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Putnam Zoning Board approves setback reduction for 220-foot Crescent City communications tower
Summary
The Putnam County Zoning Board of Adjustments voted 6-0 to approve a variance reducing the required setback from 750 feet to 350 feet for a proposed 220-foot communications tower on a 4.94-acre parcel in Crescent City, subject to landscaping and review conditions.
The Putnam County Zoning Board of Adjustments on an unspecified date approved a variance reducing the required setback from 750 feet to 350 feet for a proposed 220-foot communications tower at 2680 South Highway 17 in Crescent City.
Staff testimony said the property, owned by the applicant Sam's 3 LLC and represented by agent Michael Nicks of Vertical Bridge LLC, contains jurisdictional wetlands that limit buildable uplands and prompted the request. Michael Graves, Planning and Development Services, recommended approval subject to conditions, saying staff found the request met the majority of the criteria for a variance under the county Land Development Code.
The applicant asked to measure the tower setback to the nearest residential building rather than the residential property line, citing wetlands that cover roughly half to two-thirds of the rear of the 4.94-acre parcel. Michael Nicks, the agent, told the board that "we had originally intended to put the tower in the back part of that parcel" but that the rear contains "an upland area that is actually an island" surrounded by wetlands and would require traversing environmentally sensitive lands to reach.
Graves told the board staff's review concluded the wetlands delineation qualified as a special circumstance in the code. Staff also noted an alternative upland portion of the parcel could, in staff's view, accommodate the tower if alternate access were obtained, and that staff could not fully agree the requested reduction was the absolute minimum necessary. Staff calculated the proposed tower would be approximately 361.8 feet from the nearest residential structure and recorded a fall radius estimate of roughly 16.5 feet.
The board approved the variance 6-0, with the motion including three staff-recommended conditions: strict adherence to county screening, buffering and landscaping requirements; compliance with the administrative deviation committee's approved special use permit regulations; and full review through the Development Review Committee (DRC) to ensure compliance with all related regulations. The board chair and staff reminded applicants of the county's 30-day appeal period for board decisions.
The decision allows the applicant to proceed with the DRC review and any building permits required for the tower site, subject to the conditions set by the board and any required permits or reviews by other agencies.
