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Home My WebLink About10281993 Ag Min . . . City of Port Townsend Planning Commission 540 Water St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 206/385-3000 PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA (Revised) Business Meeting I. ROLL CALL II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: October 14, 1993 III. COMMUNICATIONS: Current mail IV. OLD-BUSINESS A. East Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services Council Conditional Use Permit #9307-01 1. Staff report (Bloomfield) -- 2. _J>ublic testimony 3. - COl!lmittee report (Welch/Erickson) 4. _ Commission discussion and conclusions V. NEW BUSINESS October 28, 1993 A. - Schedule hearing for Larry & Marty Johnson, Variance Application #9310-09 VI. ANNOUNCEMENTS: - Next Scheduled Meetings - VII. ADJOURN . . . Cí ty of Port Townsend Planning Commission 540 Water St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 206/385-3000 PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Business Meeting I. ROLL CALL II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: October 14, 1993 III. COMMUNICATIONS: Current mail IV. OLD BUSINESS A. East Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services Council Conditional Use Permit #9307-01 L Staff report (Bloomfield) 2. Public testimony 3. . Committee report (Welch/Erickson) 4. Commission discussion andconc1usions V. NEW BUSINESS VI. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Next Scheduled Meetings VII. ADJOURN October 28, 1993 r . . . Guest List I Meeting of: P¿/J;lfl AI/IV r; COA4"'" /55/0A/ Purpose: £.). ~ /3; tr5'O t!L COqlf/ry $- ¡If 5 Date: Jð c:¿ g 5Î:-R V It!, Iff- 5 Name (please print! Address ~. ----~. --..--.----. ---"';"---'--" ----- _--1..._ f\ . .- . I f..~ · City of Port Townsend Planning Commission . 540 Water St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 206/385-3000 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 28, 1993 I. ROLL CALL Chair Lois Sherwood called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. Present were commissioners Lisa Enarson, Ernie Baird, Cindy Thayer, Mark Welch and Bob Rickard. Karen Erickson was absent. Staff members present were Darlene Bloomfield and Sheila Spears II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: October 14, 1993 Motion was made by Rickard to approve the minutes as written. Seconded by Thayer. AUwere in favor. . III. COMMUNICATIONS: .. Current Mail IV. OLD BUSINESS A. _ East Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council Conditional Use Permit #9307-01 1. Staff Report (Bloomfield) Bloomfield read the DRAFT Findings of Fact and Conclusions on East Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services Council's proposal to construct an 8xl0x8 foot metal building, and 20--foot high tower with four two-way FM radio antennas. Site of the proposal is near the northern boundary line of city property located near the Morgan Hill Reservoir on Blocks 12 and !3 .of the Mountain View Addition to the City of Port Townsend in the P-I zoning district. She referenced two letters from neighboring properties concerning the location of the antenna -and mentioned the packet of information commission members had received prior to the meeting which included the DRAFT Findings of Fact and Conclusions and exhibits 1-7. Bloomfield -and -Bob LaCroix from the City's Water Quality Department had visited the site earlier in the day. Bloomfield said that another site at the northwest comer of the reservoir might be a better location to consider for the proposed installation. Access to the building in either location would be from the gate on Reed Street. The building and antenna will be inside the fence that will run along the perimeter of the blocks containing the reservoir. 2. Public Testimony Joanne Clyde, EMS Director, explained the work the committee has done in the past year to improve the EMS communications system for the s~te. Jefferson County was awarded a grant last November. The reason for applying for the grant is that multiple problems with - · · · Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 1993 Page Two communications with various emergency services exist because of the geographic nature of the county. Some of the problems are: skipping; ghosting; frequency problems; and complete radio silence. She displayed a map that has highlighted areas known to breakup or be absent during communications. The Morgan Hill site is a better site for the northern repeater. It will address some of the problems along the airport cutoff and in the Cape George area. She expressed the importance of the system especially in a disaster situation when phones will be jammed. Clyde said that when they were awarded the grant they tested alternative locations for the repeaters and determined this site was the best for solving transmission problems. She described the building and said it is portable and able to be moved if the need arises. This will greatly enhance the system even if it is temporary for the next couple of years. The facade of the building is open to whatever is necessary to make it look better. Jefferson County Sheriff/Emergency Management Director Mel Mefford, spoke in favor of the application. He said they are the keepers of the communication capability of the county which includes seven fire districts and two law enforcement agencies, and they operate the 911 system. He said they hope to provide a service that in the event of an emergency or a medical problem they can have direct communication with physicians at Jefferson General Hospital. He said there are a number of areas where radio reception is poor or dead. Fort Worden State Park is in a poor area for communication. Mefford said the needs for communication for the EMS people are probably greater than for law enforcement. This grant allowed them to raise the tower on the Coyle Peninsula. Also included is a tower on Green Mountain in Kitsap County so communication can be improved along the Highway 101 and 104 corridor. The tower on Morgan Hill will provide communication from Gardiner, Discovery Bay, 2/3 of the Port Ludlow area and the back side of Morgan Hill. They also have to meet Canadian requirements with the Morgan Hill site. Bloomfield said the change in location of the site has yet to be approved by the City's Public Works Director. Kathy Langley, from Fire District #6 just outside the city limits, spoke in favor of the proposal. She said the tower which is currently in use at the City Fire Hall will be taken down. It is in poor shape. Langley said a windstorm will take it down if it is left up. David Pratt, EMS Planning Committee member, said the tower on the Fire Hall belongs to the City and it is the City's decision when to remove the tower. He addressed public safety issues related to radio communications equipment and said that in his 25 years in the radio business no evidence of any damage from radio communications has been found. He read some supporting safety documentation from "Ocean Navigator" and entered it as Exhibit 9. Enarson asked for clarification of overall height of the structure. It is proposed at 40 feet, building and antenna. . . . Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 1993 Page Three Mark Saran, neighboring property owner, spoke in opposition to the proposal. He has a ham radio and owns the land directly to the north of the revised tower location. The house he is going to build will be about 80 feet north of the tower. He said he feels towers should never go in residential areas if it can be avoided, but that this would be OK if it is truly only intended to be at this location for two years. He said the proliferation of radio frequency is expanding daily and he has some concerns. He said he didn't realize the dead spot that med com and the sheriff already have. He asked if this is a two-year plan and if it for sure is going to be moved in two years to the Howard Street site, and if the Howard Street site is as good a transmitting site. Clyde said the Howard Street site was tested and found not near as optimum as the Morgan Hill site. If required to move to Howard Street they would have had two good years at the Morgan Hill site and they would be grateful for those two years. They hope not to have to move. Sherwood confirmed that the limit of the proposal is one tower with four antenna on the top. 3. Committee Report (Welch/Erickson) Welch objected to the original site but by moving it, as suggested by Bloomfield, his concerns were eliminated. He wants greenery around the building since it is in a residential neighborhood. 4. Commission Discussion and Conclusions Thayer asked if Saran would get the ham radio reception interference he complained about if he (Saran) built any place on his site. Dave Pratt, Green Tree Communications, said that he is not aware of any interference we have caused. Saran said it is because of his cheap radio. Enarson reminded the Commission that the City approved the fence around the reservoir area and agrees that greenery should be planted around the site. She said the greater health, safety and welfare issues of the community are better served by allowing this conditional use permit. Thayer said she agreed. Motion was made by Welch to grant Conditional Use Permit #9307-01 with the location as described in this hearing and with buffering the site; The dimensions of the building, 8xl0x8 to show in the report; and add condition number 6 requiring an evergreen buffer around the building. Seconded by Thayer. All were in favor. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Schedule hearing for Larry & Marty Johnson, Variance Application #9310-09. Rickard and Thayer asked not to be assigned to committee on this application. Hearing was scheduled for a special meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 1993. Rickard will not be able to attend the meeting. . . . Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 1993 Page Four VI. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Next Scheduled Meetings Wednesday. November 17. 1993 Larry & Marty Johnson, Variance Application #9310-09 VII. ADJOURN Motion to adjourn was made by Thayer and seconded by Baird. Meeting adjourned at 8: 10 PM. ~ Sheila Spears Planning & Building Assistant