2023-12-06 Applicant's Response to Colleen Conifer's Petition for Standing

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T RENEGADE TI TOWERS, LLC themselves with one bar of service and not able to connect to their friends and family." They went on to find that"nearly all Americans surveyed (95%) say it's important to have excellent cell service coverage at a new home." Even a current analysis of the Ocean View prices fail to support the claim that the existing 150 ft lattice tower communication facility at the corner of Palm Parkway and Reef has a negative impact on property values. A comparison of land sales from an area around the tower compared to sales from just over 1 mile to the east and 1 mile to the west show no impact. See attached. Petition: The Petition also states that the location should be denied due to its proximity to parks, churches and other gathering places. Response: As the Planning Dept is well aware, cellular towers are often located directly on school,park and church properties. This proximity is due to the use, capacity, and coverage needed by the community around such properties. Further,to recognize any limitation created by these properties due to the"well-being" of the community is a violation of the Telecom Act for the reasons provided above. Petition: The Petition also raises the issue of the Service Area and aesthetics. Response: The site was designed to serve an area that currently lacks service. The AT&T coverage maps clearly show a lack of existing coverage in the area. Due to the cost of a facility, there is no interest in placing a tower where coverage currently exists. While AT&T will be the initial carrier to use the facility, the search area was also coordinated with engineering from T- Mobile. Antennas must have line of sight to provide quality coverage. Given the coverage maps and interest from multiple carriers,we do not believe the statements on coverage are accurate. Further, we are aware of many dropped calls and/or inability to connect to the network within the coverage area for the proposed site. Spotty or inconsistent coverage travelling from distant towers may allow access to the network at times, but it is not sufficient coverage, especially for the FirstNet network requirements. It is also inaccurate to state that the purpose of the proposed facility is to benefit the Rancho community on the ocean side of the highway. The reason to locate the tower at a higher elevation is that signal travels down elevation much better than signal going upslope. The reason to locate the tower at its proposed location is that it will benefit both communities. Whereas locating a tower on the south side of the highway will improve coverage to the Rancho community but will not serve the Ocean view community due to its higher elevation. Locating the site to the south will 6710 Elverton Drive • Oakland, CA • 94611• PH (415)-609-0099