AT&T to take proposal before Calabasas planning board

AT&T Wireless plans to build an unmanned communication facility just southwest of the Calabasas High School track. The proposal went before the Calabasas Planning Commission last week and will return in the near future. City staff and AT&T must first address issues related to safety and aesthetics, according to Calabasas Community Development Director Steve Craig.

The AT&T enclosure is a facility 20 feet long and eight feet tall that would include a 65-foot pole that replaces an existing utility pole of the same height, Craig said.

"There was a concern," Craig said, "that given its location on campus, if it didn’t have some form of covering . . . there would be some risk that students might jump in there and make a mess of things—it’s a safety concern," Craig said. "The other main thing is we want to make sure it’s dressed so that it looks like something other than a utility box."

The city will likely request some younger trees to be planted around the enclosure to help screen it, Craig said.

AT&T has wanted to build this facility for three years.

"There’s virtually no coverage for AT&T Wireless in that area," Craig said. The proposed facility and the antenna will provide the coverage that many AT&T customers have asked to get for a long time.

"The planning commission is the final decision-maker on this," he said. "If someone appeals it, then it will go before the council."

Craig suspects that construction will begin within the next couple of weeks, provided that planning commissioners approve it.

—Michael Picarella