Planning commission approves 80-foot “monopine” cell tower at 3275 Hill Road in Lakeport

The Lake County Planning Commission on Jan. 23 adopted mitigated negative declaration IS 23-14 and approved Major Use Permit UP 23-07 for an 80-foot monopine-style wireless communication tower proposed at 3275 Hill Road in Lakeport (APN 005-015-41). The project applicant is listed as Public Safety Towers LLC; a representative said the company will comply with federal radio-frequency limits and does not plan continuous exterior lighting.

The project as described in the staff report and presented to the commission would place a single 80-foot monopine tower within a 35-by-35-foot lease area containing support equipment. Staff described the planned equipment as 15 antennas, 15 radios, three surge suppressors, three antenna mounts, a 30-kilowatt diesel generator, a 150-gallon diesel fuel tank and a battery-backup system. The site is about 487 feet west of State Highway 29, roughly 125 feet north of a Pacific Gas & Electric substation and about 615 feet from Burger Lake. Staff said no tree removal is proposed and that the site is on a flat portion of grassland on the parcel.

The county analyzed the proposal under the Lake County General Plan, the Lakeport Area Plan and the Lake County Zoning Ordinance. Staff said the site is zoned Agricultural with the Scenic Combining District, floodway-fringe and waterway-combining overlays and that the general plan designation is Agriculture and Resource Conservation. The…