Item 12 - Ground License Agreement for Wireless Telecommunications Facilities

Home Browse Search

Ground License Agreement for Wireless Telecommunications Facilities March 18, 2025 Page 2 with the City Attorney's Office to create a new standardized license agreement to better the process of managing agreements and tracking revenue generated. This newly formatted agreement will be used for new cell tower applications and modifications or renewals to existing agreements. A steering committee led by PWA worked on the development and creation of the standard agreement template. The steering committee included staff from the City Attorney's Office; Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Agency; and Pyramid International, a City consultant. Pyramid International conducted a rate study to make sure lease fees match fair market value. The study included researching agreements from private and public properties in neighboring cities and reviewing industry data. The municipalities surveyed included Costa Mesa, Orange, Newport Beach, and Fullerton. The survey showed average rent amounts of $3,692/month. Additionally, all four cities had escalation rates of 3%. The City's new standard agreement, for new sites, will increase the minimum initial rent to $4,000/month with a 4% annual escalation, which is significantly greater than most of the current Santa Ana agreements and the four surveyed municipalities. Crown Castle USA, a major wireless infrastructure company, manages five existing cell tower leases in four City parks - El Salvador Park, Jerome Park, Madison Park, and Riverview Park - as well as at the Santa Ana Stadium; of which, three of the locations, El Salvador Park, Jerome Park, and the Santa Ana Stadium are being updated (Exhibit 1). Each lease includes a tower disguised as a tree and includes ground space for carrier equipment. These agreements generate approximately $220,000 annually, which helps fund park maintenance and capital improvements. Recently, Crown Castle approached the City about modifying agreements at Jerome Park and El Salvador Park to allow a new carrier, DISH, to install equipment on the existing towers. This process is called colocation. To accommodate the colocations, DISH needs an additional area. The additional area at El Salvador Park can and will be accommodated within the current Crown Castle equipment room. The additional area required at Jerome Park is 66 square feet and will be provided in an exterior location adjacent to the existing Crown Castle equipment room. The location was vetted on site by Staff and brought into a discussion with the Cell Tower steering committee. The City plans to implement the new standard license agreement for these sites, as well as update the existing lease at the Santa Ana Stadium to a license agreement. The remaining two agreements, Madison Park and Riverview Park, are being updated and will be presented to Council at a later date. El Salvador Park has two cell tower installations. The first is owned by SBA and features a large "monopine" tree with an equipment room located near the poolside fencing. The second tower, owned by Crown Castle, consists of a large camouflaged "monopine" tree, with an equipment room attached to the existing restroom building. DISH's additional equipment will be housed in Crown Castle's existing equipment room, does not require additional ground area, and will not impact existing restroom