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Council approves outreach and mock-ups for new siren sites, greenlights short soft launch for indoor 'Safe' units
Summary
Staff recommended two 50-foot siren pole candidate sites (Saddleback and Portuguese Bend) and a limited soft launch of indoor Safe units; council directed staff to perform community mock-ups, provide known dates on updates, and proceed with a short soft launch and outreach.
City staff told council on June 22 that permit closeouts are delaying progress on earlier siren installations and that HQE's acoustic analysis favors two 50-foot poles over multiple lower poles to reduce coverage gaps.
Samantha Crew, management analyst and emergency preparedness coordinator, summarized the recommendation: "HQE recommends consideration of 2 new 50 foot poles, at Saddleback Road near the Davidson Trailhead... and Portuguese Bend above Ranchero." She explained that lowering pole heights to 30 feet would significantly reduce coverage and require higher sound output near adjacent homes.
Staff also reported that Safe gateways at existing siren locations are operational and proposed a limited soft launch of indoor Safe units to validate the ordering, activation and user experience before a citywide rollout. Council members asked staff to provide underlying fee ownership for proposed locations and requested that staff supply "known dates" for the soft launch and mock-ups. After public comment from nearby residents, council voted to receive and file the update and directed staff to proceed with mock-ups and community outreach, adding a short soft launch intended to be as brief as possible to accelerate broader deployment if tests succeed.
