Commission recommends approval of 50-foot AT&T tower at 200 West Grand with conditions

The Haysville Planning Commission recommended approval of a conditional use permit to construct a 50-foot wireless communication tower at 200 West Grand, subject to conditions outlined in the staff report and local code.

Christina Reith, planning staff with the Wichita–Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department, presented the application and said the site is zoned light commercial and is just under 2 acres. Reith said AT&T is the applicant for the conditional use and that the tower would be located on a leased area of approximately 90 feet by 50 feet in the northwest corner of the site. She said wireless communication facilities require conditional use approval in the light commercial district and that Sedgwick County Fire District 1 reviewed and approved the conditional use.

Reith listed the staff considerations and recommended conditional-use approval with conditions: meet all requirements of Appendix E Section 505 (the city code on wireless communication facilities); finish and color the tower to be unobtrusive; develop the site in general conformance with approved site plans; complete all improvements before the facility becomes operational; obtain Federal Aviation Administration approval where applicable for objects affecting navigable airspace and terminal instrument procedures; and operate in compliance with federal, state and local rules. Reith said the zoning administrator, in concurrence with the deputy administrator, may declare the conditional use null and void if conditions are violated.

Glenn Clockey of Network Real Estate, representing AT&T on site acquisition, told commissioners the proposed structure is a 50-foot monopole and that the lease area will be fenced with a faux-stone composite panel fence. Clockey said AT&T will occupy a single equipment space in the lease area and the site is being built to accommodate future carriers. "This site will cover about a 5 mile radius," Clockey said, adding the site is designed to tie into existing sites to fill coverage gaps in Haysville.

Daniel Sparacino, an attorney with Stinson LLP speaking for SBA Communications, said SBA operates a 150-foot monopole about 955 feet east of the proposed site and that SBA has existing capacity and has previously offered space to AT&T. Sparacino urged the applicants to consider colocation on the existing tower and flagged the light-commercial district maximum height of 45 feet; he said he did not see a variance application in the record and questioned whether a height variance would be supportable under the code cited (Chapter 16A, Article 1004).

Planning staff and the applicant responded that colocation had been considered but that ground-lease issues and other hurdles had led the applicant to seek a new site. Staff also noted Appendix E allows wireless facilities that do not comply with a district's maximum height restrictions to be allowed as a special use through the conditional-use process.

After public comment and discussion, a commissioner moved and another seconded to recommend approval with the staff-recommended conditions. The motion passed on a voice vote.