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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 - Mobilitie Obelisk Telecommunications Permit CorrespondenceJames F. McGee Gerry Ross Daniel Wampole 23 Corporate Plaza, Suite 230 Newport Beach, CA 92660 Tel (949) 640 -0500 Facsimile (949) 640 -4015 June 10, 2013 City of Newport Beach City Hall 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660 Re: June 11, 2013 City Council Meeting, Item 15 Mobilitie Telecommunications Permit for Obelisk Located at 20661 Newport Coast Drive (PA2013 -003) Dear Mayor and City Council Members, The undersigned are elected representatives of homeowners associations in Newport Coast and collectively represent the majority of the Newport Coast Community, which, as you know, is composed entirely of homeowner associations. On Tuesday of this week, it came to our attention that an application had been filed by Mobilitie Telecommunications for the construction of a 55' telecommunications tower enclosed by a faux obelisk which was undergoing staff review in connection with the consideration of the application by the City Council at the upcoming June 11, 2013 public hearing. Once we reviewed the photographic simulation forwarded by staff, we were shocked. This massive faux obelisk, which is proposed for placement in the county landfill site across from Sage Hill High School and immediately adjacent to the southbound lanes of Newport Coast Drive, is totally inconsistent with any other architectural structure in the community, and it will be a complete and absolute eyesore. As you know, this location is one of the three gateways into Newport Coast, and as with all gateways into the City of Newport Beach, every effort should be made to keep these areas aesthetically consistent and representative of the community in which the gateway is located. The County landfill site is comprised of approximately 115 acres of completely undeveloped natural land, and other than some utility poles, it is completely void of any man -made vertical structures. To our knowledge, there are no other faux obelisks located in the City of Newport Beach, nor are there any other faux telecommunications structures approaching 55' in height that are completely unscreened by natural landforms or landscaping. While perhaps stating the obvious, it is our belief that if this faux obelisk was proposed elsewhere in the city, in Corona del Mar, along Pacific Coast Highway, or even along MacArthur Boulevard or Jamboree Boulevard, it would stand little chance of approval and yet, at each of these locations there is at least some opportunity to screen such a structure. However, there is no such opportunity at the proposed location and besides being an eyesore, this structure would be viewed by everyone as architecturally inconsistent with the community and an "oddity ", resembling nothing that the city could be architecturally proud of, and giving the appearance that something had descended from outer space and arbitrarily landed at that site. The placement of a 55' faux obelisk in this location, where there are not now nor likely to be in the future any other structures, landforms, or trees to screen it would be, in our opinion, a huge mistake. In the short period of time since we became aware of this proposed construction and had the opportunity to share the information with some of the Newport Coast residents, it became clear that this structure is one that is going to be universally opposed. All of us are in favor of improved cell phone reception; however, new cell site locations should be consistent with others already in the city that are invisible except to those who operate and service them. For example, the Marriott Hotel in Newport Center has a cell site which is attached to the exterior walls of the structure and is concealed and finished using the same materials: In Crystal Cove, a cell site was placed in the tower of the guard shack at the entryway to the community: Adjacent to Pelican Crest, along Newport Coast Drive, there is a cell site located along a retaining wall atop the slope and concealed from public view: Here is a close -up of the location shown above at the tip of the arrowheads: At the GRS site on Newport Coast Drive, there is a cell site concealed within the sign tower located at the entrance to the access road leading to the facility: Also at the GRS site itself, there is an existing cell site attached to the exhaust stack below: The proposed site for the obelisk is depicted below. It is at 425' above sea level. The parking lot at Sage Hill School sits at about 600' above sea level. However, the GRS facility sits at approximately 825' above sea level, and as you can see, it provides a clear, unobstructed, and much broader area of coverage to the north than does the proposed site at the landfill: In addition, the higher elevation at the GRS plant would eliminate the need for a large tower. A much smaller antenna system could be installed on the slope or on a wall and screened by trees and shrubs: Signal Peak is another location that has the obvious benefit of elevation and is already the site of other communications towers. Both sites would seem to provide the line -of -sight coverage apparently sought by the applicant's proposed location and would have the additional benefit of not being in the natural view plane upon entering into the city and both have trees and other vegetation that would help to screen the structure. However, even if these two sites were not chosen, it seems that there still must be numerous other, more suitable sites for this telecommunication equipment. Each of us has spent countless hours working on behalf of the community and with the City of Newport Beach to visually enhance this gateway into Newport Coast. This has included meetings that were conducted early on with the city's landscape architects to come up with a plant palette for the parkways and medians along Newport Coast Drive from the Toll Road up to the intersection of Newport Coast Drive and San Joaquin Hills Road. Through our combined efforts, an aesthetically pleasing landscape plan was achieved. More recently, we worked with the city in connection with the monument sign on Newport Coast Drive that announces entry into the City of Newport Beach. When Sage Hill High School was built, the founding parents, many of whom are residents of the City of Newport Beach, took great care to design a campus that blended in well with its surroundings. The same is true of the construction of the Newport Coast Community Center and The Irvine Company shopping plaza at Newport Coast. Unfortunately, the proposed 55' obelisk does not continue the trend of architectural excellence and will likely become the butt of a joke. We urge the City Council to exercise its discretionary powers under the applicable ordinances governing telecommunication structures that are higher than allowable building heights and to deny the application. Among other justification, this is a structure that can be more suitably located in areas that are less visible and where it will not be as offensive to the entire community. Very truly yours, JAMES F. MCGEE GERRY ROSS DANIEL WAMPOLE