09/11/2024
Regarding: Cotati Planning Department Decision 09/03/2024 Approval of a Minor Use Permit to allow an unmanned telecommunication facility at 680 East Cotati Avenue.
To Mayor Laura Sparks, Susan Harvey, Ben Ford, Sylvia Limus, Kathleen Rivers and City Manager Damien O’Bid,
We, the Village Walk Alliance, want to bring to your attention a project approved by the planning department which we feel was not properly noticed. The preliminary application this year shows a start date of 03/21/2024. Our neighborhood received a letter dated “on or before August 24th,” for a hearing on September 3rd (included in attachments).The earliest date to receive this letter would be August 26th, just nine days before the public hearing. The one page notice itself was very vague, most people we spoke to didn’t understand it.
During the Labor Day weekend, with only a few days until the hearing, we gathered 134 signatures against the planned cell towers, (seven pages included in attachments). We attended the meeting and have included the minutes.
We found out that several business owners, homeowners and tenants within the 500 feet noticing parameter had not received the City of Cotati’s letter. The city's planning department sent us a list of all the recipients of the City’s Notice of a Public Hearing. The list is included.
Several homeowners and tenants within a radius of 500 feet of the planned cell towers received no notification of T-Mobile’s plans.The licensed businesses adjacent to and within 500 feet of the 680 East Cotati, Energy Gym, received no notification. We have included the names of business owners we personally talked to. We have also included the appeal application and the building plans.
We understand Team Mobile West LLC is a new business, yet we have not seen their new business license.
The Cell Tower notification process was flawed from the beginning. Can you help us by reconsidering the application on the basis of improper notification? Also we are not a business, we are volunteers, and we would like to ask for waiver of the fees to appeal.
We are appealing this project as we think it is not the correct project for our community at this time.
Yours Respectfully,
Village Walk Alliance Dawna Gallagher Monique de Lannoy