City Considers Verizon Permit Request for 4-Story Wireless Tower on Elks Lodge Property

Telecommunications provider Verizon Wireless wants to erect a 40-foot mono-tree wireless communications tower on the Elks Lodge property at 400 block West Colorado in West Pasadena.

The Conditional Use Permit hearing for the project is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Permit Center Hearing Room on the first floor of 175 North Garfield Avenue, according to a City of Pasadena Planning and Community Development Department agenda report.

A city staff report says Verizon seeks to install and operate an unmanned “major wireless telecommunications facility” that would include nine panel antennas, nine RRUs (remote radio units) and other associated equipment.

The new freestanding support structure, according to the staff report, is to be disguised as a Eucalyptus tree to attempt to blend in with the surrounding area which has “a series of existing broad-leaf natural trees in excess of 40 feet in height.”

Section 17.50.310.E.5 of the Zoning Code requires that a new wireless communications facility support structure that is designed to look like a faux tree should be of a type compatible with the existing trees in the immediate area of the installation.

In addition, Verizon is proposing a 173-square-foot ground-mounted equipment area that would be fully enclosed in a stucco structure with a tile roof.

Verizon says the installation of the new telecommunication panel antennas and ancillary equipment is intended to improve wireless telecommunication service and coverage in the area. The company has submitted a justification study, reviewed by a third party consultant, which determined that the proposed site and design would be the least intrusive proposal for the identified coverage gap.

The company is required to place a $1,000 deposit with the Department of Public Works before any permit is issued. The cash deposit is a guarantee that the applicant will keep the site clean and safe, and will make permanent repairs to the abutting street improvements that could be damaged during construction.

“Past experience has indicated that projects such as this tend to damage the abutting street improvements with the heavy equipment and truck traffic that is necessary during construction,” the staff report said. “Additionally, the City has had difficulty in requiring developers to maintain a clean and safe site during the construction phase of development.”

The deposit may also be used for charges due to damage to existing street trees and for City personnel to review traffic control plans and maintain traffic control.

A list of findings prepared by the Planning department indicates that the proposed project and its use as a telecommunications facility “would not be detrimental or injurious to property and improvements in the neighborhood or to the general welfare of the City,” adding that it will be “strictly regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)” and that the facility “must operate at or below the threshold of significance as regulated by the FCC that is deemed safe for human exposure to radio frequency and electromagnetic fields.”

Planning department staff is recommending approval of the conditional use permit since the project is “substantially consistent with the development standards of the Zoning Code.”