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Planning commission approves 197-foot monopole on Rock Springs Baptist Church property
Summary
The Mecklenburg County Planning Commission approved a 197-foot monopole telecommunications tower proposed for a 135-acre parcel off Ivy Hill Road to improve cellular and broadband coverage; the tower is designed for Verizon with space for additional carriers.
The Mecklenburg County Planning Commission voted to approve an application to site a 197-foot monopole-style communications tower on a 135-acre parcel owned by Rock Springs Baptist Church off Ivy Hill Road in Election District 1 of Mecklenburg County.
The tower, proposed by the applicant's representative Jonathan Yates, is designed initially for Verizon Wireless and to accommodate up to three additional broadband carriers. Yates told the commission the facility includes a 60-foot-by-60-foot equipment compound, a 100-by-100 lease area with a 50-by-50 fenced compound and a seven-foot chain-link fence topped with barbed wire and an anti-climbing device.
Yates said the site was chosen to meet coverage needs in that part of the county and described the proposed construction timeline as a roughly 45- to 60-day maximum period for work on the foundation, noting the tower itself is typically stacked in a single day. He also said the equipment would be monitored remotely and that carrier technicians might visit “8 to 10 times a year.”
"It is sorely needed in that area," Yates said, and added the facility would not produce "any noise, odor, lights, vibration, fumes, or glare." He also cited emergency communications as a purpose: "You want to be able to get 911 when you need them," he said.
The application packet and the applicant’s presentation noted the property was left to the church by the T.J. Richardson family and that about 1.24 acres were conveyed in 1989 for a substation; the remaining acreage provides the setbacks and tree cover needed for the tower site. Yates said the facility will allow other carriers to place equipment both on the monopole and inside the compound if they choose.
During the meeting a member moved that the commission find the application consistent with the Mecklenburg County comprehensive plan and not detrimental to public welfare, health or safety; another member seconded the motion. The commission voted in favor and the motion carried.
The commission’s approval authorizes the project as presented at the hearing. The timing of when additional carriers collocate or when the carrier places active equipment on the site was described by the applicant as a commercial decision made by each carrier and not a matter set by the commission.
