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Home My WebLink AboutMIN 2022 0223 CC SA SPC MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL Moorpark, California February 23, 2022 A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Moorpark was held on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. at Moorpark Community Center located at 799 Moorpark Avenue, Moorpark, California. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Parvin called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Ventura County Sheriffs Captain Victor Fazio led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Castro, Enegren, Groff, Pollock, and Mayor Parvin. Staff Present: Troy Brown, City Manager; Steven Flower, City Attorney's Office; PJ Gagajena, Assistant City Manager and Interim City Treasurer/Finance Director; Brian Chong, Assistant to the City Manager; Daniel Kim, City Engineer/Public Works Director; Jeremy Laurentowski, Parks and Recreation Director; Carlene Saxton, Community Development Director (via Zoom); Chris Thompson; Senior Information Systems Administrator; Captain Victor Fazio, Ventura County Sheriff's Office and Blanca Garza, Deputy City Clerk II. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. 5. REORDERING OF, AND ADDITIONS TO, THE AGENDA: None. 6. PRESENTATION/ACTION/DISCUSSION: A. Presentation and Discussion on Federal Communications Commission Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order, and City Policies Regarding Permitting Requirements and Development Standards for Small Wireless Facilities. Mr. Brown provided a staff report and clarified there are no scheduled actions for the Council to take at this meeting. Any direction that comes out of tonight's discussion will be brought back by staff for Council's sonimmovamommiemow Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 2 February 23, 2022 consideration at a future meeting. Following public comments, a presentation on the regulatory framework and actions to date will be provided. The following in-person speakers provided comments: Hugh J. Finlay, Moorpark resident, stated his professional expertise in the engineering field and discussed three topic areas as part of opposition to placement of small cell wireless facilities in residential areas including power levels and frequencies for the antennas are too high, inquired about the City approval process for permitting of 5G antennas, and suggested the ordinance regulating these uses could be improved. Julie Levine, affiliated with "5G Free California" spoke in opposition to the placement of 5G antennas; inquired whether the City has followed up with L. Scott McCaullaugh, an attorney who has assisted the City of Malibu with developing restrictive ordinances preventing placement of small cell infrastructure in close proximity to residential uses; remarked on legal tactics used by telecom companies; referenced health impacts associated with cell phone exposure; and commented that stronger ordinances are needed. Dr. Dawn Michael, Moorpark resident, spoke in opposition to the deployment of 5G wireless facilities, shared articles discussing adverse health effects of 5G mobile networking technology and the lack of study on the subject, and expressed the opinion that Ms. Golden is being harmed by the placement of the antenna. Nicole Golden, Moorpark resident, spoke to request relocation of the AT&T small cell site installed at 13267 Peach Hill Road to a safer site and away from residential areas and reiterated concern over its placement 14 feet away from her children's playhouse and 43 feet from their bedroom window. She expressed the opinion that AT&T did not do their due diligence to find a non-residential location, expressed safety concerns associated with fire and high winds, disagreed that no mitigation measures are necessary to comply with the FCC public exposure guidelines for this location, and expressed concern over reductions in property value. Robert Golden, Moorpark resident, spoke in opposition to the placement of a small cell wireless facility at 13267 Peach Hill Road in a residential area, commented that 50 MPH wind gusts have an impact on the antenna noting fire hazard and safety concerns, and cited health impacts due to electromagnetic radiation. Lyle Laver with the National Business Post spoke in support of the Golden's and to express health concerns associated with electromagnetic radiation exposure, provided a flyer to the Council on the implications of Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 3 February 23, 2022 small cell antennas noting property value concerns, and expressed the opinion that 5G antennas are an emerging risk. Lisa Padilla, Moorpark resident, spoke in opposition to the placement of a small cell wireless facility at 13267 Peach Hill Road, remarked that following the April 2019 Council meeting rules were not implemented regarding the placement of small cell facilities, expressed concern about the placement of this particular facility, and the opinion that the application included incorrect information that this facility was not a residential location. Judith Lyman, Moorpark resident, gave up her speaking time to allow the first public speaker, Mr. Finlay, to complete his comments. Mr. Finlay summarized the concerns about antenna proximity, and the need to improve ordinance provisions and permit requirements. Lisa Cirricione, Moorpark resident, spoke in opposition to the placement of a small cell wireless facility at 13267 Peach Hill Road, commented regarding risks including health effects and RF emission level standards being set in 1996 which did not consider children and pregnant women, that a stronger ordinance needs to be adopted, and expressed the opinion that the placement of this site should be fought on technicalities including low height placement and lack of site security. Anne Marie, Moorpark resident, spoke in opposition to the placement of a small cell wireless facility at 13267 Peach Hill Road, citing negative health effects and close proximity of the site to the home, and commented on legal actions being undertaken to prevent siting of towers adjacent to residences. Written Comment was received from Cheri Ackermann, Moorpark resident, which was read by the Clerk, which expressed opposition to the placement of a small cell wireless facility at 13267 Peach Hill Road due to concerns over electromagnetic radiation, fire hazard, noise and a reduction in property values. The following speakers provided comments via Zoom: Tim Padilla, Moorpark resident, spoke in opposition to the placement of a small cell wireless facility at 13267 Peach Hill Road and expressed concern regarding future proliferation of additional cells noting state and local governments have a constitutional duty to protect public safety. He commented on failures in the permitting processing including lack of site review, incorrect calculations of radiation impacts, installation height, and failures by AT&T on oversight and planning. He suggested that the City should implement third-party evaluation for this infrastructure to ensure checks and balances in the permitting process and should adhere to the vimilmorimmi Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 4 February 23, 2022 resolution adopted in 2019 regarding small cell permitting requirements and development standards. Marie Cusack, Moorpark resident, noted she attempted to conduct research on the effects of 5G radio frequencies on children in particular, and based on information reviewed, has come to the conclusion that more tests are needed. Mr. Brown provided brief remarks prior to the presentation from Mr. Flower to request that discussion of legal strategies be agendized for future consideration in closed session, and clarified the City regulates the small cell wireless facilities, not the technology (4G versus 5G) in the facility. Based on conversations with AT&T, a change in technology would be a change in the design and would require a new application. Meeting attendees requested clarification regarding whether a new application would be required from AT&T in order to change the technology from 4G to 5G, noting conflicting information has been cited. Mr. Steven Flower, City Attorney with Richards, Watson & Gershon, provided a PowerPoint presentation which outlined the background principles of the law that constrain the City's actions and discussed the City's response to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Report and Order regarding small cell wireless facilities, and how the City has adjusted its regulations in response. Subsequent to the presentation and discussion among the City Council and staff, the following direction was provided: 1) provide a definition of "service gaps"; 2) what constitutes a "material inhibition"; 3) can the City require or commission its own field test of small wireless facilities when installed/activated in residential zoning districts, to ensure compliance with FCC regulations; 4) what is the cost to move the facility; 5) what is viability of applying future ordinance changes retroactively to existing or previously-permitted sites; 6) schedule a closed session to discuss potential litigation; and 7) staff to bring back potential changes to the City's small wireless facility regulations to a future City Council meeting for Council consideration. 7. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Parvin adjourned the meeting at 9:32 p.m. 0 ice S. Parvin, Mayor �'P *�,;�;o ATTEST: lo° 0,A%� C 10, fit 0 KySpang ity rk All a0010 .-7 0,042,0