CLEARLAKE, Calif. – At its meeting last week the Clearlake Planning Commission chose to hold over its consideration of a cell phone tower proposal until later this month in order to give commissioners and the public a chance to go over the associated documents.
The commission met on Tuesday, July 7, at Clearlake City Hall with plans to discuss the cell phone tower project on Burns Valley Road.
Complete Wireless Consulting applied on behalf of Verizon Wireless for a use permit and variance for the tower, a 70-foot monopine – a tower designed to look like a pine tree.
The tower is proposed to be located within a leased 40-foot by 40-foot area on a vacant parcel at 14549 Burns Valley Road, owned by Anthony and Maxine Lamperti of Santa Rosa.
City Attorney Ryan Jones suggested the commission delay the public hearing for two weeks because the mitigated negative declaration based on the project's initial study had been completed that same day.
He said the whole point of the California Environmental Quality Act is to give people notice and an opportunity to go through that document.
Jones said he didn't feel there was enough notice and a reasonable opportunity for community members or the commission to review it.
As such, Jones proposed continuing the matter to the commission's July 21 meeting, which the commissioners agreed to do.
Commission Chair Carl Webb opened the public hearing to take brief public comment from a resident of the Burns Valley area who had concerns related to health impacts. He then closed the hearing until the July 21 meeting.
The remainder of the meeting was devoted to an ethics training session for the commission, which over the past year has welcomed new members Nathalie Antus and Dirk Slooten.
Jones led the session, touching on topics including the Brown Act, public records, the California Environmental Quality Act, the importance of the commission, campaign contributions and gifts, general plan and specific plan definitions, and land use and planning issues.
New City Manager Greg Folsom and retiring City Manager Joan Phillipe also were on hand for the meeting.
Phillipe had promised to attend the meeting despite her retirement becoming effective June 30.
The commissioners bid her farewell and thanked her for her service to the city.
The full video of the meeting – including Jones' PowerPoint – can be see above.
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Clearlake Planning Commission holds over cell tower discussion to July 21
- Elizabeth Larson
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