Estero Presbyterian Church, introduced members of the church and thanked the Commission for hearing their application. Pastor Ted Esaki thanked the Commission and gave a history of the church and the historic context of the Japanese community in Monterey. Robert Suzuki said that the church is his home and that he would appreciate it if the Commission would approve the application. Michael Kelly said that El Estero Presbyterian Church has a fine history. Commissioner Comments DocuSign Envelope ID: 689CE112-EA62-4027-9549-EB36E651B9D0 On a motion by Commissioner Reed, seconded by Commissioner Fletcher, and carried by the following vote, the Planning Commission recommended approval of application HP-20-0025 for H-2 Historic Zoning to the City Council: AYES: 7 MEMBERS: Brassfield, Dawson, Fletcher, Freeman, Latasa, Millich, Reed NOES: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSENT: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 MEMBERS: None RECUSED: 0 MEMBERS: None 5. Consider Recommendation to the City Council to Amend the Downtown Specific Plan to Include 650 East Franklin Street and 437 Figueroa Street within the Boundaries for the Density Cap Overlay District; Exempt from CEQA per Section 65457 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15182 (Continued to March 24, 2020 PC Meeting) Action: Continued to March 24, 2020 PC Meeting. On a motion by Commissioner Millich, seconded by Commissioner Freeman, and carried by the following vote, the Planning Commission continued this item to March 24, 2020 PC Meeting: AYES: 7 MEMBERS: Brassfield, Dawson, Fletcher, Freeman, Latasa, Millich, Reed NOES: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSENT: 0 MEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 MEMBERS: None RECUSED: 0 MEMBERS: None 6. Review Planning Commission Powers and Duties Staff Presentation/Committee Member Questions Community Development Director Cole presented the staff report and answered Commissioners’ questions. Public Comments None. Commissioner Comments Chair Brassfield said that the powers and duties presentation made sense. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Millich announced his dual citizenship as an American-Croatian. DocuSign Envelope ID: 689CE112-EA62-4027-9549-EB36E651B9D0 Vice Chair Freeman said that she and Chair Brassfield attended ethics training in Salinas. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS Planning Office Update No update. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Kimberly Cole, AICP Chair Community Development Director Planning Commission