Planning commission approves 74-foot AT&T ‘‘monopine’’ near Marion Drive over neighborhood objections

The Sacramento County Planning Commission approved a use permit and special development permit for a 74-foot wireless communication facility disguised as a faux tree at 5204 Marion Drive in the Carmichael/Old Foothill Farms community on March 24, 2025. The commission voted 3–2 to adopt staff recommendations, approving a mitigated negative declaration and permitting the monopine, backup diesel generator and associated equipment cabinets on a 576-square-foot lease area.

Planning staff said the site is vacant and zoned RD-2; the project includes deviations from the county’s separation standard for Group 1 (residential) zones in two directions and a request to exceed the 55-foot maximum height in the code. Christian Baltazar, the project planner, told commissioners the proposal meets most separation and setback requirements but cannot meet the 222-foot separation standard to the south and east because of lot size. Staff recommended approval, concluding the project complies with the general plan and community plan, and that the mitigated negative declaration (MND) with required mitigation measures addresses potential impacts.

Why it matters: supporters said the tower would improve AT&T coverage in an area the company has tried to serve for years; opponents said the site is in a semi-rural residential pocket and raised health, noise, visual and property-value concerns. The Carmichael Old Foothill Farms Community Planning Advisory Council recommended denial (5–1); the Design Review Advisory Council recommended substantial compliance with design guidelines.

The applicant, represented by Nick Tagus of AT&T, described a multi‑year search for alternative sites and said private property owners and county park staff declined several candidate locations. Tagus said the applicant would accept a lower height if the commission preferred but argued the 74-foot height would substantially reduce indoor coverage “blue” areas on the coverage maps the company provided. He also said the proposed generator would be run for testing “once a month” and would be enclosed and screened.

County environmental coordinator Julie Newton said county noise rules exempt emergency and backup generators and that, given the roughly 125-foot separation to the nearest single‑family backyard and intervening building orientations, staff expected generator noise to attenuate below the county’s interior noise thresholds.

Residents who testified in opposition described the area as largely residential, said the parcel and nearby properties had been denied for monopoles in prior proceedings, and urged the commission to reject the project. Speakers raised concerns about radio‑frequency exposure near children and older residents, potential impacts to property values, removal of valley oak trees, and monthly generator noise. Several neighbors said they had lived in the neighborhood for decades and cited the 1997 and 2001 denials of a monopole at or near this site as precedent. The property owner who signed the lease with AT&T testified in support.

Motion and vote: a motion to adopt staff recommendations and approve the project passed 3–2. The transcript records the roll call as: Borja — yes; Corona Sabignano — yes; Devlin — no; Verga — yes; Chair Conklin — no. The motion’s mover and seconder were not named in the transcript. The commission recorded that the item passes and that the decision may be appealed to the Board of Supervisors within ten days.

Next steps and conditions: approval is subject to the conditions and mitigation measures in the staff report and the MND. The county noted a single comment letter from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board about potential permits but said those comments did not challenge the environmental document’s adequacy. The applicant and property owner may proceed to building permits, subject to the conditions and any appeal.