Brief

The South Valley Area Planning Commission has appealed a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) determination for a project at 3610 North Sapphire Drive. The appeal, submitted July 7, 2026, challenges the environmental review or exemption decision made in connection with a related development case. The matter is pending before the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, which extended the review deadline from August 29 to December 11, 2026.

Full summary

The underlying project, proposed by T-Mobile through representative Colt Waterbury of Network Connex, would move an existing power meter off a shared utility pole in the public right-of-way on Sapphire Drive and into a new above-ground cabinet roughly four feet tall, 17 inches wide, and 20 inches deep, placed about five feet from a neighboring single-family property. The site falls within the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan Outer Corridor and is subject to the Baseline Hillside Ordinance; the cabinet would be downslope and visible from Mulholland Drive. No grading or tree removal is proposed. The Director of Planning approved the project on February 5, 2026, finding it categorically exempt from CEQA under Class 1 (existing facilities) and Class 3 (new small structures) and conditionally approving the design with requirements including a four-foot height cap and exterior colors drawn from the Santa Monica Mountains color palette. The Mulholland Design Review Board had recommended approval 5-0 in November 2025. Neighbor Heather Bernstein appealed that approval to the South Valley Area Planning Commission, which voted 3-0 on April 23, 2026 to deny her entitlement appeal and uphold the Director's determination. That decision is final and not further appealable. What is now before the City Council is solely Bernstein's separate CEQA appeal, filed June 15, 2026, which challenges the categorical exemption finding. The entitlement approval itself — the commission's decision to let the project proceed — is not part of this Council file. The South Valley Area Planning Commission transmitted the CEQA appeal to the City Clerk on July 7, 2026, and it was referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee two days later. Council has 75 days from the last day to appeal (June 18, 2026) to act, placing the original deadline at late August 2026. On July 30, 2026, the Planning and Land Use Management Committee Chair approved an extension of that deadline to December 11, 2026, giving staff additional time to analyze the appeal. The file remains open and pending committee action; no hearing date or recommendation has been scheduled.

Activity (4)

• 2026-07-30 Planning and Land Use Management Committee Chair approved extension of time limit from August 29, 2026 to December 11, 2026.
• 2026-07-09 Area Planning Commission (APC) / South Valley document(s) referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
• 2026-07-09 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Appeal submitted by Area Planning Commission (APC) / South Valley dated July 7, 2026.
• 2026-07-07 Document submitted by Area Planning Commission (APC) / South Valley, dated July 7, 2026.

Documents (11)

• 2026-07-30 Communication from Applicant - Consent to Time Limit Extension · other
• 2026-07-30 Communication from Committee Chair - Consent to Time Limit Extension · other
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Mailing List · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Project Justification · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Notice of Exemption · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Project Permit Compliance and Design Review · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Exhibit A · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Report from South Valley Area Planning Commission · report
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Appeal + Justification · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Attachment to Report dated 7-07-26 - Staff Report · attachment
• 2026-07-07 Report from South Valley Area Planning Commission · report