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ZBA approves replacement monopole to modernize 150-foot tower on Rockledge Court
Summary
The board approved a use variance and directed further planning review to replace a 53-year-old lattice tower with a new 150-foot monopole to improve cellular coverage and allow co-location of additional carriers; staff noted the tower’s location is residential and will require special-use and waiver reviews at later steps.
The Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday approved a use-variance request allowing the replacement of an existing 150-foot lattice communications tower with a new 150-foot monopole at 1516 Rockledge Court. The applicant, B Diamond Infrastructure, said the existing tower does not meet current engineering standards and prevents the primary carrier, AT&T, from upgrading equipment.
Outside counsel Bev Francis and site manager Katie Harms told the board the monopole will be placed approximately 12 feet from the existing tower, allow AT&T to modernize service and add space for at least two additional carriers, and is designed to collapse within a limited fall zone if it failed. “This monopole will allow AT&T to upgrade to current data standards and create space for co-location,” Harms said.
City staff cautioned that the site is in an RM-15 residential zone and that the zoning code permits new towers in residential zones only in narrowly defined circumstances (for example, as a steeple-like structure or on public park or utility sites). Staff said alternatives exist — including structural reinforcement of the existing tower, locating a new tower in a nearby manufacturing zone that permits towers by right, or decommissioning and redeveloping the site — and that the use variance is only the first step. If the board’s variance is approved, the project will still require a special-use permit, multiple waivers (setback and other standards), planning commission review, site-plan review, and building-permit approvals.
Board members and staff noted safety advantages of modern monopole design compared with old self-supporting lattice towers; an engineer’s letter in the application package estimated a 16-foot fall zone. After discussion the board adopted the finding of fact and approved the request; the approval moves the proposal to planning commission review for the special-use and waiver decisions.
