PD Recommendation Report (PL-USE-2023-000008)

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RATTUSE ja.2.6.24 COUNTY OF HAWAI`I PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION AT&T MOBILITY USE PERMIT APPLICATION (PL-USE-2023-000008) Upon review of the request against the guidelines for approving a Use Permit, the Planning Director recommends that a Use Permit to allow the establishment of a telecommunication facility with a 150-foot-tall `monopine' tower and related equipment and improvements within a 1,440-square-foot portion of a larger 7.383-acre parcel, be approved by the Planning Commission. The Planning Director reserves the right to modify and/or alter this position based upon additional information presented at the public hearing. This approval recommendation is based on the following findings: The applicant is requesting a Use Permit to construct a new telecommunication facility, consisting of a 150-foot-tall `monopine' tower and equipment compound within a 1,440-square-foot portion of a larger 7.383-acre parcel. The project site includes a ground base equipment compound enclosed with a 6-foot-high chain link fence with privacy slats and a 12-foot-wide access gate. Ground equipment will include a backup 50kW generator with a 221-gallon fuel tank that will be monitored and maintained by AT&T technicians. A tower-mounted antenna array for AT&T will consist of 4 sectors with 4 antennas per sector for a total of 16 antennas, 36 remote radio units, 6 surge suppressors and 1 GPS antenna. All panel antennas and tower-mounted equipment will be painted to match the proposed monopine and no exterior lighting is proposed for the site. The facility will be serviced by AT&T technicians on a periodic basis, approximately once a month during normal business hours. The objective of the new facility is to provide expanded commercial AT&T 4G LTE wireless phone service, along with 850 MHz low-band 5G technology, to fill a significant coverage gap between the communities of Glenwood and Volcano as well as along the portion of Volcano Road that connects these areas. Additionally, the proposed facility is part of an initiative by AT&T to upgrade existing wireless sites and build new -1-