Commission recommends approval of AT&T cell tower with condition to keep fall zone on applicant’s parcel

The Weatherford Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday recommended approval, 6–1, of a conditional-use permit for a 130-foot AT&T communications tower on a 14.903-acre tract at 3103 Sonora Canyon Road, but required the applicant to adjust the tower location so the fall zone does not encroach on an adjacent residential property.

City planning staff described the request as a conceptual site plan for a communications tower proposed in an agricultural zone. Staff said the tower will require federal approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission and noted that AT&T had submitted coverage maps showing improved service to nearby areas and around the lake. Staff recommended approval subject to one condition.

AT&T representative Chris Prescott said the site would improve coverage, support FirstNet and Department of Defense overlays used for public-safety communications and emergency geolocation, and that the company will pursue required FAA/FCC clearances, environmental reviews and standard engineering and grounding measures.

A long public hearing followed. Neighbors from the nearby Red Eagle Ranch subdivision and adjoining properties — including Jennifer Gennaro, Don Ventura, Kenneth Dean, Marty Schranz and others — told commissioners they expected negative impacts on property values and neighborhood character, said the tower would be an “eyesore,” raised questions about lighting, lightning strikes and fire risk, and asked whether alternative locations or co-location on existing towers had been meaningfully explored.

AT&T’s representative and staff addressed those concerns in part: Prescott said monopole towers are engineered to resist wind and that monopoles have ‘‘taken’’ lightning strikes while grounding them; he also said company engineers had evaluated alternative sites and that some locations were impractical for coverage. City staff and the city attorney noted federal rules, including a statutory “shot clock” under federal telecommunications law that limits the time a local government can take to act on wireless siting requests.

Commissioners and staff also discussed an apparent overlap between the tower’s fall radius and a neighboring property. AT&T’s representative said he would consult with the property owner and attempt to slide the tower east to remove the fall radius overlap; the commission made that relocation a condition of its approval and asked that the applicant provide regulatory approvals (FAA/FCC) during the building-permit process.

The motion to recommend approval (with the additional condition that the fall zone be contained within the applicant’s parcel and that required FAA/FCC approvals be submitted with building permits) passed 6–1. The recommendation proceeds to City Council, which has final authority.