City Council Staff Report Page 1 of 5 December 9, 2025
Staff Report
Agenda Item No. 4.1
DATE: December 9, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Joan Malloy, City Manager
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Continue Public Hearing from December 9, 2025 to a Date Uncertain to Consider an Appeal or Consider an Appeal by Saurabh Talwar, Sunita Goyal, Christine Chen, Jon Kuo, Mohammad Fasiur Rahman, Weifeng Chen, and Wais Aubi of the Planning Commission’s Approval of Use Permit (UP-25-001) and Site Development Review (SD-25-001) for a New Wireless Facility at the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church at 32975 Alvarado-Niles Road (APN: 475-0148-002-00); and Adopt a Resolution: (1) Denying the Appeal and Upholding the Planning Commission’s Approval of the Use Permit and Site Development Review; or (2) Denying the Appeal and Upholding the Planning Commission’s Approval of the Use Permit and Site Development Review, with Modified Conditions; or (3) Approving the Appeal and Denying the Use Permit and Site Development Review; or (4) Return the Matter Back to the Planning Commission. Staff is Recommending that This Project Be
Considered Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Under Section 15303, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures, of the CEQA Guidelines
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council continue the public hearing for appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of Use Permit (UP-25-001) and Site Development Review (SD-25-001) from December 9, 2025 to provide the applicant, Wireless Epic on behalf of AT&T, and the City, time to process an update to the applications to accommodate a modified project design and required zoning text amendments to Union City Municipal Code (UCMC) Chapter 18.114, Wireless Communications Facilities. It is further recommended that the City Council return the matter to the Planning Commission for recommendation to the City Council of the modified applications and proposed zoning text amendments.
Agenda Item No. 4.1
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STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
This agenda item does not have alignment with a specific Strategic Plan strategy.
BACKGROUND
The scope of the approved Use Permit (UP-25-001) includes a new wireless facility on the roof of the multi-purpose building located at the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church (SACBC). The building is one-story and measures approximately 20,374 square feet. The Use Permit also allowed an associated increase in the building's height from 28 feet, 5 inches to 43 feet, 5 inches to accommodate a new structure to screen the wireless facility. The PI Zoning District allows an increase in the maximum permitted height from 35 feet to 50 feet, subject to the issuance of a use permit.
The Site Development Review approval (SD-25-001) allowed for the construction of a new, 2,320-square-foot roof-mounted enclosure housing nine (9) antennas and a 359- square-foot ground-mounted wireless equipment enclosure located adjacent to the multipurpose building.
UP-25-001 and SD-25-001 were approved by the Planning Commission on October 16, 2025, and appealed on October 23, 2025. The Planning Commission’s decision is stayed until the City Council acts on the appeal. The City Council heard the appeal at its November 4, 2025 meeting and requested a continuance to November 13, 2025.
At its November 13, 2025 meeting, the City Council voted 5-0 to continue this item to the December 9, 2025 City Council meeting. This was related to a City Council suggestion that the applicant check with the property owner regarding an update to the project scope from the proposed roof-mounted facility to a freestanding monopole.
See Attachments 1-17 for an overview of the Planning Commission and City Council public record, to date.
Under FCC rules adopted in 2019, a local agency has 150 days to act on an application to deploy a wireless facility on a new structure. The applicant and the City agreed in writing to extend the deadline to October 27, 2025, to complete the peer review and hearing by the Planning Commission. The tolling agreement was extended again to November 14, 2025, to accommodate the appeal process. The agreement was further extended to December 12, 2025, to cover the continuation of the December 9, 2025 City Council meeting.
DISCUSSION
As discussed above, at its November 13, 2025 meeting, the City Council voted to continue the appeal to provide some additional time for the applicant to speak with the property owner on the change to the project design from a rooftop-mounted facility to a freestanding monopole and to also do some due diligence on their end regarding the shift in the project scope. The applicant provided feedback that the SACBC Board agreed to update the wireless facility design to reflect a monopole configuration. This additional time also allowed City staff to confirm next steps on the process and timeline to update Agenda Item No. 4.1
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the project and inform of the extension of the tolling agreement.
City Council Meeting Follow-Up
A modification to Use Permit (UP-25-001) and Site Development Review (SD-25-001) applications is required to address updates to the project design. Following up on the discussion at the City Council meeting, an amendment to Union City Municipal Code Chapter 18.114, Wireless Telecommunications Facilities, is also required to allow for monopoles in the Private Institutional (PI) Zoning District, where they are currently not allowed. Monopoles are presently permitted in the Civic Facility (CF), Light Industrial (ML), and General Industrial (MG) Zoning Districts. See Attachment 18 for a map showing the Zoning Districts where monopoles are currently allowed, as well as the location of the City’s PI zoned properties.
The following are additional proposed updates to Chapter 18.114:
• Required monopole setbacks are currently 300 feet from any residential uses, major thoroughfares, including Alvarado-Niles Road, and parks/trails. The setbacks are meant to protect the visual quality of these areas as monopoles, with an average height of over 50 feet, can be visually intrusive.
The SACBC site measures approximately 380 feet from its frontage along AlvaradoNiles Road to the rear property line it shares with adjacent residences on Condor Drive. To consider a monopole design on this site would require reducing or eliminating the required setback from major thoroughfares, including Alvarado-Niles Road, Dyer Street, Decoto Road, Whipple Road, Union City Boulevard, Mission Boulevard, Alvarado Boulevard, Lowry Road, and 11th Street. Staff is also assessing the required setbacks from all property lines included in Chapter 18.114, which is currently 20 percent of the monopole height.
• Staff is proposing to strengthen the design criteria for installation of new monopoles and related equipment enclosures, including a requirement for a fully stealth design if visible from the public way to mitigate the removal/reduction of the required setback from major thoroughfares.
There are several options for a monopole stealth design, including disguising the monopole as a clock tower, water tank, or other structure. See Figure 1 below for some examples. As a potential option to minimize visual impacts, staff inquired about installing a slim design, such as a flagpole. The applicant provided feedback that these types of facilities are no longer feasible due to concerns over adequate heat dissipation. The applicant is also preparing visual simulations of potential design options, which will be shared at the City Council meeting. • Additional minor updates to Chapter 18.114 are required to ensure consistency with the text amendments described above.
Tolling Agreement Extension
Staff is working with the applicant on an additional amendment to the tolling agreement Agenda Item No. 4.1
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to extend the agreement term to May 15, 2026, which is approximately 150 days from the expiration date of the prior tolling agreement.
Figure 1.
This term was chosen to coincide with the initial 150 days that local jurisdictions have to consider new wireless installations. This most recent extension of the tolling agreement is needed to provide the City Council flexibility should they move forward with the staff’s recommendation. The applicant team will utilize a portion of this time to prepare drawings, visual simulations, and an updated RF study, which will need to be peer-reviewed by the City’s third-party consultant.
Public Comment
Staff will send an email to individuals who previously submitted public comments and provided email addresses, or who have been asked to be added to the City’s email outreach list for this project, informing them of the upcoming meeting. All written public comment received on this item is attached to this staff report. The last public comment received was dated November 11, 2025.
FISCAL IMPACT
The appellant paid the required application fee established in the current Master Fee Schedule.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council continue the public hearing for appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of Use Permit (UP-25-001) and Site Development Review (SD-25-001) from December 9, 2025 to a date uncertain to provide the applicant, Wireless Epic on behalf of AT&T, and the City, time to process an update to the applications to accommodate a modified project design and required zoning text amendments to Union City Municipal Code (UCMC) Chapter 18.114, Wireless Communications Facilities. Future meetings will be duly noticed. It is further recommended that the City Council return the matter to the Planning Commission for recommendation to the City Council of the modified applications and proposed zoning Agenda Item No. 4.1
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text amendments.
Prepared by: Carmela Campbell, Economic and Community Development Director Submitted by: Carmela Campbell, Economic and Community Development Director Attachments
• Attachment 1: Draft City Council Resolution Approving Use Permit (UP-25-001), Site Development Review (SD-25-001)
• Exhibit A - Project Plans
• Exhibit B - Statement of Use
• Exhibit C - Photo Simulations
• Attachment 2: Planning Commission Staff Report dated 10/16/2025 • Attachment 3: Draft Planning Commission Resolution dated 10/16/2025 • Attachment 4: Draft Planning Commission Minutes dated 10/16/2025 • Attachment 5: Desk Item dated 10/16/2025
• Attachment 6: Appeal Letter dated 10/19/2025
• Attachment 7: Noise Analysis
• Attachment 8: Alternative Sites Analysis
• Attachment 9: Public Comment dated October 24, 2025
• Attachment 10: Public Comment dated October 30, 2025
• Attachment 11: City Council Staff Report dated November 4, 2025 • Attachment 12: Public Comment dated November 4, 2025
• Attachment 13: Public Comment dated November 5, 2025
• Attachment 14: Public Comment dated November 11, 2025 • Attachment 15: City Council Meeting Minutes Dated November 4, 2025 • Attachment 16: City Council Staff Report Dated November 13, 2025 • Attachment 17: City Council Meeting Minutes Dated November 13, 2025 • Attachment 18: Zoning Map Showing Existing/Proposed Districts Where Monopoles Allowed