Cell Tower - Follow the Bouncing Ball

Friday, October 11, 2013
Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water....
The City of Pinole and Verizon's effort to place an 80 foot monopole in Pinole Valley Park may have come to a screeching halt, temporarily, but that hasn't stopped the City and Verizon from looking for another way to build a cell tower in the Valley.

At the October 1, 2013 Council meeting Mayor Long and Council member Green asked that the Tower and the Fire Station issues be separated.
Mayor Long asked that that action be placed on the agenda for Tuesday October 15, 2013. However, Tuesday's agenda clearly shows that this chess match is far from over.
Agenda HERE

Among the options (below) being considered is the Co-Location of the Verizon Cell Tower at Fire Station 74 on Pinole Valley Road. Fire Station 74 has been the subject of controversy since its closing in July 2011.
This new option will have to go through a lengthy process before it is even viable, but perhaps the most significant, issue from residents' point of view, is the close proximity of the Fire Station, to Ellerhorst Elementary School, which is 0.1 miles away and directly across the street.
Placing a cell tower in this location, in the shadow of the Ellerhorst schoolyard, may meet stiff resistance from environmentalists and from parents of students attending Ellerhorst.

Action: Receive Report & Provide Direction (Reyes)Agenda item number 9C under Old Business:
C. Consider Options Regarding the Lease Agreement with Verizon LLC for a Wireless Cellular Facility at Pinole Valley Park [Council Report No. 2013-111;

Pinole Valley Park, Verizon Wireless Lease
Update on Verizon Cell Discussions

• Continue to Research City Files
• Legal Research
• Meeting with Verizon
• Follow Up with State Parks
• Options

Legal Research

• Review State Parks Regulations
• National Parks Service - Furloughs

Meeting with Verizon
Verizon's Options

• Conversion
• Temporary Use Permit (until alt. site is located)
• Co-locating on Fire Station 74 property

Cost to Relocate Cell Tower

• Estimated at $300 to $400K
• Viable Sites

Meeting with Verizon

• Process Timeframe
• Three year process to obtain site approval
• Committed to site
• Site must address Verizon Plans
• Coverage

Follow up with State Parks

• Clarification on Conversion Process
• CEQA, NEPA, Section 106, Build Plan
• Timeframe

* Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) requires Federal agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties, and afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation a reasonable opportunity to comment. The historic preservation review process mandated by Section 106 is outlined in regulations issued by ACHP. 

Use of Facility

• Temporary and Long Term
• Reuse for Outdoor Recreation Purposes

Options

• Conversion Process
• Up to Five (5) Year Process
• Current and Future Grant Funding
• Temporary Use of Site
• National Parks Service to determine replacement acreage
• Appraisal of existing park and replacement site
• CEQA, NEPA, Section 106 on existing and replacement site

Options

• Co-Location of Cell Tower/Fire Station
• One application for conversion
• Reduces risk of lawsuits
• Use of facility while proceeding with conversion

Options

• Tolling Agreement (see legal definition below)
• Allows time to discuss alternative options with Verizon and State
• Furlough of Federal Workers
  A tolling agreement is an agreement to waive a right to claim that litigation should be dismissed due to the expiration of a statute of limitations. Its purpose is typically to allow a party additional time to assess and determine the legitimacy and viability of their claims and/or the amount of their damages without the necessity of filing an action. During this period, the parties waive any defense by way of any statute of limitations which would otherwise arise during such period.Termination of Lease

• Legal and Financial Ramifications
• Eminent Domain
  Definition of Eminent Domain:
  "Eminent Domain" - also called "condemnation" - is the power of local, state or federal government agencies to take private property for "public use" so long as the government pays "just compensation." The government can exercise its power of eminent domain even if the owner does not wish to sell his or her property.

The City Council meets on Tuesday, October 15, 2013.
If you wish to address the City Council on its plans for the Cell Tower, Fire Station 74 and the options they are presenting, please attend the meeting.
Agenda here.
Ivette Ricco, Life as I Know It