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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGPCD6 !° INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Tim Snellings, Director of Development Services From: Grant Hunsicker, Assistant Director Subject: Intention to Acquire Property in the County of Butte Date: October 26, 2Q10 „ ♦urrF �,,.�uu�e�,�0 0 0 0 O O _ . 0 UN GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Telephone: (530)-538-7064 Fax: (530)-538-6760 General Services Department, County of Butte, would like to request finding from the Department of Development Services, County of Butte for the below mentioned property as to conformance to, and in compliance with, the adopted General Plan or a portion thereof, in accordance with Government Code Section Number 65402. Furthermore, General Services Department, County of Butte requests for a Negative Declaration relative to CEQA. This memorandum is to formally advise you, in accordance with Government Code Section Number 65402, that the County of Butte intends to acquire real property within the jurisdiction of the County of Butte. Property to be acquired: The Oaks Communication Tower The subject property is located adjacent the "Village Oaks" subdivision (Village Oaks unit #1A), is located on a hilltop, relatively square parcel, fenced and gated and abuts a small neighborhood park. Access is via a dedicated easement over parcel 069-520-055-000, from Sun Trail Drive to subject parcel. Property Type: Communication tower of 135' "Steel Lattice" self supporting tower, land and associated equipment building of approximately 660 Sqft. Site Area: 361154 +- gross square,feet. Location: ve, Oroville, CA, Adjacent to the "Village Oak" subdivision neighborhood Z1. Assessor's Parcel No.: 520-038-00 Legal Description: age a s unit #1A as shown on that certain map of a portion of Section 13, Township 19 North, Range 4 East, M..DB&M., which map is filed in the office of the County Recorder of the County of Butte, State of California, California, May 6, 1977, in Book 58 of Maps, at pages 29 and 30. Purpose of the Acquisition The subject property located at 1 Lariat Loop Drive, Oroville, California is to be purchased as an existing Communication Tower,•land and associated improvements in support of the County's communication infrastructure. In addition the Oaks tower provides a perfect solution for sister agencies, such as Oroville Police Department. Oroville PD has expressed interest in co -locating their radio system hub at the Oaks tower. Also, through lease agreements the Oaks tower offers a potential revenue stream from commercial tower tenants. In conclusion, the opportunity to purchase the Oaks tower will support the County's transition to advance its technology in both radio and data services as noted in the new NexGen911 service to all PSAPs in Butte County. The Butte County Board of Supervisors will consider the acquisition at a future Board meeting. If you have any questions on this matter or need further documentation regarding the proposed facility, please call me at 538- 2511. GH n /Y �, Ao- ohs � SID Page 1 of 2 Jolliffe, Stacey (2,� From: McConnell, Rob Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 1:56 PM To: Jolliffe, Stacey Cc: Hunsicker, Grant; Redding, Mary Subject: RE: The Oaks communication tower Stacey, Thank you for your help with this project and look forward to your assistance. Below are the statements and questions you to me with, with my answers being highlighted in Bold. From our conversation, I understand that the acquisition does not need to be taken back to the Board of Supervisors; authority to purchase has been issued. Correct. !� of sv. I believe the acquisition is exempt from Environmental Review as an existing facility (15301) and as an action by a regulatory agency for protection of the environment (15308). Good. More Good news: A use permit was issued and a neg dec adopted for the tower in 1981. No additional CEQA review is required to collocate or add antennas. (So I don't need to contact IS about that after all). Very Good. A building permit will be required to collocate or add antennas, if and when that is needed. Yes that would be true. Requested information: a *� ��L'Je. • I would very much appreciate a list of items you are asking DDS to check for due diligence. As noted above, the acquisition does not appear to require CEQA review, but that is a separate matter from the due diligence inquiries that General Services undertakes prior to purchasing property. There are several items we would like more information on: Can you give me the definition / explanation of the current zoning: GP designation is LDR; the zoning is PUD established by ordinance 2230 attached. Also, would you send a copy of the zoning map and ordinance 2230. (the attachment could not be opened). • Within the current zoning, do you foresee anything that would prevent the County from obtaining a Use permit for the tower, "as is" without any changes? • What additional items or requirements might there be as a result of the newly adopted General plan? What will be required, if anything, to make the tower structurally sound? Nothing needed that am aware of. The Tower is in good, workable condition and has everything present to be used by the County. • Would you like us to forward an inquiry to our Plan Check Engineer Philo Hunt as to whether ' additional structural engineering will be needed to reuse this tower? Yes, this would be a good D thing to have. 1_ Questions we need some help with: • Do you, DDS, have a file on this property? Anything pertinent in the file? • Are there any code violations listed for the property or Tower. • Does Public Works have a file on this property? Anything pertinent in the file?,T%� • Does Environmental Health have a file on this property? Anything pertinent in they file? • G's I ver layer (HCP baseline) is Blue Oak woodland with moderate constraints on t lority of the site (typical for oak areas), and high constraints on the western qua er porti the site (around/less than one quarter of the site). More investigation would be required ntify which constraint is leading to that high determination; 11/10/2010 0 0 Page 2 of 2 Please call BCAG for additional information. This site is located on a hilltop. The parcel has a slight downslope to the west, however, the tower and vault are on the level portion of the parcel. Thus the HIGH erosion potential is negligible. • It is within the LOAPUD distract for water. The surrounding neioghborhood is on underground water, sewer and electric. The site has water and electric services. I hope this helps, and thank you again, Rob McConnell Real Property Agent, Senior General Services, Real Estate Division County of Butte 2081 2nd Street Oroville, Ca. 95965 530-538-6933; Fax 530-538-6760 email: rmcconnellCcDbuttecountv.net COUNTY OF BUTTE E-MAIL DISCLAIMER: This email and any attachment thereto may contain private, confidential, and privileged material for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, copying, or distribution of this email (or any attachments thereto) by other than the County of Butte or the intended recipient is strictly prohibited. If you are NOT the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately and permanently delete the original and any copies of this email and any attachments thereto. 11/10/2010 BUTTE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA REPORT — November 18, 2010 Butte County c/o General Location: 1 Lariat Loo Drive Oroville Applicant: Services CA; adjacent the village Owner: Comcast oaks neighborhood park File #: Parcel Size: 36,154 square feet Request: General Plan Consistency Supervisor 1 Determination for acquisition District: of a 135' "Steel Lattice" self supporting tower, land and General Grant Hunsicker, Acting . associated equipment Services Staff : General Service Director building of approximately 660 s.f. G.P.2030: Low Density Residential Planner: Stacey Jolliffe, (LDR) Principal Planner Zoning: A -R Agricultural Residential Attachments (current) Proposed A: Resolution No. 10-- 2030 Zoning Medium Density Residential (unadopted): B: Vicinity Map and General Plan/Zoning Map Zone Date: February 28, 1984 C: Aerial and Site Plan APN: 069-520-038 D: Site Photographs RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Planning Commission adopt the attached resolution forwarding a determination of General Plan consistency to the Board of Supervisors. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: On behalf of IS/Communications, Butte County's General Services Department is negotiating the acquisition of an existing communications tower and vault in the Oroville Area. Government Code Section 65402 indicates the `planning agency' shall make a determination as to the proposed acquisition's consistency with the General Plan. Therefore, the Planning Commission as the planning agency identified in Butte County ■ Butte County Department of Development Services ■ ® November 18, 2010 ■ Agenda Report —. Page 1 of 6 ■ r 0 Code section 2-74, is asked to determine whether the proposed County acquisition of the existing Oaks Communications Tower is consistent with the Butte County General Plan. This existing facility is being considered for acquisition in order to satisfy several of the County's communications objectives, including compliance with Federal Communications Commission mandate to convert to an ultra -narrow bandwidth by 2013. The tower and related equipment were permitted and built consistent with requirements in effect at the time they were constructed. A Use Permit was issued and a Negative Declaration adopted pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the tower in 1981. No additional CEQA review is required to collocate or add antennas under existing regulations. After the Planning Commission's determination of General Plan consistency and additional due diligence steps are completed, the acquisition will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for direction on the acquisition. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: • The subject property is located adjacent the "Village Oaks" subdivision (Village Oaks unit #IA), is located on a hilltop, relatively square parcel, fenced and gated and abuts a small neighborhood park. • The subject property located at 1 Lariat Loop Drive, Oroville, California is to be purchased as an existing Communication Tower, land and associated improvements in support of the County's communication infrastructure. The communication tower is a 135' "Steel Lattice" self supporting tower. Acquisition of the tower would also include 36,154 square feet of land and approximately 660 s.f. of associated equipment buildings. • Access is via a dedicated easement over parcel 069-520-055, from Sun Trail Drive to the subject parcel. • In addition to the County's need for the tower, the Oaks tower provides a solution for sister agencies, such as Oroville Police Department, which has expressed interest in co -locating its radio system hub at the Oaks tower. • Through lease agreements the Oaks tower offers a potential revenue stream from commercial tower tenants. • General Services has indicted that the opportunity to purchase the tower facility will support the County's transition to advance its technology in both radio and data services as noted in the new NexGen91 I service throughout Butte County. SITE CHARACTERISTICS The General Plan designation at the subject site is Low Density Residential (LDR). Zoning is currently A -R and is proposed as Medium Density Residential (MDR) in the 2030 Draft Zoning Ordinance. ■ Butte County Department of Development Services ■ ■ November 18, 2010 ■ Agenda Report --m Page 2 of 6 ■ • 0 • A Use Permit was issued in 1981 (PROD -100726) for a 125 HEX tower and also a 400 s.f. addition to a 200 s.f. building/equipment shelter. • A cable tower was permitted (92-2169) on this site with new antenna permitted separately (97-1956). • BCAG's landcover layer (HCP baseline) is Blue Oak woodland with moderate constraints on the majority of the site (typical for oak areas), and high constraints on the western quarter portion of the site (i.e.less than one quarter of the site). • The GIS erosion layer (which is a county -wide analysis, not site specific) indicates a high erosion potential. However the existing facilities are located on relatively level ground and no erosion issues have been identified on site. • The project is within an X flood zone per map sheet 06007C1025 D dated April 20, 2000. • A phase I investigation is being prepared for the property prior to the Board's action to acquire. • Low density residential homes are located to the northeast and southwest of the subject property. • A neighborhood park is located immediately adjacent to the subject site. GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY: The Butte County Board of Supervisors adopted a comprehensive General Plan update on October 26, 2010 (Butte County General Plan 2030). General Plan 2030 becomes effective thirty days following adoption, or November 25, 2010. This analysis considers the project's consistency with General Plan 2030. This project is consistent with the LDR (Low Density Residential) General Plan land use designation. Single-family residences are the principally permitted uses in the LDR General Plan designation. The existing communications facilities were permitted and built consistent with requirements in effect at the time they were constructed. Use permits `run with land.' Existing permits for the tower will continue in effect after the effective date of General Plan 2030 and upon any transfer of ownership. • General Plan Policy LU -P4.1 states: "The integrity and stability of existing residential neighborhoods shall be promoted and preserved." The proposed acquisition will not result in substantial changes to existing land uses on or adjacent to the subject site. The acquisition will facilitate better communications throughout the County, most notably to benefit public safety functions such as fire, sheriff, and emergency services. • Goal LU -6 directs the County to: "Provide adequate land for the development of public and quasipublic uses, as a means to provide necessary public services and facilities in ■ Butte County Department of Development Services ■ ■ November 18, 2010 ■ Agenda Report -. Page 3 of 6 ■ WJ 0 • support of existing and new residential, commercial, and industrial land uses." The proposed acquisition will provide necessary facilities in support of existing and new land uses throughout the County. • The acquisition is consistent with Conservation and Open Space Goal COS -17 which directs the County to `maintain and enhance the quality of Butte County's scenic and visual resources', because it would preclude the need to construct an additional communications tower, thereby avoiding potential impacts to scenic resources associated with the location of a new tower. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW/CEQA ISSUES: The proposed acquisition is exempt from Environmental Review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as an existing facility (section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines). A Notice of Exemption will be prepared for acquisition of the existing tower facility. Payment of fees pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 711.4 are not required. A Use Permit was issued and a Negative Declaration adopted for the tower in 1981. No additional CEQA review will be required to collocate or add antennas. A building permit will be required when antennas are collocated and for other equipment modifications. ■ Butte County Department of Development Services ■ ■ November 18, 2010 ■ Agenda Report —■ Page 4 of 6 0 RESOLUTION NO. 2010- A RESOLUTION OF THE BUTTE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION DETERMINING GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY FOR OAKS COMMUNICATIONS TOWER WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has considered a proposal by Butte County to acquire and utilize an existing communications tower on an approximately 36, 154 square foot parcel on Assessor's Parcel Number 069-520-038; and WHEREAS, said request for determination of consistency with the General Plan was referred to various affected public and private agencies, County departments, and referral agencies for review and comments; and WHEREAS, on November 18, 2010 the Planning Commission considered a report from the Department of Development Services, the goals, policies and actions from Butte County General Plan 2030, and comments received. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Butte County Planning Commission as the planning agency set forth in section 2-74 of Butte County Code hereby finds the proposed acquisition and utilization of the Oaks Communications Tower to be consistent with the applicable goals, policies and actions of Butte County General Plan 2030 and makes the following findings: A. This acquisition is consistent with the LDR Low Density Residential General Plan designation. Single-family residences are the principally permitted uses in the LDR General Plan designation. The existing communications facilities were permitted and built consistent with requirements in effect at the time they were constructed. Use Permits will remain in effect after the effective date of General Plan 2030 and upon any transfer of ownership.. B. The acquisition is consistent with goals and policies of Butte General Plan 2030 adopted on October 26, 2010 (GP2030). General Plan Policy LU -P4.1 states "The integrity and stability of existing residential neighborhoods shall be promoted and preserved." The proposed acquisition will not result in substantial changes to existing land uses on or adjacent to the subject site. The acquisition will facilitate better communications throughout' the ■ Butte County Department of Development Services ■ 0 November 18, 2010 ■ Agenda Report --m Page 5 of 6 0 Iv1 county, most notably to benefit public safetyfunctions such as fire, sheriff, and emergency services. 2. Goal LU -6 directs the county to: "Provide adequate land for the development of public and quasipublic uses, as a means to provide necessary public services and facilities in support of existing and new residential, commercial, and industrial land uses." The proposed acquisition will provide necessary facilities in support of existing and new land uses throughout the County. The acquisition is consistent with Conservation and Open Space Goal COS -17 which directs the County to `maintain and enhance the quality of Butte County's scenic and visual resources', because it would preclude the need to construct an additional communications tower, thereby avoiding potential impacts to scenic resources associated with locating a new tower. DULY PASSED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of November, 2010, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Charles Nelson, Chair Planning Commission County of Butte, State of California ATTEST: KIM MCMILLAN, Secretary Planning Commission County of Butte, State of California ■ Butte County Department of Development Services ■ ■ November 18, 2010 ■ Agenda Report —. Page 6 of 6 0 1. 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