Design review members favor minimal screened enclosure for AT&T equipment atop Travelodge Inn

Members of the design review committee reviewed an AT&T application to replace a small‑cell site with a roof‑mounted wireless telecommunications facility at 2441 South El Camino Real, the Travelodge Inn, and provided advisory feedback focused on minimizing visual impact. Sarah, a contract planner, summarized three design alternatives and said the applicant submitted an initial design at 47 feet with other options reaching about 51 feet.

The staff overview said the project (PHP 26,212) would replace an existing rooftop small‑cell site and is intended to improve cellular service in the area. A staff member stated the proposal includes a new fiber‑reinforced polymer enclosure to screen antennas; the committee was told the antennas’ operating height would not change and only the exterior screening would increase the visible structure. The staff summary noted the zoning code’s 45‑foot height limit and that the applicant will seek a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission because certain design options would exceed that limit.

Sarah presented three alternatives: Option 1 (the smallest, roughly 47 feet) enlarges the existing box around the elevator shaft; Option 2 is a taller decorative treatment with faux windows and a Spanish‑tile motif (about 51 feet); Option 3 aims for a lower decorative look without Spanish tile and is less visible from the south. "When they submitted it, it was 47 feet high," Sarah said while walking members through the plans.

Committee members repeatedly expressed a preference for the least visually intrusive approach. One member urged "just make it look like it's a utility box on top of the building," arguing that the smaller screened enclosure and a paint/stucco finish matching the existing building would be least harmful to the hotel's appearance. Members discussed alternatives such as extending parapets or adding modest tile banding at corners to soften the box, but several said full decorative facades that read like an extra story would be too bulky for the site.

Technical clarifications included that the equipment footprint is increasing to support four antenna sectors (from two earlier) even though antenna mounting height remains unchanged, and that some earlier site configurations dated to the 1990s. Staff and the applicant confirmed the proposed screening material is FRP/polymer that can be textured and painted to match stucco; committee members noted metal panels would not be appropriate for the chosen finish.

The committee’s comments were advisory; staff said the item will go on the Planning Commission agenda in about three weeks as a conditional use permit application for formal review. Earlier in the meeting the committee approved minutes for May 13 and June 24 and then moved to adjourn to the next regularly scheduled design review meeting on July 29 at 3 p.m.

What happens next: staff will package the DRC feedback with the applicant’s CUP application to the Planning Commission, which will make any formal decision on height exceptions or required conditions.