Permit approved for AT&T wireless facility on Ormsby Way in Bonsall

San Diego County’s Planning Commission approved a Major Use Permit fora wireless telecommunication facility in the 2700 block of Ormsby Way in Bonsall.

The 5-1 vote November 19 saw Planning Commissioners Michael Beck, Leon Brooks, Adam Day, David Pallinger, and Bryan Woods support the proposal which would allow AT&T Mobility to construct a false chimney on an existing residence. Peder Norby voted in opposition while John Riess was not present with the vote

was taken.

“I think the architectural design is fine,” Pallinger said. “You can’t even see this house from the road unless you are going to risk your life to look at it.”

Bonsall Sponsor Group chair Margarette Morgan noted that the sponsor group liked the design but was concerned about the proliferation of wireless facilities in residentially-zoned areas.

“We have never been in support of having residential cell cites,” she said. “We’re having way too many lawsuits of neighbors against neighbors.”

The false chimney would house ten antennas, while a concrete block wall with a trellis would surround six outdoor equipment cabinets.

“It is a good design,” Morgan said.

The property has A70 agricultural zoning, and while county policymakers as well as the sponsor group prefer wireless sites to be in commercial or industrial rather than residential or agricultural zones, the entirety of the area is zoned A70 or rural residential.

A market on East Vista Way is grandfathered, but that location does not have sufficient elevation to serve AT&T’s needs. Morgan expressed a willingness to support a height variance if the commercial market placed a wireless

facility there.

“We’re not opposed to the service. Everyone needs the service. We just don’t want it in a residential area,” she said.

For the most part, the concerns about cell sites in residential areas include road maintenance, since all property owners are responsible for maintaining a private road but only the property where the cell site is located benefits from therental income.

“We would prefer seeing road maintenance agreements included,” Morgan said.

Ted Marioncelli, who represented AT&T, noted that he was willing to include a road maintenance agreement.

“I think our client’s more than willing to write a check for road maintenance,” he said.

The Planning Commission recommended such an agreement, which would be a civil matter and not within the purview of the county. Marioncelli noted that the maintenance payment would not be made until actual road maintenance is needed and willingness to enter into such an agreement doesn’t provide a recipient for thepayment.

“It’s not a real formal structure,” he said.

After the site is built, an estimated a vehicle trip a month to service the facility constitutes traffic for the project.

“It’s usually one trip every three months,” Marioncelli said.

While nearby residents took issue with road usage, Fairview residents expressed concern about noise from the project. The site will not have air conditioning, which accounts for most of the noise from wireless facilities, and the project will be subject to the regulations of the county’s Noise Ordinance.

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