The Apple Valley City Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit on April 10 for an 86-foot wireless communications monopole at Bethel Assembly Church, 14201 Cedar Avenue, subject to conditions the council and staff say are standard under city code.

City planner Sydney (listed in the packet as staff presenter) told the council the site is in an institutional zoning district where towers are allowed as a conditional use and that the earlier permit for the property (approved in 2017) lapsed because no building permit was issued. Sydney noted the city requires review letters from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission at the building-permit stage and said the city may not deny a conditional use permit based on concerns about radio-frequency emissions because RF regulation is under FCC authority.

The resolution before the council included specific conditions: an engineered breakpoint for setbacks, a 30-by-25-foot equipment pad with opaque fencing for screening, additional landscaping along 140th Street West, tree-maintenance provisions for existing screening trees, review and approval of tower color prior to permit issuance, and a requirement to pave the proposed driveway and install sidewalk across the property from the east to west property line.

The applicant had asked the Planning Commission and the council to consider removing the sidewalk requirement; the Planning Commission preferred retaining the sidewalk condition. Council members who spoke in favor said the proposal met the city's performance standards (listed in city code section 155.385) and that sidewalk installation is consistent with past practice for similar applications.

A motion to adopt the resolution approving the conditional use permit for an "86-foot tall wireless communications monopole" carried unanimously; the council recorded no roll-call vote with individual member votes in the meeting excerpt.

Ending: The applicant will proceed to the building-permit stage, at which time the city will require FAA and FCC review letters and the conditions approved by the council, including paving and sidewalk installation, must be satisfied.