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Stow City approves 95-foot radio tower and 25-foot setback variance near water tower
Summary
Stow City Council approved site plan and conditional-use paperwork for a 95-foot radio tower next to a municipal water tower and granted a 25-foot variance from the city's 100-foot setback requirement.
Stow City Council approved site-plan and conditional-use permits for a new 95-foot radio tower to be built within the fenced utility compound near the city's water tower on Darrow Road, including a 25-foot variance from the municipal code's usual 100-foot setback from the nearest residential district. The approval clears the project to move forward after a planning-committee review and a formal resolution before council.
The planning director described the tower's site and purpose: the tower will let the city relocate communications equipment currently mounted on the water tower, which officials said will make repainting the water tower easier. The tower is sited inside the fenced service-center parcel adjacent to the water tower and roughly 75 feet from the nearest residential property line and about 85 feet from the nearest dwelling; it will sit approximately 420 feet from Darrow Road.
City code generally requires a 100-foot separation from residential properties for this type of public-utility communications tower or that the tower be “adequately screened.” The applicant requested a 25-foot variance to place the tower 75 feet from the property line. The planning committee recommended moving the matter to the full council, and the council adopted a resolution granting site-plan approval and the variance.
Council members asked about alternate locations, interference with the water tower and operation of radio and microwave gear. Staff explained the location was selected to simplify transfer of equipment now mounted on the water tower and to limit new wiring and infrastructure elsewhere. Fire and building-review comments raised during the planning review were addressed before the council vote, staff said.
The project uses funding the council previously authorized; the planning director said the council already approved the appropriation and this hearing completed the land-use approvals. City staff said no outdoor storage would be associated with the site and that the project complies with the city's supplemental regulations for public-utility towers except for the setback variance.
Where this leaves the project: the approval allows the city to proceed with construction permitting and contractor procurement. Because the parcel is city-owned, staff said the next steps will be building-permit issuance and field work to relocate the communications equipment before repainting the water tower.
Speakers listed in the record included the Planning Director (Mr. Cowan), multiple council members and city staff who asked about neighborhood impacts and compliance with review comments. No formal appeals or legal challenges were raised during the meeting.
Council action: the council adopted the site-plan resolution and variance (resolution number recorded in the meeting file). The record shows the matter advanced through planning committee and was placed on the council agenda for final action.
