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6 Of BHWWkM W city drat *arks tier you Memo Date: October 7, 2008 To: Dean Lotter, City Manager Mayor and Council From: Grant Fernelius, Community Development Director GW-' Janice Gundlach, City Planner J$ Subject: Policy Discussion on Telecommunication Towers on Public Land Introduction As you recall, earlier this year staff and Council discussed the issue of cellular communications antennae/towers in public parks. The discussion was focused mostly on a request by T -Mobile for an 80' tower in Hidden Oaks Park. As the Council is aware, T - Mobile withdrew their request on July 21St after learning that there was little support for a special use permit. Over the course of the last few months, staff has fielded inquiries from other cellular phone carriers interested in Brightwood Hills Golf Course and Hansen Park, however those requests have not come forward. Staff suspects there may be some reluctance following the controversial request with Hidden Oaks Park. During the course of the discussions with the City Council and Planning Commissions, comments were made to effect "How did we get in this situation?" or "Why did staff accept a land use application before a business deal was negotiated?" In reality, this particular request started as a business negotiation that eventually evolved into a land use application. It was a frustrating experience for all parties involved. In order to avoid this situation again, we believe it would be helpful to have a a formal policy in place on this topic, especially when advising applicants with future requests. Background Requests involving cell towers on public property involve two decisions: 1) a land use decision (Special Use Permit) and 2) a business decision (lease agreement). These two issues often times conflict with each other, especially in residential areas. This conflict can be magnified because the purpose of a land use application is to protect the public health, safety and welfare, while lease negotiations are primarily economic. Current Code Standards The current requirement for construction of a telecommunications tower involves review and approval of a Special Use Permit in all zoning districts. The main criteria is a setback equal to the tower height with the ability to increase the tower height by 33 percent if the tower is engineered to collapse upon itself. Staff has attached all zoning standards for reference. Also, like all Special Use Permits the general health, safety and HAPlanning Casa Correspondence\Cell Towers in Public Parka\cell [ower policy worksession memo (10-14-08).doe