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 Lakeport Fire Protection District provided site-specific comments that staff said were incorporated into draft conditions of approval; those items include providing a reflective address for the tower, a driveway meeting Public Resources Code (PRC) 4290 standards, safe access and a proper location for stored fuel for emergency backup generators.

Staff presented a proposed mitigated negative declaration (IS 23-14) and said the initial study had been recirculated last fall after additional information was added. The public comment period was noted as Dec. 6, 2023–Jan. 5, 2024, and staff said the recirculation ran from Sept. 26, 2024 to Oct. 28, 2024. The initial study identified potential impacts to aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural and tribal cultural resources, geology and soils, and wildfire; staff recommended mitigation measures in the draft conditions of approval to reduce all identified impacts to less-than-significant levels.

Members of the public and the applicant spoke at the hearing. Mike Moon P. Puck, representing the applicant, said the project would meet applicable federal standards and that no FAA lighting is required at the proposed height, adding that "we're not gonna provide any lighting" on the tower itself and that any ground-compound lighting would be manual and used only for maintenance. A neighbor comment and written letters raised questions about lighting and scenic impacts; staff said those concerns were addressed in the conditions (staff noted exterior lighting, except as required by FAA rules, would be manually operated and used only for limited maintenance).

A public commenter, Maria Khan, asked about health risks and what recourse neighbors would have "if they start experiencing health issues from these towers near their properties." County staff responded that federal law preempts local regulation of radio-frequency emissions and that the county must apply federally established thresholds; staff said the county therefore lacks authority to regulate based on health claims below those thresholds. Staff also told the commission that, under county lapse-of-use rules generally found in the zoning code (chapter 21), a use that ceases for two years becomes void unless a different term appears in the permit; staff noted some permits contain a shorter lapse period in their conditions.

Following discussion, a commissioner moved adoption of the mitigated negative declaration (IS 23-14) and a subsequent motion to approve Major Use Permit UP 23-07 subject to the findings and the conditions in the staff report dated Jan. 23, 2025. Both motions were seconded and carried (ayes recorded; no oppositions were voiced). The commission’s decision is subject to a seven-calendar-day appeal period to the Lake County Board of Supervisors; staff reminded interested parties of the filing deadline, the required forms and the fee.

Why it matters: County staff said the project aims to improve communications access in the Lakeport planning area while attempting to reduce visual and environmental impacts through a monopine design and mitigation measures. Neighbors’ concerns about potential health effects prompted discussion of federal preemption and the limited role of the county to regulate emissions; the record shows the county relied on CEQA review and permit conditions to address local impacts such as lighting, fire access and equipment siting.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Adopt mitigated negative declaration IS 23-14 for UP 23-07 (3275 Hill Road, APN 005-015-41). Moved by Commissioner DeBarto Chavez; seconded (name not specified). Result: Approved (ayes recorded; no oppositions voiced). - Motion: Approve Major Use Permit UP 23-07 for Public Safety Towers LLC (3275 Hill Road, APN 005-015-41) subject to findings and conditions in the Jan. 23, 2025 staff report. Moved by Commissioner DeBarto Chavez; seconded (name not specified). Result: Approved (ayes recorded; no oppositions voiced).

Appeal: The zoning ordinance provides a seven-calendar-day appeal period to the Board of Supervisors; forms and fees must be submitted by 5 p.m. on or before the seventh calendar day after the commission’s final determination.

Reported by: Lake County Planning staff; applicant representative Mike Moon P. Puck; public commenter Maria Khan.