We're proposing our facility to be placed here by the mausoleum, an existing structure.
Here's a closer view.
One change we made, and I forwarded that to Ms. Saleto, we were asked when we met with the councilwoman and residents.
with uh uh the councilwoman and and and residents outside of the rco um if we could possibly move
our facility such that the fall zone would actually if if this structure were to fail
they're not built to fail but if it were to fail and if it were to fail um
not as uh it usually would which is fall in on itself but fall as a bowling pin it would we
moved it a few feet away from Wolston. So if it were to fall, and this is even in taking into
account the lightning rod, it would not reach the homes proper across Wolston. That was a change
that we were happy to make just for peace of mind for the residents. We have met with
uh on on two separate occasions uh via zoom uh with with the councilwoman's representatives as
well as uh members of the community um we've been out to the property uh the the residents and i
know um uh hillary emerson is is in attendance and will be speaking um shortly uh but we we've
agreed or the property owner has agreed to make certain improvements to the property that they
are not part of this application however they would go hand in hand with this application
so any relief the owner would need by way of fencing or what have you fencing height
you would come in for different relief requests. I note that with regard to our facility,
our radio frequency engineer has proffered a design analysis with the proper propagation maps
showing that there is the need in this area. Also, an exposure analysis noting that the
implementation of this particular facility is well, well within the FCC guidelines and standards
and would have no detrimental health effects to the community. So basically, the implementation
of the tech here would actually benefit the community as a whole, 911 calls, things of
that nature.
Excuse me, counselor.
Do you have a rendering of the proposed tower?
In fact, I was just getting to that.
We have photo simulations.
When we met with, and I will pull those up, when we met with the, I'm sorry, just bear with me a second.
And when we met, the question was whether, and I think the board is familiar, whether
a tree pole situation would be advantageous for the community as opposed to a straight
monopole.
Can everybody see what I've just put up on the screen?
Can you blow it up? I sure can.
So this is this is a map showing where these photos were taken from for the simulations
and we did renderings of so here's our here's our location and here's where these photos
were taken i'll take you through those um here's photo one this is we did a a tree pole rendering
at the request of of uh the councilwoman's office uh given as you can see given given the trees
in the area and the tree canopy um it was requested that uh and possibly a condition
be placed that we put in a tree pole situation. This would not affect any zoning that we would
need. It's just basically a stealthing issue. So you can see the screening at the bottom
and the proposed tree pole. Here's another view a bit closer. This is from Wolston.
a bit closer this is from Wolston you see the mausoleum here in the background
You see the mausoleum here in the background.
this area would be cleaned up for our facility obviously landscaped and then you have your
your stealth tree pole here as noted we we have the applicant has no issue with with the
implementation of a tree pole if that's what the councilwoman and community want we are fine
uh making that that as a condition um as it does in this case uh these tree poles are very iffy
um and and really used sparingly um sometimes they can stick out like a sore thumb if they're
not used in the right place but but as you can see here there is a good blend um from
from many of the views with existing vegetation. That is essentially the application as a whole.
As I noted, I have our radio frequency engineer, our site acquisition consultant, as well as our
professional engineer that I've summarized their testimony so they would be sworn and adopt
or change in any way any of my summation and then obviously we are happy to answer any and
all questions from the board. Does the board have any questions? Yes yes what does a tower
look like? The a monopole situation? Correct. Sure. Let me pull that up for you.
Bear with me one moment. I'm just pulling that up here.
while i'm looking um madam chairman would uh would it be beneficial uh to have my witnesses
sworn at this time or or no if you'd like yes because frankly that would afford me
a minute just to uh to pull up the the other photo simulations
How many witnesses do you have? I have three. Todd Gannon and Andrew Peterson and Michael Cleary.
Okay. Andrew, you've been unmuted. Please unmute yourself and wait for the vice chair.
Mr. Peterson, can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name?
Sure. I'm Andrew Peterson. Last name is spelled P-E-T-E-R-S-O-H-N.
Address is Box 165, Fairview Village, Pennsylvania. My firm is DBM Engineering.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Okay. Please proceed.
I am just pulling this up for everyone.
My apologies.
um can everyone see what i just put up on the screen no i cannot either no there's nothing on
the screen i'm not exactly sure what's going on but it's i'm having limited issues here with
getting, I can hear everyone, but I'm having limited issues with, okay, here we go. Sorry
about that. Okay. So, sir, in order to share again, you have to hit the share button at the
bottom of your, okay. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, it was, that window was off in the very
uh corner of my screen so sorry about that so now let's see it yes so here are as as requested here
are um uh renditions of a monopole um they're basically
renditions of a monopole um they're basically they're the same photos um but showing a monopole
same locations as before but here here is here is the monopole situation
so that's that's what it would look like as opposed to the treepole
uh from this view how far away is that from the row of homes
um that is roughly
count it out
that is i believe 40 from the monopole 40 feet
no that doesn't no that's not here no i'm sorry that's to the mausoleum
But Mike Cleary, my engineer, can you unmute him by chance?
Can he raise his hand?
Mr. Cleary, you have been unmuted. Please unmute yourself.
Yes. Can you hear me?
Okay. So we are slightly more than the height of the tower.
I'm sorry, sir. Please wait for the vice chair.
I'm sorry.
Professor, can you take over?
Sir, you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, for nothing but the truth?
I do, yes.
Can you put your name and address for the record, please?
Michael Cleary, 2100 Mid-Atlantic Drive, Suite 100, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, 08054.
Thank you. Please proceed.
okay so the distance from the pole away from the closest um residence is slightly more than the
height of the pole that was the communication that we had with the residents and the rco was to
make sure that the quote-unquote fall zone that nick referred to earlier
was at least equal to the height of the tower so I don't have an exact measurement
at handy but it's at least I'm sorry my network is going slow now too let me see here
I believe it's roughly 120 feet away from the closest residence
but I can confirm that here if you just give me a few minutes while you're doing that Mike I just
want to go through the rest of the um photo simulation showing a monopole as you can tell
it's it's a sleeker design um there there is a triangular platform at the top um but it's
these are more common we see these you know throughout the city the suburbs everywhere
uh for a macro site um you know typically after a while they they do visually blend in with the
environment and uh to the point where you know we actually have to you know lift our heads and
actually look for them um believe it or not but uh this is this is what a a monopole
situation would look like as opposed to the tree pole
thank you sure i i have a question uh the engineer said the uh distance from the
uh houses is 120 feet and the pole is 110 feet or the tree tree pole or monopole
what factor
would be in play for
a wind load
in what sense
a wind
would blow it further than
a gap of 10 feet
I would find that to be
incredibly unlikely
what's the weight of the pole
the monopole
What's the weight?
It hasn't been designed yet.
And I'm actually not sure what the weight would be because whenever we do analysis of these structures, the wind loading is by far the most controlling factor.
And I'm actually not, I'm not sure what the weight would be because.
So the overall design of the pole is geared towards resisting that wind loading.
and then with the deep foundation of the pole in the absolute inconceivable worst case scenario
of that fall zone there's there's going to be a 20 to 35 foot caisson in the ground too
concrete foundation so even if that pole went over it's got the resistance of all the ground
holding it up to fall over and get blown um you know off of its foundation would be incredibly
unlikely uh these are designed in this area for 90 mile an hour wind gusts um that meet both the
the you know the ibc code philadelphia code and um the uh telecommunications has its own
design and building code strictly for these types of structures because of their unique shape
and use. So it's going to meet all of those requirements and all of their wind loading
characteristics. Thank you.
Does the board have any other questions for us?
Councilor, are you done with your presentation?
Yes, I am.
Anyone else here to speak in this matter?
Secretary, we have Hillary Emerson.
She's been unmuted.
Please wait for the secretary.
okay hillary i believe you was uh sworn in yes yes uh good morning again
yeah sorry hillary emerson from councilwoman sherelle parker's office
excuse me um and i want to speak on the councilwoman's position on this matter
um at this time the councilwoman um is opposed um to the proposed cell phone tower um i just
want to give a little bit of history to explain why. The initial RCO meeting in this case
was held pre-COVID, and then we had been working to schedule a follow-up meeting, then the
pandemic hit, and so we were finally able to schedule a follow-up meeting with the near
neighbor representative from the RCO and the applicant back in December to discuss the
changes that had been made in response to the concerns raised at the RCO meeting. That included
moving the poll further back so that it was a further distance from the homes across the street
on Woolston. We also had representatives from the health department present to address the health
concerns that had been raised by the residents. At that meeting in December, some aesthetic issues
with the cemetery itself. Debris, mud, and inadequate screening fencing were raised,
as well as safety concerns, specifically around the mausoleum. It's very dark. There's a lot of
trees. There's no lighting, and the cemetery gates are not locked at night anymore. Apparently,
there has been some issues with trespassing and crime in the past, noted by the neighbors.
After this meeting, the applicant and the owner agreed to a plan of correction, which was subsequently presented to the neighbors last week.
This includes the owner and Verizon as well, putting down gravel drive, the owner removing the debris, and putting up additional fencing,
which would likely require an additional and separate zoning appeal.
And then, as you saw in the pictures, Verizon also indicated that it was willing to use a tree pole to camouflage the tower with the existing foliage.
The applicant also indicated that the project would not move forward unless the property owner followed through on these agreed upon changes.
When we had the follow-up meeting last week, the neighbors were happy with the plan.
when we had the follow-up meeting last week the neighbors were happy with the plan of correction
that was presented but they still had the safety concerns um that um that had been raised at the
previous meeting specifically lights on the mausoleum and locking the gates at night
after that meeting both our office and the applicant tried multiple times and in multiple
ways to reach the property owner to try to address these remaining issues, because as you know,
public safety is, you know, is a serious issue in general, but has really, really come to the
fore of late. And, you know, we really were concerned, you know, that he addressed the issues
that remained. Unfortunately, neither our office nor the applicant have been successful in reaching
him to discuss this. Because of that, while the councilwoman is generally a major proponent of
improving digital access and closing the digital divide, she cannot support this project right now
due to those outstanding safety issues. In order to support this project, the property owner
would need to commit to putting lights on the mausoleum, locking the cemetery gates at night,
and meeting regularly with representatives from the near neighbors to discuss any remaining
concerns. Thank you. Thank you, Hillary. Anyone else? I see no more hands, Secretary.
Thank you. Planning Commission? Thank you, Secretary Plaza. Secretary, if it's okay,
Could I ask you to put a question to the appellant?
Sure, go ahead.
Before we do that, could you just put on record who you are?
I could.
I'm Ian Hegarty with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Thank you.
The question, sure.
The question is about the zoning refusal that requires a 500-foot separation for towers in residential and CMX1 districts between the tower and a residence.
And I'd just like to understand the justification for hardship on that particular refusal.
Sure. Counsel, can you answer Planning Commission's question?
um yes and if i understand that correctly uh uh in your your uh our rationale for for why we
can't meet that is that correct given the property yeah understood um and and i can certainly speak
to that um this project has been uh with us with me for probably six years now um and uh it's been
it's been a long road um i will tell you this um we being the applicant walked the site multiple