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Commissioners approve 110‑foot monopole at Gaynor Road with condition for public‑safety access
Summary
After staff and the planning commission recommended denial, the board approved a new monopole telecommunications tower at 104 Gaynor Road, conditioned to provide compatible space and access for county public‑safety radio equipment.
The Spalding County Board of Commissioners voted 5‑0 on March 27 to allow a new monopole telecommunications tower on a 4.92‑acre parcel at 104 Gaynor Road, contingent on terms ensuring county access for public‑safety radio equipment.
Tower Engineering Professionals and Verizon Wireless sought the special exception after modeling showed gaps in current cell coverage. Harold Timmons of Tower Engineering Professionals told the board the proposed tower would materially improve service in an area identified by the carrier’s propagation maps as having poor coverage. Timmons said the applicant initially used a 0.6‑mile engineering radius to select the site but later sent letters to tower owners within the county’s 2.5‑mile code radius; he said no viable nonresidential alternatives inside the engineering ring were available.
Community development staff and the planning commission had recommended denial, citing the telecommunications ordinance’s goals to encourage collocation and to minimize the total number of towers within 2.5 miles; staff noted applicant letters to existing tower owners were sent late in the process and that some code procedures were not followed. Staff also pointed to the residential character of nearby parcels and the ordinance preference for nonresidential siting.
During deliberations commissioners balanced those concerns against service needs. Several commissioners emphasized county radio and emergency communications needs and asked that any approval include a county‑access provision. The board added a condition requiring the developer to provide space at specified heights and to coordinate compatible accommodations for Spalding County public‑safety radio equipment, subject to engineering compatibility. The applicant agreed to work with the county on placement and compatibility.
The unanimous approval indicates the board concluded the coverage benefits for the area and the promised accommodations for public safety outweighed staff’s procedural and siting concerns.
Votes at a glance
Monopole telecommunications tower (application 42502S): approved, vote 5‑0; approval conditioned on provision of county public‑safety equipment space and compatibility.
