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File Number: 25-001 the City has in reviewing cell tower applications, which legal counsel addressed and clarified. The deliberation then focused on the impact that the RF emissions could have on the subject property and the northerly adjacent property, which are both Housing Element opportunity sites. The discussion addressed whether RF emissions because of the project could negatively affect residents of future housing developments. Following due deliberation, the Planning Commission approved the project, with additional conditions of approval to address the concerns. Conditions of Approval numbers 57 and 58 were added to the resolution, requiring that the facility provide an EME report 30 days after activation - and every year for five years - and that if a future EME report identifies that the project violates the FCC standards within any adjacent or neighboring residential building, that the applicant shall adjust the facility until the emissions in the residential building do not exceed FCC standards. Basis of Appeal The appeal was submitted by Wayne Daniel Russo Jr., the owner of the parcel adjacent to 440 Peralta Avenue. The appeal raises five main arguments: 1) Mr. Russo was not notified of the Planning Commission’s public hearing, 2) the proposed wireless facility raises health concerns due to RF exposure and the FCC’s regulations are inadequate, 3) the height and appearance of the tower are incompatible with the neighborhood’s aesthetic character, 4) the proposed tower conflicts with Mr. Russo’s future plans for his property and reduces property values, and 5) the City has not conducted sufficient environmental review since an environmental impact report (EIR) was not prepared. City staff believes none of these arguments have merit, for the reasons discussed below. First, the City sent notice of the Planning Commission’s public hearing ten days before the hearing to all property owners within five hundred feet (500') of the project site, including Mr. Russo. Notices were sent to the addresses on file with the County Tax Assessor. Second, the project complies with the FCC’s RF emissions regulations, and therefore Federal Law prohibits the City from denying the project on that basis. The applicant submitted an EME Report showing the proposed facility complies with the FCC’s standards. The report indicates that there are certain locations surrounding the proposed monopole where the FCC’s RF standard for accessible areas is violated. However, those locations are more than fifty feet (50') in the air and not accessible to the public, and therefore the regulations are not violated. In the future , if those areas become accessible (for example, if a building is constructed on the adjacent property near the property line), the applicant is responsible for modifying the wireless facility to ensure that RF standards are met. This may involve adjusting the antennas, moving where they are located on the monopine, or removing the monopine completely. The applicant is required to submit a new Radio-Frequency Compliance Report demonstrating that the facility meets the FCC standards for radio-frequency emissions once the monopine is installed, and annually for five years after project approval. Third, the applicant has submitted Photo Simulations (Attachment D - Photo Simulations), with vantage points from within Siempre Verde Park, and Park Street demonstrating that the monopine would not create any negative visual impacts. More significantly, the applicant has submitted an Alternative Sites Analysis (Attachment G - Alternative Sites Analysis), which Page 6 City of San Leandro Printed on 9/4/2025