PROJECT NARRATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS 15505 Sand Canyon Avenue Building D-1 Irvine, CA 92618 May 23, 2011 Subject: Verizon Wireless Proposed Cordillera Telecommunications Facility Located at 4515 Park Entrada; Calabasas, CA 91302 Project Narrative The proposal consists of the installation and operation of a faux pine tree (monopine) located at the Calabasas Golf and Country Club at 4515 Park Entrada. The proposed monopine consists of a three (3) arrays, each containing four (4) panel antennas, for a total of 12 panel antennas. The proposal also consists of the installation of four (4) equipment cabinets and three (3) GPS antennas to be installed near the base of the monopine. The monopine, equipment cabinets, GPS antennas and other ancillary equipment will be enclosed within a stucco CMU wall, textured and painted to match the existing building. The height and location of the monopine was carefully determined by the existing trees, engineering needs and by keeping the facility as far away from residential without interfering in the operations of the Calabasas Golf and Country Club. By keeping the height of the monopine to 55, which is similar to the height of the trees in the area, and having the monopine over 240 from a residential dwelling unit, the proposed monopine is consistent with the General Plan, the Calabasas Development Code and the provisions of the Open Space Recreation zone. Also, there is a significant amount of landscape screening separating this site from the residential units to the east (See Picture No. 1.01). Additionally, this facility will meet or exceed all applicable State and Federal in regards EME exposure and RF frequency. Since there are no other significant impacts as a result of this proposal, the site will be in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Once the facility has been built, the site will be serviced by a maintenance technician at a maximum of one (1) visit per month, on average.
Picture No. 1.01 View from Proposed Site, Looking Northeast This section below is the response to questions in 4.05 through 4.27 The proposed Verizon Wireless Cordillera site has several objectives, all of which are designed to address a significant gap in service coverage to the area surrounding the proposed site (as shown in the attached exhibits) in the City of Calabasas. The area Verizon Wireless is attempting to provide coverage is comprised of single-family residences and open space uses. These objectives are: 1. To provide coverage and additional capacity along Parkway Calabasas, south of the 101 Freeway. This will offload network traffic from the Hopper PCS Macro cell site, located near the intersection of Park Granada and Calabasas Road, in order to meet capacity needs. The existing Verizon macro site is currently overloaded and it is critical to offload wireless service to the Cordillera site, in order to provide safe and reliable wireless service; 2. To provide new LTE (4G high speed data service) radio frequency service in the 700 MHz frequency to the surrounding area and to Highway 101. Verizon Wireless is in the process of their nationwide roll-out for LTE; 3. To provide coverage and additional capacity to residents near the intersection of Parkway Calabasas and Park Entrada. The propagation plots attached in this application depict the general geographic area of Verizon Wireless coverage objectives. Just as radio waves do not stop at an arbitrary physical
boundary, the general geographic area in which coverage is sought cannot be bounded. Moreover, RF coverage is not static, and is subject to fading as result of the morphology and topography of the area. As a result, Verizon Wireless cannot quantify the size of the area in units of square miles to define the significant gap in service coverage that the Cordillera site seeks to remedy. As noted above, there a number of objectives that this site is designed to fill. Although there will be new coverage added in the 700 MHz frequency range over a physical area, a significant gap in service coverage can exist for a variety of other reasons. For this particular area, the Cordillera site will significantly improve a gap in service coverage by addressing the lack of sufficient capacity for all calls and data routing through the cell sites in the area, or insufficient reliability of RF signal in the area due to interference or other issues. For the reasons noted above, these significant gaps in service coverage may not necessarily be depicted on a propagation plot. Other than stating that a significant gap in service coverage exists when Verizon Wireless cannot provide safe, adequate and reliable levels of service coverage to its users, the definition of what constitutes a significant gap is site specific. Although limited by the above factors, propagation plots (see attached maps addressing 6.02) provide important information regarding the level of signal, and therefore the anticipated coverage provided by a cell site. For a cellular system to work properly, each cell site must provide areas of discrete coverage as well as overlapping coverage with neighboring sites. Coverage exists when there is sufficient radio frequency ( RF ) signal strength to provide safe, effective and reliable levels of coverage in a particular geographic area. As user travels between the discrete coverage areas of two or more sites, a handoff is triggered within the zone of overlapping coverage. If the handoff is successful, it is transparent to the user and results in seamless coverage. If the handoff is not successful, the call is lost and must be reestablished once the user gets within range of the next site. Without adequate RF signal, there is no reliability in the ability to make or receive voice calls, and data throughput speed is limited. This is especially significant in that Verizon Wireless, as an FCC licensee, is mandated to provide enhanced 911 services to its users. The strength of RF signal coverage is measured in decibel level and is noted as a dbm level. As decibel level is degraded (i.e. signal level is weakened), it is reflected in increasingly larger negative numbers. Hence, -75dBM is a stronger signal than - 85dBM, which in turn is stronger than -95dBM. In order to identify a potential site to fill this gap in coverage, Verizon Wireless engineers have created a search ring that represents an area in which a potential cell site can be located to begin the process of identifying and evaluating potential locations for a site. The specific requirements for this site are captured in the document called a Search Area Review Form (SARF). The SARF depicts the area in which a site needs to be located in order to obtain the needed coverage. As previously mentioned, the goal for this particular site has several coverage objectives mentioned above. The Cordillera site will meet all the RF objectives, and is also the least intrusive means to provide the needed coverage. The design consists of installing a monopine on the Country Club property. The property consists of a number of tall trees and the monopine will not exceed the height of any of the existing trees on the site, thereby minimizing visual impacts and resulting in the least intrusive design.
Alternatives Analysis (Exhibit No. 8.04) The search area consists of residential uses, open space (hillsides), a country club and one commercial property. The analysis of the alternatives are listed below: Commercial Property located at the SE Corner of Parkway Calabasas and Park Granada This property is located on the outside edge of the search area. However, due to its lower elevation, the distance to the targeted residential area near the intersection of Parkway Calabasas and Park Entrada (No. 3, above), and the topography in the general area, this property was eliminated as a potential site. Since there are no other commercial or other non-residential uses within the search ring, the Country Club is then the only viable option for a wireless site. However, there were a number of options to locate the monopine on the property. Monopine Preferred location Adjacent to Easterly Property Line The RF Engineer for Verizon would prefer the location on the east side of the property, adjacent to the residential properties (see Picture No. 8.01). This location is closest to both of the projected coverage/capacity areas, described above, and is also at the edge of the ridgeline. If the monopine were moved any further north of this location, the signal would experience significant shadowing. However, since this was abutting residential, it was not considered a viable option. Picture No. 8.01 RF Preferred Location of Monopine
Monopine Locat ion 2 East Side of Clubhouse (Proposal) As an alternative, the RF engineer agreed that a location on the east side of the clubhouse would be feasible as well. This is our proposed location. Monopine Locat ion 3 West Side o f Clubhouse Unfortunately, due to the operation of Clubhouse, any location on the west side of the clubhouse is not feasible. That portion of the facility is constantly used for gatherings, golf cart and pedestrian traffic, and for periodic outdoor dining. Placing a monopine at this location would significantly impact the normal operation of the clubhouse.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS Alternative 1: Water Tank at The Oaks, off of 4298 Prado De Los Ciervos In order for Verizon Wireless to have a site at this location, utility lines (power and telco) would have to cross property owned by the HOA. VZW confirmed that the HOA opposed any utility crossing their property. HOA contact: Laura Thaller, The Oaks at Calabasas HOA. Per a February 24, 2011 email, the HOA is unable to grant an easement for a wireless facility for Prado del Los Ciervos. Alternative 2: Water Tank at 23846 Park Belmonte, Calabasas, CA 91302 The HOA owns the land leading up to the water tank, and will not grant an easement to any additional cell phone companies (Sprint is there now). The water tank is located on a steep hill, so the only means of access is through HOA owned land. Additionally, this location is too far outside the Search Area to meet Verizon s RF objectives. HOA contact: Paula Neidlinger, Ross Morgan Company. The HOA voted NOT to allow any more easements to cell companies. The will not allow wireless companies to cross their property to access the water tank. Alternative 3: Bay Laurel Elementary School at 24740 Paseo Primario, Calabasas, CA 91302 Verizon wants to be sensitive to sites at Elementary Schools and therefore did not pursue this location. Any site at this location would also be much more visible to the public. The proposed site at the Calabasas Country Club already has a significant amount of existing trees on the property that help screen the monopine. The site at the Calabasas Country Club is less intrusive than a site at the elementary school. Alternative 4: Microcell along South side of Parkway Calabasas and Park Entrada cross street In order for this location to meet RF objectives and provide much-needed coverage to the homes north of the Calabasas Country Club, each existing 20 to 25 pole would need to be 2 to 3 times taller, resulting in a large visual impact.
Additionally, Verizon needs a full 12-antenna site in order to meet its objectives. The proposed site at the Country Club is a less intrusive visual impact to the community. Alternative 5: Offices at 4500 Park Granada, Calabasas, CA 91302. During a visit to the Search Ring, this office location was ruled out by the Verizon Wireless RF Engineer as too low to meet coverage objectives. This candidate was further disqualified when owners indicated that they would not be interested in leasing. However, the main reason why this site was no longer pursued is from the Verizon RF Engineers confirming that the site is too far away and too low from the area needing coverage. Alternative 6: Hilton Garden at 24150 Park Sorrento, Calabasas, CA 91302 During a visit to the Search Ring, this Hilton Garden location was ruled out by the Verizon Wireless RF Engineer as too low and also too far away to meet Verizon s coverage objectives. Similar to Alternative 5 above, this site was no longer pursued when Verizon RF Engineers confirmed the distance was too far away to be considered for the area that needs improved coverage.