Area BZA tables 275-foot telecom tower request at Ironwood Road, asks for more engineering and public outreach

The Area Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 13 tabled a petition from McKay Brothers seeking a special use and four variances to build a 275-foot telecommunications tower at 50831 Ironwood Road.

The board’s staff, represented by Sean Klein, director of the Area Planning Commission, recommended a favorable recommendation to the County Council for the special use if conditions are met and recommended approval of the four variances subject to the special use being approved. Klein told the board staff’s condition was that the tower compound be designed to allow co-location by at least four cell-phone service providers.

The applicant’s attorney, Caitlin Elias of Dickinson Wright, said the proposed tower would be a self-supporting structure designed to accommodate co-location and that the compound would be large enough to expand ground equipment if needed. Engineer Kevin Kenny (WT Group) confirmed the equipment compound shown on staff materials is a 50-by-50-foot compound and the lease term is 10 years with four 10‑year renewal options.

Petitioner representatives and staff explained the applicant seeks a taller-than-ordinance structure because of terrain and line-of-sight requirements to tie into the existing network. Klein summarized: the parcel chosen is farther than 500 feet from existing residences (a distance used elsewhere in the code for permitting towers by right in other districts), but the requested height — 275 feet — exceeds the ordinance maximum of 200 feet and would trigger FAA lighting requirements.

Board members asked for more technical detail and visual context. Members questioned whether the network could work with a lower tower height, asked for clearer photo simulations and a map showing existing towers and their pointing directions, and suggested the applicant hold a community open house.

After discussion the board voted to table the petition to the September meeting and requested the applicant supply additional information: detailed photo simulations grounded in current topography, engineering substantiation for the need for height above 200 feet, an inventory/map of nearby towers and their azimuths, and a public open-house or other community outreach prior to the next hearing. The board’s procedural practice is to forward a recommendation on the special use to the County Council while deciding variances; tonight the board chose to delay action on the variances until the additional information is provided.

The board recorded the petition as tabled to the Sept. 10 meeting. The transcript shows board members and staff discussing tower fall radius, co-location capacity and FAA lighting; petitioner representatives offered to return with added simulations and engineering detail.

Why it matters: towers above 200 feet require FAA lighting and are visually prominent; the board’s request for additional documentation and public outreach reflects concerns about visibility, the technical necessity for the additional height, and community notice before variances are granted.

What’s next: the applicant will return with the requested engineering substantiation, visual simulations and outreach documentation; the board will consider the variances only after those materials are reviewed and may then forward a recommendation on the special use to County Council.