To:            Rancho Carrillo Community Association Members

From:       Neighborhood Tower Committee (Reardon, Streza, Jordan, and Carlson)

Re:            Riverside Communication Tower: History of Interaction and Next Steps

Neighbors,

            By this time, many of you have probably received correspondence from the County of Riverside describing the Public Safety Enterprise Communication Project (PSEC). The PSEC project is of concern to Rancho Carrillo because it involves the potential installation of a radio communication tower and related facilities in or near our community.

            If you have not received this correspondence, you can retrieve a complete copy at http://psec.co.riverside.ca.us/notice.html on the Internet.

            To quote the document, “This Notice of Preparation (NOP) includes a summary project description and a list of the environmental issues to be examined in the Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Public Safety Enterprise Communication (PSEC) project.

            “The environmental determination in this Notice of Preparation is subject to a 30-day public review period per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code §21080.4 and CEQA Guidelines §15082. Public agencies, interested organizations, and individuals have the opportunity to comment on the proposed project and identify those environmental issues that they believe have the potential to be affected by the project and should be addressed by the County of Riverside (County) in the EIR.”

Background

            Last year, a member of our Association Board was contacted by the County of Riverside seeking cooperation in identifying a site of a radio communication tower within the boundaries of our community. County representatives favored location of the tower on the Rec Lot owned by our Association. Initial discussions suggested that the needed facility resembled a cellular telephone tower.

            During the annual Association meeting, a group of residents volunteered to meet with County representatives to determine their needs and the community options and then to report these back to the Board. Many weeks later, County representatives did visit the community to meet with this group, including Dick Streza, Brent Chase, Larry Carlson, Jenny and Greg Wahl, and me.

Details

            We learned from this meeting that Riverside County has received Federal money to support a major upgrade to their radio communication system. This radio system supports police and fire department operations. The goal of the County is to achieve a level of radio coverage that will allow police and fire personnel to communicate using handheld radios from within structures regardless of their location.

            A secondary goal of the system is to provide a platform for Federal agencies (e.g, DEA, ATF, etc.) to establish local communications where needed to support their operations.

            In the course of our discussion, it was revealed that the County had already prepared preliminary radio propagation studies assuming that the antenna tower would be located on our Rec Lot, adjacent to our Fire Station. These studies seemed to suggest that the tower would need to be at least 100 feet in height, and possibly a 140 foot tower would be required to achieve the desired performance.

            The County representatives further stated that the tower in question would be a tripod structure in order to survive the wind conditions that can occur in our area. Such a tower is quite different in appearance from a cellular radio facility (which resembles a pole and may be disguised). Examples of tripod structures are pictured in the County’s NOP document, including one that is disguised to have the appearance of a water tower.

Pros and Cons

            During the meeting, the community members present asked many questions. For example, alternative sites were discussed. The County representatives indicated that they had not received a positive response from the U.S. Forest Service regarding placing the antenna near our water tank at the north end of the community. They also indicated that they had considered placing the antenna on Sitton Peak, in fact stating that this was their preferred location, but that they had been unable to work out the details of access to that site.

            Questions were asked about the position of the County regarding cooperation with commercial cellular telephone companies that might willing to improve mobile telephone and Internet service in our area if they could locate their equipment on an existing tower. While not specifically ruling out such cooperation, the County representatives indicated the conditions of such use would be complex and burdensome, since they had an overriding public safety mission that would limit their ability to provide access to their tower.

            The group further discussed whether the County was seeking to lease or purchase the area that their tower and equipment would occupy. The County representatives indicated their preference to purchase. The community representatives indicated that a lease that would revert back to the community if abandoned was preferred.

Outcome of Meeting

            At the conclusion of the meeting, the group informed the County representatives verbally that they did not think the community, as a whole, would support such a project. There was considerable discussion of the fact that the benefits of the radio system for Rancho Carrillo were dubious. It was pointed out that the nearest Riverside County Sheriff’s station was located in Murrietta. It was also demonstrated by the County’s own radio propagation maps that radio coverage along the Rancho Carrillo access road would not be improved for our Fire Department. Finally, County representatives could offer no firm commitment or plan regarding how interoperability of their system and the technically different system used by Orange County Fire Authority could be achieved.

            At the conclusion of the meeting, the County representatives indicated that they would request permission from the Association to perform further radio propagation study and surveys within the community. They were referred to the Association to obtain this permission.

Board Action on Committee Recommendation

            After meeting with the County representatives, the committee made a presentation to the HOA board. The committee recommended that the board decline the county’s request to place the tower within the community. After discussion, the board agreed with the committee’s recommendation and voted to decline the county’s request. The County representatives were notified of the decision in late December.

Other Considerations

            As indicated in the County NOP document, it is possible for the County to negotiate a deal with any private property owner in our area to obtain a site for their antenna. Some private property in our immediate vicinity is not subject to our Association CC&R’s, and thus the Association might be bypassed completely in the process. Finally, it is also possible that the County might reach an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service that would allow the antenna to be located near the community, but still within sight, such as near our north water tank.

Since their interaction with the board in December, the county representatives have been in contact with the water board and individual community members to ascertain the opportunity to gain use of non-association property. To our knowledge, these discussion have not yielded anything.

Next Steps – Response to the EIR Mailer

Our Association plans a community information meeting to discuss its formal response to the County NOP document on March 20. It is important that Rancho Carrillo make its position clear with the County of Riverside with regard to the proposed antenna installation. You are urged to attend the March 20 meeting to discuss this matter and help organize the community position on this matter.

            You may also wish to express your personal opinion regarding the County NOP. Instructions for preparing this response are contained in the NOP document itself. All responses are due before the end of March.

            Please be aware that the County NOP describes activities that will occur throughout Riverside County. In preparing your response, please be careful to identify that portion of the project that pertains to Rancho Carrillo.