A note shall be added to Sheet L-1 that states "All landscaping proposed on Sheet L-1 <br />shall be kept healthy and well maintained as long as the telecommunications facility <br />remains on the subject site." <br />Per the findings and conditions above, this criterion will be met. <br />(f) Noise Reduction. In R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, C-1, and GO and in all other <br />zones when the adjacent property is zoned for residential use or <br />occupied by a dwelling, hospital, school, library, or nursing home, noise <br />generating equipment shall be sound-buffered by means of baffling, <br />barriers, or other suitable means to reduce sound level measured at the <br />property line to 45clBa. <br />There are numerous reports and letters from engineers and consultants related to noise: <br />Letter from Alan Burt, PE, SSA Acoustics (Apr. 29, 2010) <br />Report from Environalysis (Sept. 2010) <br />Letter from Carl Bloom, Environalysis (Feb. 10, 2011) <br />Letter from Alan Burt, PE, SSA Acoustics (Mar. 21, 2011) (revising Apr. 29, 2010 report) <br />Letter from Arthur M. Noxon, P.E. Acoustical Engineer (June 15, 2011) <br />Letter from Alan Burt, PE and Erik Miller-Klein, PE, SSA Acoustical (July 1, 2011) <br />Letter from Arthur M. Noxon, P.E. Acoustical Engineer (July 6, 2011) <br />Letter from Alan Burt, PE, SSA Acoustics (July 12, 2011) <br />Letter from Arthur M. Noxon, P.E. Acoustical Engineer (July 13, 2011) <br />To start, the hearing official must first address the argument by Mr. Kloos on behalf of the <br />Oakway Neighbors that the proposed use can't be approved because it will aggravate the noise <br />situation, which already exceeds the allowed levels. He notes that the standard does not limit <br />the noise of the equipment, but rather all noise sources must be 45 dBA or less. The hearing <br />official disagrees. The effect of Mr. Kloos's interpretation would be to require the applicant to <br />reduce existing sound levels from sources not related to the application and not within the <br />applicant's control to meet this standard. The hearing official has heard of regulatory <br />requirements similar to this,3 but not without more robust and detailed requirements for how <br />to contact other owners and obtain access to their property; what "fixes" are required; liability <br />for those "fixes"; and other issues associated with one person performing mitigation work on <br />another's property. Here, without such detail, the hearing official cannot conclude that the City <br />Council intended this criterion to prohibit new sound-creating uses where sound already <br />exceeds 45 dBA. <br />3 Principally, the hearing official worked with a program in San Simeon, California requiring a <br />person who wanted to obtain a new or expanded water hook-up to the already limited <br />municipal water supply to replace standard plumbing and fixtures in other existing buildings <br />with new plumbing and low-flow fixtures to offset the new water use. <br />Hearing Official Decision (PDT 10-2, CU 11-1) 35 <br />