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The Pleasanton Planning Commission will be discussing and providing recommendations to the City Council on a new municipal code ordinance and policies related to wireless telecommunication facilities.
If approved, the municipal code amendment and three new policies will help address the three major types of wireless projects within the city: new large facilities, small cell wireless facilities and modifications to existing large facilities, according to the March 25 commission staff report.
“Many areas within Pleasanton suffer from inadequate wireless phone, voice, and data services, which negatively impacts residents, businesses, and visitors,” according to staff. “The lack of cellular coverage also compromises the ability for the public to communicate and receive alerts and information in the event of an emergency, particularly in situations where PG&E disrupts power service leaving residents unable to rely on their home’s internet provider.”
That’s why, over the last few months, staff reviewed the city’s current wireless rules and processes and determined that “a significant contributor to the lack of cellular coverage has been the City’s existing wireless ordinance, which is outdated and overly restrictive, and so has discouraged wireless providers from locating facilities in Pleasanton.”
“The goal of the attached draft ordinance and policies is to improve coverage throughout Pleasanton while maintaining standards related to appropriate siting and aesthetics,” staff stated in the March 25 report.
The changes to the city’s code and policies would also allow staff to begin work on the “Cellular Lease Revenue Program Development” which the council identified as a priority last August.
The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday (March 25). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business:
* The commission will be hearing an appeal from a resident whose Planned Unit Development Minor Modification request to reduce the required street-side yard setback from 20 feet to eight feet to accommodate the construction of a detached accessory structure was denied by the city’s zoning administrator.
According to staff, the zoning administrator denied the request on Jan. 9 because the required findings for the modification could not be made due to “inconsistencies with the adopted PUD-25 development standards and potential impacts on neighborhood character, streetscape, and public welfare.”
“The appellant contends that the detached accessory structure’s open, low-profile design, unique site conditions adjacent to an emergency vehicle access (EVA) corridor, and existing landscaping/retaining wall treatments preserve the streetscape and avoid public safety impacts, and requests approval as designed,” according to the staff report.
* During the consent calendar portion of the meeting, the commission will vote on approving a conditional use permit that would allow the Pleasanton Academy of Music, located at 908 Valley Ave., to operate a music school with a maximum of 25 students and 21 staff members on site at any given time.
Items on consent are considered routine in nature and are typically approved by a single vote with little to no discussion.
