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Planning Commission recommends 20-year renewal for existing 150-foot American Tower monopole
Summary
Lee's Summit Planning Commission voted unanimously May 8 to recommend approval of a 20-year special use permit renewal that will allow continued operation of a 150-foot telecommunications monopole owned by American Tower; staff said the renewal does not change height or compound footprint and state law limits some local regulatory authority.
The Lee's Summit Planning Commission on May 8 voted to recommend approval of a 20-year special use permit renewal that will allow American Tower Corporation to continue operating an existing 150-foot monopole telecommunications tower on a parcel zoned RDR.
Taylor Lovely, speaking for American Tower, told the commission she was seeking approval “for renewal of the special use permit, for the continued use, of an existing 150 foot telecommunications tower.”
The permit renewal request covers the existing tower only; neither an increase in height nor an expansion of the fenced compound was proposed. Shannon McGuire, plan manager for the city, told commissioners the pad site is contained within a roughly 50-by-60-foot fenced area on a property that is about 5.8 acres in total and that a tower has existed on the site since 1995.
The commission heard no public comment on the application. Commissioners asked staff about site upkeep and legal limits on local regulation. Commissioner Randy Bembrooke asked whether buildings inside the fenced area and the parcel structures were in good condition; McGuire replied they were and said the site is “located on a very wooded site” with existing vegetation that screens the compound. Bembrooke also asked whether state law overrode local maintenance standards; McGuire explained that a state law change around 2018 preempted certain local authority over wireless siting but that the city’s maintenance standards still apply, saying, “That does not override us, no.”
McGuire stated staff’s recommendation to approve the requested 20-year special use permit, and Commissioner Randy Bembrooke moved to recommend approval of application PL2025PL2025024. The motion received a second and passed on a roll-call vote in which all participating commissioners voted yes.
Vote record (roll call as read at the meeting): Jake Loveless — yes; Terry Trafton — yes; Dana Arth — yes; Jessica Grinnell — yes; Chip Tazinski — yes; Randy Bembrooke — yes; the motion passed.
Staff noted the approval would maintain existing wireless service to the area; the request did not include any changes to tower height, footprint, or equipment locations. The staff presentation and the conditions listed in the staff letter were entered into the record as Exhibit A, items 1–13. No additional timelines or next steps were specified during the public hearing portion recorded in the minutes.
