WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a 75-foot cell tower on the 1400 block of Freedom Boulevard.
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (AT&T Wireless) under the approved proposal will rent space at Extra Space Storage, 1478 Freedom Blvd., to construct the tower with 12 new panel antennas.
The project required a special use permit because of restrictions in the Watsonville Municipal Code (WMC) and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Commissioner Ed Acosta was the lone no vote. Before the vote, Acosta said he heard reports that many residents near the project had not received their notices by mail from the City of Watsonville regarding the proposal until a day before the meeting. The notices, however, were dated Feb. 20, Acosta said.
Only one member of the public spoke and five attended the meeting.
“That doesn’t give the community much time to attend this meeting or even respond to what’s occurring here,” he said.
Watsonville Community Development Director Suzi Merriam said notices are mailed to residents 10 days before a public hearing.
“So I don’t know why they would have received it Monday,” Merriam said.
AT&T will lease a roughly 10-by-33 foot area at the storage business sandwiched between Wendy’s and the Independent Order of Oddfellows Cemetery to erect the tower, which would be a “monopine” structure that mimics a pine tree.
It would be constructed 155 feet away from the apartments off Arista Lane behind the business, meeting separation requirements set by the WMC.
The structure will help improve cell coverage for customers in that area, according to Sara King, a representative from AT&T.
King said AT&T will also file an application with the Federal Communication Commission and Federal Aviation Administration to make sure the tower and the signals it emits are compliant with those organizations’ requirements.
