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...... Telecommunications Facility Siting Prior to and Since~the February. 1997 adoption of the ci _ty'.s <br />: ._d~. T~iecommunications Facility Rec, ulations <br /> <br /> FOurteen applications were received prior to establishment of the moratorium preceding <br /> enactment of the City's telecgmmunications facility regulations. Two were .for antennas on <br /> existing facilities and required building permit review only. Of the-remaining twelve <br /> applications' eleven were approved with conditions and one was withdrawn. <br /> <br /> SinCe enactment of the teleCOmmunications facility COde amendments, 30 building p~'aits have <br /> been issued for facilities allowed'as a Permitted.use and eight Site Review applications have' b~en <br /> .submitted. No Conditional Use applications have been submitted. Of the eight Site Review <br /> applications, three were .approved, two are pending and three were withdrawn. One of the <br /> applications withdrawn, by Verizon Wireless. for'a 100-foot monopole, .was resubmitted by <br /> Verizon for an 80-foot monOpole as SR 01-5. This application, approved on appeal by the <br /> Hearings Official, is on appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals. The relatively large number <br /> of building permit applications compared to the number of land use applications indicates that <br /> the tiered approach established in the code has served as an incentive to submission of' <br /> applications for preferred locations <br /> <br /> Issue~ in Recent Telecommunications Facili' _ty Applications <br /> Telecommunication facility siting has returned to the forefront recently due to opposition to <br />· ' ~ applications submitted Outside the urban growth boundary in Lane County, near the University of <br />"-,i ) Oregon and in River Road. In all three instances, issues raises have included both aesthetic and <br /> health concerns. Since local governments were pre-empted by the federal government from <br /> consid~ health concerns in teleCOmmunication facility siting decisions, health issues are not <br /> addressed by our current code and cannot be addressed by future code amendments. <br /> <br /> Three Eugene Site Review apPlications have proven controversial: SR 01-5, Verizon Wireless; <br /> · SR 01-32, SprintPCS and SR 01-33, Master Towers LLC. <br /> <br /> SR 01-5, Verizon Wireless is an application for an gO-foot monopole located at 1859 Franklin <br /> Avenue, between Franklin Boulevard and Garden Avenue. The property is zoned C-2 General <br /> CommerCial. A great deal of public testi_'_mony was submitted in opposition to the Site Review <br /> application~ Opponents in the immediate vicinity of fife.site indicated concern about visual · <br /> impacts on the residential character of Garden Avenue. Noise, P°tential'health risks, poor siting <br /> · and inadequate doc6mentafion of need at the proposed.location were of equal concern to <br /> opponenLs. Most opponents identified visual impacts on viewsheds and the general area (as an <br /> entrance to the City and University) as a secondary COncern. The Planning Director denied the <br /> application based on two Criteria: 'Compatibility with the surroundings...~ and ~Evidence <br /> demonstrating collocation is'impractical...' The Hearings Officialreversed the Planning Director <br /> and granted approval with a COndition requiring documentation of FAA approval prior to <br /> building permit approval, a standardCOndition in Site Review approvals of telecommunications <br /> facilities. The Hearings Official approval is on appeal to LUBA, with the appellants arguing that <br /> the Hearings Official erred in her decision with respect to compatibility, noise standards and <br /> <br /> Eugene City Council Agenda page23 <br /> <br /> <br />