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Office of the City Manager

INFORMATION CALENDAR March 25, 2008 To:

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council

From:

Phil Kamlarz, City Manager

Submitted by: Dan Marks, Director, Planning and Development Subject:

Status Report: Telecommunication Ordinance, Testing, and Equipment

INTRODUCTION The City Council requested action and information regarding telecommunication issues at the December 11, 2007 and February 12, 2008 meetings. This report provides a status report on these requests. CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS A response or status report for each of the Council actions follows. December 11, 2007: Action: M/S/C (Spring/Maio) to approve Councilmembers Spring, Maio, Anderson and Mayor Bates’ recommendation to request the City Manager to: 1) Immediately arrange for expert measurement of EMF (electromagnetic fields), including RF (radio frequency) radiation, levels at and around UC Storage and the French Hotel. 2) Provide the Council data on the current radiation levels with places, dates and times of collection. 3) Offer a schedule for subsequent testing and reports to Council. Status: Staff requested three bids for the work and, in consultation with neighborhood representatives, selected EMF Services1 from Florida. A $10,000 contract is being processed and the first set of readings of ambient conditions should be completed in March or April. As indicated in the attached scope of work, the consultant will provide: • Measurement of the composite RF field strength; • Spectrum analysis for identification of RF sources, and for assessment of the relative magnitude of signals in different frequency ranges; and • Frequency-specific measurement of RF field strength in each of the two cellular bands, 0.8 to 1.o GHz and 1.7 to 2.2 GHz, to provide a separate quantitative assessment of cellular field strength.

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www.emfservices.com

2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 ● Tel: (510) 981-7000 ● TDD: (510) 981-6903 ● Fax: (510) 981-7099 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/manager

Status Report: Telecommunication Issues

INFORMATION CALENDAR March 25, 2008

The first task for EMF Services is to provide data on current radiation levels for both properties, as well as for an additional site where lower ambient levels are expected. The cost for this is $3,500. Location, dates, and times of data collection would be provided. The contract was written to provide the option for EMF Services to provide testing after the cell towers at the two addresses are activated for an additional $3,5002. This price assumes that both sites can be tested on the same day. The consultant will provide a report and telephone consultation to discuss the report’s conclusions. An additional $3,000 was included in the contract to provide the option for the City to request additional site visits or consultations. It is not known when the cell towers will be constructed or activated. A building permit application has not yet been submitted for the antennas at the UC Storage property. No Zoning Adjustments Board action on the French Hotel application has been scheduled because the applicant must first submit a deposit to pay for thirdparty noise and engineering analysis of the application. 4) Refer to the City Manager possible revisions to the Wireless Telecommunications Ordinance (Chapter 23C.17 of the Berkeley Municipal Code). Status: The City Attorney has drafted proposed revisions to the ordinance. On March 26th, the Planning Commission is scheduled is to set a public hearing for April 23rd. The soonest the ordinance could be scheduled for Council action would be May 20th, however, if the Planning Commission does not act immediately, Council action would be delayed. Once approved by the Council, the ordinance would take effect 30 days after the second reading, or July 3rd at the earliest. Alternatively, the City Council could adopt the draft ordinance as an Urgency Ordinance. If approved with a 8/9th vote by the City Council, the ordinance would take effect immediately and would remain in effect for 45 days, with the opportunity for extensions. The first available date for Council consideration of an urgency ordinance is April 22, 2008. 5) City Manager to come back with a schedule for implementation. Status: This report provides the schedule for implementation as requested.

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Applicants are also required to provide certification by an approved engineer to show that the facility’s RF emissions are in compliance with FCC requirements, the approved application, and any required conditions. The report must provide the RF measurements and the City may require independent verification of the results.

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Status Report: Telecommunication Issues

INFORMATION CALENDAR March 25, 2008

February 12, 2008: Action: M/S/C (Maio/Anderson) to refer to the City Manager: (Vote: Ayes: Maio, Moore, Anderson, Spring, Capitelli, Worthington, Bates; Noes-Wozniak; Abstain-Olds) 1) Request for purchase RF Radiation Measurement Equipment and measure radiation levels prior to the installation of the antennas and every six months thereafter. An increase could occur if Verizon/Nextel decide they need more strength or because of malfunctioning equipment. 2) Provide staff training to operate the equipment. Status: Staff has done preliminary research about the kind of equipment that the City could purchase. EMF Services, the consultant that we are hiring to measure EMF levels at UC Storage and French Hotel, recommended the following equipment: • An Isotropic Broadband Field Strength Meter and an Isotropic Broadband Probe3 (estimated cost: $6,000) • A Spectrum Analyzer and Antennas4 (estimated cost: $5,418 - $10,863) The Broadband Meter may be adequate for the City’s needs – it would provide broadband readings of all signals at a given location. A Spectrum Analyzer provides frequency-specific measurement of RF field strength and an assessment of the relative magnitude of signals in different frequency ranges. The Spectrum Analyzer is a more complex piece of equipment, which requires more training and analysis of the resulting data. Our consultant indicates that the Spectrum Analyzer may not be needed for the City’s purposes. These are complex pieces of equipment and the amount of training needed is not known. No staff members have been identified at this time for training. We plan to use the EMF Services contract as an opportunity to observe and learn more about the operation of equipment. This will give us a better idea about the practicality of the proposal for the City to purchase the equipment. Further discussion would also be needed about the funding, the frequency of testing expected, and how this would fit into existing work programs. 3) Establish a moratorium on the issuance of further antenna permits until modifications of the current ordinance are in place. Status: Staff has previously advised that a moratorium could be problematic and might raise legal issues. An alternative to adopting a moratorium would be for the City Council to adopt an Urgency Ordinance as described above.

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www.narda-sts.us www.bkprecision.com

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Status Report: Telecommunication Issues

INFORMATION CALENDAR March 25, 2008

4) Exploration of an agreement with cellular phone companies regarding location of cell towers away from residential areas as much as possible. Status: No action to date BACKGROUND Councilmembers and residents have expressed concerns about installation of cell phone antennas near residential areas. Staff has been working with the residents who opposed the UC Storage project on the EMF Services contract and on their requests for information. POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTION See above. FISCAL IMPACTS OF POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTION Purchase of the equipment described above could cost up to $20,000. The time and cost for training and City use of the equipment is unknown. Further discussion would be needed about the frequency of testing expected and how this would fit into existing work programs. Funding for the equipment and staff time would need to come from the General Fund or increased fees for future telecommunication facility applications. As previously indicated, staff will better understand the options after working with EMF Services on the UC Storage and French Hotel sites. CONTACT PERSON Wendy Cosin, Deputy Planning Director, Planning Department, 981-7402 Attachments: 1: Scope of Services – EMF Services

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