2. The AT&T WCF shall consist of a stealth design (faux saguaro cactus) with a maximum height of 30 feet above adjacent grade;

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1 AGENDA ITEM # DATE: October 24, 2011 COAC NUMBER: CITY OF GOODYEAR CITY COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: Special Use to allow the installation of a proposed AT&T Wireless Communication Facility to include a 30-foot tall faux saguaro cactus and support equipment within the Estrella Phase One Planned Area Development. CASE NUMBER: STAFF PRESENTER: Steve Careccia, Planner III APPLICANT: Joe Engbrocks, Bechtel Communications, on behalf of AT&T RECOMMENDATION: A. City Council conduct a public hearing to consider approving a Special Use (Case No ) to allow the installation of a proposed AT&T Wireless Communication Facility (WCF) to include a 30-foot tall faux saguaro cactus and support equipment within a 550 square-foot lease area on property located on the west side of Estrella Parkway, immediately south of the parking lot serving the Estrella Star Tower, and approximately 1,000 feet north of the intersection of Estrella Parkway and Santa Elizabeth Drive, within the Estrella Phase One Planned Area Development (PAD). 1. Open public hearing 2. Staff presentation 3. Receive public comment 4. Close public hearing B. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation is for approval of the Special Use (Case No ) subject to the following stipulations: 1. The proposed AT&T WCF shall be in substantial conformance with the project narrative and preliminary development plan as submitted with the Special Use application, except as modified by stipulations and approved by Council; 2. The AT&T WCF shall consist of a stealth design (faux saguaro cactus) with a maximum height of 30 feet above adjacent grade; 3. The co-location of additional antennae on the AT&T WCF shall not be permitted unless such antennae do not compromise the stealth appearance of the faux cactus as determined by the Community Development Director or designee. Site plan review and approval shall be required for any co-location; 4. The development and operation of the wireless communication facility shall be in conformance with all applicable health, nuisance, fire and safety codes. If upon inspection, the city determines that the facility fails to comply with such applicable codes, then the facility operator and/or owner shall have 30 days to bring the facility into compliance. Failure to bring the facility into compliance

2 within 30 days shall constitute grounds for the removal of the facility at the operator and/or owners expense; 5. The facility operator and/or owner shall remove all wireless communication equipment from the property within 180 days of cessation of use, and shall return the property to its prior condition; and, 6. The subject wireless communication service is subordinate to essential public communication services, and shall be suspended if found in conflict with such public communication, regardless of the reason for such conflict, and until such conflict is resolved. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This request is for a Special Use to allow the installation of a proposed AT&T WCF to include a 30-foot tall faux saguaro cactus and support equipment within a ±550 square-foot lease area on property located on the west side of Estrella Parkway, immediately south of the parking lot serving the Estrella Star Tower, and approximately 1,000 feet north of the intersection of Estrella Parkway and Santa Elizabeth Drive. All support equipment will be located within a 15-foot by 30-foot (450 square feet) area surrounded by an eight-foot high wall. At its regular meeting of September 21, 2011, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted (7-0) to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Council. COMMUNITY BENEFIT: The proposed use will provide residents with expanded wireless communication service within the City of Goodyear. The camouflaging of the antennas will improve the aesthetics of the installation and minimize the impact of the WCF on the community. CURRENT POLICY: Special Uses are land use activities that may be included in the City, but because of their unique nature, potential for creating impacts on other uses, or pre-existing legal status may require particular consideration as to their proper location and/or maintenance in relation to adjacent established or intend uses, or to the planned development of the City. The conditions controlling the location and operation of Special Uses are established in the Zoning Ordinance. The Council has the authority to approve a Special Use upon a finding that the proposed location and establishment of such Special Use will be desirable or necessary to the public convenience or welfare and will be harmonious and compatible with other uses adjacent to and in the vicinity of the special use. A Special Use should not be granted unless the use will be compatible with surrounding land uses and will not be a detriment to surrounding properties or persons due to an adverse impact on the circulation system of adjacent neighborhoods, the generation of excessive noise or light, excessive scale or height of buildings compared to surrounding buildings, hours of operation, inadequate buffering or other mitigation measures, or an inconsistency with the character of adjacent properties. A Special Use must also conform to the General Plan. Page 2 of 6

3 HISTORICAL INFORMATION: The proposed lease area is located within the Estrella Phase One PAD. The PAD zoning was approved by the City Council on June 22, 1987, with the adoption of Ordinance No The area including and surrounding the proposed lease area is designated for custom home and golf course development on the Estrella Phase One Master Development Plan. The lease area property is currently undeveloped but is adjacent to the Estrella Star Tower and parking lot. DISCUSSION: Background: Land uses and existing zoning surrounding the facility include the following: North Estrella Star Tower and parking lot within the Estrella PAD. South Undeveloped property within the Estrella PAD. East Estrella Parkway and custom home residential development within the Estrella PAD. West Undeveloped property within the Estrella PAD. Details of the Request: This request is for a Special use to allow the installation of a proposed AT&T WCF to include a 30-foot tall faux saguaro cactus and support equipment within a 550 square-foot lease area on property located on the west side of Estrella Parkway, immediately south of the parking lot serving the Estrella Star Tower, and approximately 1,000 feet north of the intersection of Estrella Parkway and Santa Elizabeth Drive. The application indicates that AT&T needs a facility in this area to provide additional wireless coverage. The WCF will utilize stealth technology in the form of a 30-foot tall faux saguaro cactus. The faux cactus will be setback approximately 54 feet from the east property line and 34 feet from the north property line in compliance with the minimum tower setback of 30 feet (height of tower) required for this facility. The proposed AT&T antennas and cabling will be housed inside the faux cactus and therefore not visible to the public. All support equipment will be located within a 15-foot by 30-foot (450 square feet) area surrounded by an eight-foot high wall. None of the equipment will be visible above the wall. The walls and gates for the equipment enclosure will be constructed to match the architecture of the existing Estrella Star Tower with the use of decorative stone and COR-TEN steel. The application indicates the WCF will be serviced by a single maintenance vehicle approximately one to two times a month. A 12-foot wide ingress/egress easement will provide vehicular access to the WCF from Estrella Parkway. A parking space for technicians will be provided in the Estrella Star Tower parking lot. Technicians will then utilize a four-foot wide access easement connecting the public right-of-way to the WCF. The nearest existing WCF is located approximately 1.5 miles to the north along Vineyard Avenue within the Estrella Mountain Regional Park. This existing WCF utilizes a monopole design. AT&T has indicated that there were no opportunities to co-locate in this specific service Page 3 of 6

4 area. Staff Analysis and Findings: Staff finds the proposed Special Use will be compatible with the existing and proposed uses in the surrounding area, will not be a detriment to any surrounding properties or persons, and will be in conformance with the General Plan. A unique stealth design is proposed for the WCF in the form of a faux saguaro cactus. Although most saguaro cacti are less than 30 feet in height, the height of the proposed faux saguaro cactus is still less than the tallest saguaro cacti, which have been calculated at 45 to 55 feet in height. All of the support equipment will be screened behind a decorative wall designed to match the architecture of the Estrella Star Tower. The only vehicular traffic generated by the facility will be for operation and maintenance purposes. Therefore, there will be no adverse affects to roadway circulation or increased traffic. FUNCTIONAL/DEPARTMENTAL IMPACT: Luke Air Force Base: The WCF should not have any adverse affect on base operations given its proposed height and distance from the base. Phoenix-Goodyear Airport: The WCF should not have any adverse affect on airport operations given its proposed height and distance from the airport at 3.25 miles. It appears that the site may be within 20,000 feet of the airport runway, which would require the applicant to file a Notice of Proposed Construction (Form ) if the height of the structure, taken together with the ground elevation, would exceed 200 feet. Based on a height of 30 feet for the WCF and a ground elevation that is approximately 60 above the elevation of the airport, it appears that the combined height and elevation will not exceed 200 feet. However, it is recommended that the applicant file a Notice of Proposed Construction with the FAA for informational purposes. Public Safety: The WCF should not adversely affect public safety communication. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: Citizen Review Meeting: A citizen review meeting was held on July 7, Notice of the meeting was placed in the southwest section of the Arizona Republic and mailed to surrounding property owners and the Estrella HOA. No one from the public attended the meeting. Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting: The Planning and Zoning Commission considered this item at its regular meeting of July 20, The applicant, Jan Mitchell on behalf of AT&T, was not present at the meeting, but since residents were in attendance and wished to comment, the Commission conducted the public hearing on this item. Commissioners discussed the land uses surrounding the site and the design of the equipment enclosure. Three residents from the Estrella community attended the meeting. The residents expressed concerns with the proposed look and location of the facility. Staff Page 4 of 6

5 responded that the facility would utilize a stealth design in the form of a 30-foot tall saguaro cactus and that the applicant selected this location given its proximity to electrical service and parking, and to achieve optimal wireless coverage. The Commission unanimously voted (5-0) to continue the item to their August 17 th meeting since the applicant was not present to respond to the residents concerns. On August 11, 2011, Joe Engbrocks on behalf of AT&T, along with Pete Teiche representing Newland Communities, met with approximately 15 Estrella residents to discuss the proposed WCF. Residents were concerned with the location and aesthetics of the facility. The applicant responded that they had expended significant funds for research and analysis, engineering and site planning for this specific location but would be open to redesigning the enclosure and faux cactus to be more aesthetically pleasing. It was also discussed that additional desert landscaping could be added around the enclosure to help screen it from Estrella Parkway. At the August 17, 2011 regular Commission meeting, Mr. Engbrocks requested a continuance to allow additional time to address the concerns of the residents. The Commission unanimously voted (6-0) to continue the item to their September 21 st meeting. At the September 21, 2011 regular Commission meeting, Mr. Engbrocks provided a description of changes made to the plan in response to residents concerns. These changes included a new curvilinear screen wall and additional desert landscaping. Diane Hanneman, an Estrella resident, requested that the item be continued. Ms. Hanneman thought that not enough residents had been informed of the request and that additional time was needed to evaluate the proposal. Mr. Teiche responded that he had notified residents via and held a community meeting on August 11 th to go over the proposal with residents. Commissioners discussed the required notification for the hearing, with staff providing an overview of the process. All public hearing notification requirements for this application have been met. The Commission unanimously voted (7-0) to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Council. Since there was objection to the proposed request at the September 21 st Commission meeting, a public hearing has been scheduled before the City Council. Notice of the public hearing was published in the southwest section of the Arizona Republic on October 7 th and notices were mailed to property owners within 500 feet of the site, including the Estrella HOA. A sign was also posted onsite. FISCAL IMPACT: The City will receive construction sales tax with the installation of the proposed WCF. Page 5 of 6

6 ATTACHMENTS: 1. Aerial Photo 2. Project Narrative 3. Preliminary Development Plan revised September 2, WCF Photo Simulations 5. Planning and Zoning Commission July 20, 2011 Meeting Minutes 6. Planning and Zoning Commission August 17, 2011 Meeting Minutes 7. Planning and Zoning Commission September 21, 2011 Draft Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 6