HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit 4_Verizon COW HEX Appeal_LUA18-000405.pdfCITY OF
RENTONLDC
W e MOVED !
Surveying
JUL 312018 EngineeringI` Planning
RECEIVED
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
July 30, 2018
Hearing Examiner
City of Renton Community& Economic Development
1055 South Grady Way
Renton WA 98057-3232
E
RE:Appeal of Decision#LUA18-000405 Verizon COW at Bryant Motors
ci.
0
Dear Hearing Examiner,
This letter is filed together with the fee payment regarding the Appeal to Administrative Land Use
Decision#LUA18-000405-Application for Temporary Use Permit by Verizon at Bryant Motors, located
at 111 Meadow Avenue N.
COrn
N
The Verizon application for Temporary Use Permit(TUP)for a Cell on Wheels(COW) is intended as aco
temporary use only to address and augment wireless service delivery issues in the City of Renton while N
permanent facilities are pursued.
The intent of the original TUP for the subject COW was to provide adequate wireless service regarding a.
the Verizon Radio Frequency(RF) Network for one year,while Verizon actively pursues permanent co
Wireless Communication Facility(WCF)s in the areas surrounding the COW location.The average time o
7r
frame for establishment of a WCF is one year on average.
00
00N
V
Per the application materials submitted in the TUP applications,the location of the COW is derived per a
RF Engineering-central to the RF coverage/capacity hole and proposed permanent WCF sites Verizon is
pursuing in that part of Renton.The Verizon Network RF Engineer prepared an RF Justification Letter
that described the need for temporary site as a stop gap measure to provide adequate services in the 0,
locale and to in turn support the existing Verizon Network, on a temporary basis.
Verizon is making progress in the WCF entitlement processes for several proposed new WCFs in the
general area however; the final acquisition and implementation of those sites will take several more 0
months to complete.
As a result,Verizon is requesting reconsideration of the TUP Application#LUA18-000405. Please accept
this request for Appeal to the Administrative Land Use Decision dated 7/17/18, and the following
analysis and materials provided for this filing. Q
N
Engineering ABOVE the Standard
LUA18-000405 Letter to Renton Hearing Examiner—Verizon COW at Bryant Motors 7/30/18
Background—Verizon Network
Verizon has two existing sites in the general area that provide wireless services to the downtown core
and city center areas of Renton in the Cedar River delta, which has realized high demand for increased
wireless services due to population growth and increased density directly related to the City's
Comprehensive& Long Range Land Use Planning over time.
Per the attached map,the two existing Verizon sites in the coverage area:
Renton Center located at 450 Shattuck which is a rooftop (RT)WCF located in the Center
Downtown (CD) zoning district at the Old Milwaukee Substation Building which is 45'tall.The
rooftop site is located on one of the taller buildings in that part of the City core in an area where
rapid transition occurs from commercial uses to the North,South, and West of the site to single
family uses to the East of the site.The area is flat with very little topographic relief.
Central Renton located at 925 Houser Way North,which is a 123'tall monopole located in the
Industrial Heavy(IH) zoning district situated near Interstate-405 to the East.The area includes
Boeing to the Northwest, Kenmore and other industrial business to immediate West and the
South,The Landing and high density residential buildings to the West, and high density office
structures under construction to the North.The area is generally flat however transitions to
steep slopes to the East at 405.
A major factor affecting the performance of the Central Renton site is that a tall apartment/condo
building blocks line of site coverage areas to the West of the site.
A unique attribute of the general area is that single family uses occur in spotted areas lying between the
two described existing Verizon sites.Although the original Verizon RF Network utilizes the City zoning
district preference,for WCFs per Renton Municipal Codes, including a RT site in the CD zone at Renton
Center and a tower site in the Heavy Industrial zone,there are pockets of single family uses lying
between the sites and are not conductive to zoning for WCFs per the zoning codes (see overview of a
zoning map in the area).
Verizon had previously developed a map that shows the proposed new WCFs it is pursuing in the area in
relation to the two existing sites.The map shows potential "macro sites" which are the traditional types
of WCFs regarding the proposed equipment and "Small Cells" polygons where other new technology
type WCFs are and have been considered and also pursued in the last few years.
If the zoning map is viewed in the context of the planned sites it paints a picture of the limited locations
for WCFs and thereby the difficulty in obtaining a WCF from the land use/zoning standpoint.
As a result,Verizon has very little in the way of potential sites to consider for future WCFs in the subject
area.Given there are few properties that have structures of adequate height or available land conducive
to siting a tower,the next best approach are sites with less height that then require more sites to
compensate for the lack of ability to site a tower with adequate height as described above.
The other alternative for Verizon is to utilize Small Cells technology which most commonly uses utility
poles in City Street R/Ws for placement of small antennas and equipment on the existing poles
throughout a geographic area (see map for proposed distribution patterns).
U
O
Engineering ABOVE the Standard
LUA18-000405 Letter to Renton Hearing Examiner—Verizon COW at Bryant Motors 7/30/18
Unfortunately,the City has not allowed any small cells applications to go forward as I am told it develops
the programs required for zoning/land use reviews of the projects and the proprietary authorizations
required for such a program. I believe those processes have been in the development stages for over
two years,at present.
In summary,Verizon needs the COW at the proposed location in order to provide adequate service as
described and in support of its wireless network while pursuing the permanent WCFs that would cover
the RF coverage hole.The proposed COW is a temporary stop gap measure to provide adequate service.
Issues—COW
The issue with the existing COW facility is that the screening failed.The screening included natural
vegetation that died, and site obstructing screen on the security fence that was"tagged" with spray
paint.
The original intent was to avoid any ground disturbance for the COW installation.As a result,the
landscaping was not planted in the ground and the COW was also moved to the North away from other
natural vegetation that provided other natural screening, from where it was originally proposed.
The early warm weather contributed to the issues maintaining the landscaping and by the time it was
realized the temporary vegetative screening was already dying and could not be salvaged.
The mistake with the approach to the temporary natural vegetation is that it should have been planted
in planter boxes and use of bladder bags type of watering method used (time release)which would have
ensured the scrubs survival.This approach and screening method was in error and completely
unintended, but can be mitigated as described if the COW is permitted to stay.
Although tagging is a common issue for all structures and for landowners in the area and within the City,
the screening can be placed away from the face of the fencing to reduce the occurrences of tagging as
an approach.Q
Again,Verizon believes that the issues with the screening that failed can be mitigated and Verizon can
also provide a landscape security bond and contract maintenance,that would ensure the landscaping
and screening is maintained at the site.
Please feel free to call me at 253-218-9017 if you have any questions or need more information.
Sincerely,
C
Rick Cardoza
Senior Project Manager
5
LDC,Inc
The Civil Engineering Group
20210 142nd Avenue NE
Woodinville, WA 98072
Engineering ABOVE the Standard
0. K-b I r t,3
e R-1 R-8 ei ,'t,A
19, RM-F R-8
R-8
UC CV
R-8 R-8
UC U,. R-8 R-8 R-8
UC R-8 R-8
IM IH
UC A t:A
Ntt_ £ ,
CA
CA CA
R-8 RM-F R-8 Cedar River COW
CD' R-8 IL
II,F. RPr1H
RCr.: - t ..-._
CA C ti,. .fr' C
IM 14.RC `
RC
CA CA R-8
IM R-14
r
4.I) R-8 5:Rfi
RM-F F:C
IM
CC) CC)
F:-t. F:4 RC f ..
RM-F R-8o- +.„
Located in the Commercial Arterial Zone (CA)
The purpose of the Commercial Arterial Zone is to evolve from "Strip Commercial"linear
business districts to business area characterized by enhanced site planning and
pedestrian orientation, incorporating efficient parking lot design, coordinated access,
amenities and boulevard treatment with greater densities. The CA zone provides for a wide
variety of retail sales and services, and other commercial activities along high volume
traffic corridors. -RMC 4-2-020
Vefl flwireless
Network Engineering Verizon Wireless
3245 158th Ave SE
M/S 231
Bellevue,WA 98008
Temp Site Cedar River COW—Radio Frequency(RF)Documentation
Overview:
Verizon Wireless strives to provide excellent wireless service with a network of cell sites that allows our customers to
reliably place and receive mobile phone calls. In this particular case,we are trying to remedy capacity and coverage
challenges in Renton as quickly as possible. Specifically in the Downtown and Landing areas in Rentin so that customers
will receive better service and faster data speeds.
Construction of the proposed temporary site entails installing three(3)antennas, auxiliary equipment, and the supportingbasestationequipmentonaCellOnWheelstemporarystructure. This site will be in use until permanent sites in the
surrounding area can be identified and constructed. In-building penetration, coverage challenges, and continued growth
in our customer base, and call traffic in this area has dictated the need for the proposed site and the increasingly poor
service in the area due to capacity restrictions has prompted Verizon to install a temporary site which will be much faster
than a permanent site to provide the best service as soon as possible.
Capacity:
An additional function of some wireless sites, such as the subject Temp Site Cedar River COW site, is to provide
additional capacity in an area. The capacity of wireless networks is limited by the spectrum availability, the number of
available antennas, and the radios and amplifiers associated with those antennas and spectrum. When a mobile user
attempts to make a call on a wireless network where capacity is limited by these factors, the resulting delay and busy
signal can be very frustrating. To remedy capacity issues, additional sites and or spectrum,which are directly correlated to
the number of antennas at the site as outlined below, are added to an area to provide additional calling capacity forVerizonWirelesscustomers.
There are some Verizon Wireless sites in the immediate vicinity that are at or near capacity. To remedy
the reduced capacity, the subject site is being proposed so that calls at surrounding sites can be"offloaded"to the
proposed site and thus creating more wireless capacity for the vicinity. In order for this capacity off-loading to be
successful, precise placement of the new antennas is necessary. If the site is too far away, the signal will not have
adequate strength to capture calls from the impacted existing sites or cells. Similarly, sites that are too dose together will
not provide the needed capacity relief to the existing sites. Thus for new site/cell capacity solutions to work,site
placement and height are critical factors and must be chosen carefully.
Coverage:
In order to provide adequate Cellular service, which Verizon Wireless defines as—85 dBm or better, the antenna height
and site location need to provide a line of sight to the roads,offices, and homes where our customers work and reside.
Three(3)antennas are being proposed, in order to provide the necessary radio frequencies supporting all of Verizon
Wireless voice and data services that are possible to install in this temporary style site. The proposed antenna heights of
is the minimum height needed for the effective functioning of the proposed antennas as well as providing the adequate
height needed for the Microwave Dish that will provide backhaul for the site to connect it to the existing network. The
antenna sizes and the terrain and foliage in the vicinity make this the minimum height necessary to provide adequatelevelsofcoverageandusageoffloadinginthecontextofsurroundingVerizonWirelesssites.
llWt 2'wwireless
Design:
The Temp Site Cedar River COW will utilize our PCS 1900 MHz, 700 MHz, and 2100 MHz frequencies. It will basically be
three wireless facilities located in the same physical equipment area. For the Temp Site Cedar River COW each
frequency set will use LTE 4G. Temp Site Cedar River COW has been designed with three(3)antennas. This is the
minimum antenna requirement for this three sector site to get the best possible service from each of our transmit
frequencies and add the needed service coverage and capacity to the area.
Summary:
In summary, the proposed site would meet the RF coverage objective of the subject site. The height of the three(3)
antenna array is the minimum required for the effective functioning of the proposed minor communication utility.
Sincerely,
Krystal Tayl r
Verizon Wireless
r'
eu*<. lb47t400fi
13th St , a 0 $ 100 TO
14th St\\\,,
I
test flioht
Alk 4 1 41
Q
Z Windsor17thSt" 4 IN
hills - small •
18th St , •" '' ; o 1 0-C 00.65u i I i- 11, 1R E N T
19th St. _ rripl pip
0th St N 8th St
1 -0-0006174 IB BOEING R N T N ° G
ie
AO — tip harden
J
4
CO _ ave
Nit i house
L.,- : - 4>.'
L.-1111 li ill!
e ` logan ave N-4t:. t =-- A1
a - m
ott
m I cedar river tempN3`r"sr_ -4'
sarf
11litalready
t issued
izel Air• ar-t-'uvq
T 015 la St I l Z M'"" 0
rentor high en:
I .
ton 3 v
and also S-2 n i St=o * mill ave
robin - Small
r liar r le
cell si3rd St!1 As,.....3., , y
set Li p I .
RE NTON COENTERha 1 -300-300193 RENTON CENTER
ir6
k -th.St
por4
if'J 7th St S 7th` t
II- 0 rook 10 it It CIS
II vlic405 t`
a,, S,9th St . &III VI .
iCrriparianr/
2016 Google Janes - small
AU $
firr•.li /An ice\ 4d
ilk _
46#
i
lip r'l
Oji). A51et
Vc- - ..
c
r et
ffi ..., VI.,1• 1, 1
7, f...4.....-, 0
tt ad' C
tV *11
c.' -4- ').•..cio'
4' —2 LI 4
r- IS 0
n
C 14, ti
CD
4.7: 171 rpCD
at:
P tti
CD et
c) -,5 10
0 0
t
0
01