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Commission asks AT&T for design alternatives, continues rooftop wireless proposal at 145 Laurel
Summary
Planning staff recommended and AT&T sought approval for a rooftop telecommunications installation at 145 Laurel; neighbors objected to the visual scale on a historic rooftop, commissioners pressed AT&T to explore clustering and reorientation alternatives and continued the item to Dec. 13 for further design work.
The commission took up a conditional‑use proposal to place an AT&T macro wireless facility on the rooftop of an apartment building at 145 Laurel Street in Presidio Heights and continued the item to give the applicant time to present alternatives to the current antenna layout.
Planning staff described the application’s technical elements — 16 panel antennas housed in four screened enclosures, radio units and ancillary ground‑level equipment — and noted staff found the installation consistent with wireless siting guidelines but identified the site as a “location preference 7” (disfavored) because of visibility and historic resource concerns. Ashley Lindsey of the Planning Department noted that the subject building, designed by Alfred Henry Jacobs and built in 1919, is a historic resource and that the staff recommendation included conditions to preserve the building’s character.
Neighbors and community members, led by Bruce McElroy, testified in opposition to the scale of the enclosures and the visual impact from public viewpoints. McElroy brought photos and urged either redesign or denial; he said the four enclosures resembled “UPS trucks” and would exacerbate an existing nonconforming height condition. Commissioner Moore and others pressed AT&T representatives on whether the antennas could be clustered, reoriented, or set back differently to reduce visibility and on whether alternatives could meet coverage needs.
AT&T RF engineer Cammy Blackstone said the four placements are intended to provide 360‑degree coverage and that moving antennas back would generally require higher structures and could degrade coverage. Commissioners discussed tradeoffs between visual sensitivity in the historic neighborhood and network performance and asked planning staff to help define what alternative layouts or additional visual mitigation the commission would like to see.
The commission voted to continue the matter to December 13 so AT&T can return with alternative layouts or additional screening studies. Commissioners reinforced that the applicant must address visual impact in public right‑of‑way views and consider grouping, orientation changes, and other design strategies.
