ZF #2021-0018: Request for a Use Permit to construct and operate a wireless telecommunications facility including a 140-foot tall colocatable monopole on a five-acre parcel located at 38300 Jefferson Boulevard (APN: 043-310-010). The parcel is zoned Agricultural Intensive (A-N) and lies within the Clarksburg Agricultural District Overlay (CADO) Zone. A Mitigated Negative Declaration (SCH#2022030354) has been prepared for this project.(Applicant: APC Towers III)(Planner: JD Trebec)

FILE # 2021-0018: Request for a Use Permit to construct and operate a wireless telecommunications facility including a 140-foot tall colocatable monopole on a five-acre parcel located at 38300 Jefferson Boulevard.
APPLICANT: Sal Martinez APC Towers III, LLC 8601 Six Forks Road, Ste 250 Raleigh, NC 27615	OWNER: Bogle Family, LP 37783 County Road 144 Clarksburg, CA 95612
LOCATION: 38300 Jefferson Blvd approximately 0.15 mile north of Hamilton Road. (APN: 043-310-010) GENERAL PLAN: Agriculture (AG) ZONING: Agricultural Intensive (A-N)/Clarksburg Agricultural District Overlay (CADO) SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT: 1 (Supervisor Villegas)	SOILS: Prime Farmland (Sc soil) FLOOD ZONE: A FIRE SEVERITY ZONE: Non-Wildlands/Non-Urban WILLIAMSON ACT: No
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Mitigated Negative Declaration

That the Planning Commission:
 
1.   Receive a staff presentation and hold a public hearing to consider a request for a Use Permit to construct and operate a wireless telecommunications facility that includes a 140-foot tall monopole;
2.   Determine that a Mitigated Negative Declaration is the appropriate level of environmental documentation pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines (Attachment C);
2.   Adopt the proposed Findings (Attachment D); and
3.   Approve the Use Permit in accordance with the Conditions of Approval (Attachment E).
 

 
Approval of the Use Permit for the wireless telecommunications facility would increase broadband coverage and signal strength in the southern portions of Yolo County and the Clarksburg community. The proposed project would directly benefit the region by improving wireless coverage to include areas that are currently underserved and by increasing capacity for both current and potential users. AT&T has agreed to reserve space for County and emergency communications, and will provide other wireless carriers the opportunity to collocate in the future, both on the tower and on the ground.

BACKGROUND
 
The project site is located on a 5-acre agricultural parcel in the southern portion of the Clarksburg area along Jefferson Blvd/State Route 84 (Attachment A). The property is zoned Agricultural Intensive (A-N)/Clarksburg Agricultural District Overlay (CADO) and designated by the 2030 Countywide General Plan for Agriculture (AG). The site has an existing barn and caretaker residence served by an onsite well and septic system, and is immediately adjacent to the Bogle wine processing facility.
 
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
 
The proposed project, known as the AT&T Jefferson Cell Tower, is a wireless telecommunications facility that will include a 140-foot tall cell tower approximately 3.5 miles southwest of the town of Clarksburg. The proposed tower is a monopole within a fenced 40-foot by 50-foot lease area. Proposed access would be via improvement of the existing gravel driveway overlayed with a 20-foot wide access and utility easement to Jefferson Boulevard and a ten-foot wide utility easement running to the lease area from an existing power pole at the southern portion of the project site (Attachment B). The unstaffed facility would require up to one site visit per month for maintenance purposes.
 
Staff Analysis
 
The proposed project, as designed and conditioned, is consistent with the review criteria of the Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Ordinance, adopted by Yolo County as part of the County Code (Section 8-2.1102). In particular, development standards require an applicant to demonstrate that collocation opportunities on existing towers have been exhausted or are not available in the area. Telecommunications are limited in the southern portions of the County and the Clarksburg area. The nearest existing facility is approximately 2.5 miles away which provides limited coverage to the area that would be covered by the proposed facility.
 
The project implements policies in the Yolo County 2030 Countywide General Plan that encourage expanded coverage and enhanced quality for wireless communication technology. An Environmental Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared for the project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Attachment C) and is further addressed below.

A Courtesy Notice was sent to property owners within 1,000 feet of the project site on August 14, 2021.  No comments were received.

An invitation for consultation was sent to those tribes requesting notification under Assembly Bill (AB) 52, which requires a lead agency to initiate consultation prior to concluding the CEQA review process. Letters were sent to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Cortina Rancheria Band of Wintun Indians of California, United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria, Ione Band of Miwok Indians, and Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation requested consultation and staff met with a representative on February 9, 2022. The Tribe’s primary interest in the project site is the possibility of uncovering previously undiscovered cultural resources during land disturbing activities, particularly excavation for the pad and utility lines. Mitigation Measures to address these concerns include a monitoring plan requiring preconstruction cultural sensitivity training and the presence of monitors during excavation work.

The Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was circulated for a 30-day public review period from March 11, 2022 to April 11, 2022. In addition to the mitigations for cultural and tribal cultural resources mentioned above, the MND includes mitigation measures to control dust to protect air quality, and to protect special status plants, including watershield, bristly sedge, Bolander's water-hemlock, woolly rose-mallow, delta tule pea, Mason's lilaeopsis, delta mudwort, Sanford's arrowhead, side-flowering skullcap, and saline clover, migratory birds and raptors, and wetland habitats. No concerns were raised during the public review period.
 
The project was reviewed by the Clarksburg General Plan Citizens Advisory Committee (CGPCAC) on March 10, 2022. The CGPCAC was supportive of the project and noted that the new tower would indeed fill a service gap in the area and help emergency service providers. The CGPCAC unanimously voted to recommend approval of the project. Staff supports the CGPCAC recommendation as it will provide much needed wireless coverage in an underserved area of the County.
 

A Request for Comments was distributed to agencies and interested parties during the application review process. The Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District and Public Works Division provided standard comments. The Building Division provided comments regarding construction in the special flood hazard area. The Environmental Health Division requested standard conditions to address onsite diesel fuel storage.

Any person who is dissatisfied with the decisions of this Planning Commission may appeal to the Board of Supervisors by filing with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within fifteen (15) days from the date of the action. A written notice of appeal specifying the grounds for appeal and an appeal fee immediately payable to the Clerk of the Board must be submitted at the time of filing. The Board of Supervisors may sustain, modify, or overrule this decision.