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Board approves location amendment and two-year permit extension for hidden ‘windmill’ cell tower at Summit Christian Church
Summary
The Board approved an amendment to a special-use permit for a stealth monopole wireless facility at Summit Christian Church to move its location near existing communications facilities and extend the building-permit deadline by two years; one member voted no.
The Washoe County Board of Adjustment on Feb. 6 approved an amendment of conditions for a special-use permit allowing a stealth monopole wireless communications facility disguised as a windmill at Summit Christian Church.
Planning staff said the amendment (case WAC24-0012 for WSUP22-0028) requests a change in the previously approved location so the tower would sit adjacent to existing communications facilities and seeks a two-year extension to obtain an issued building permit. Staff reported that parcels within 500 feet were noticed (121 notices mailed) and that no public comments were received on the amendment.
Julie Olander, Washoe County planner, described the request as an amendment of a previously approved permit for a stealth monopole wireless facility “disguised as a windmill.” The staff report described the originally approved facility as 58 feet high; in oral remarks the planner also used the figure 48 feet, an inconsistency in the hearing record.
Olander said the change was prompted by a Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District requirement to pave a road to the originally approved tower location; the applicant therefore proposed relocating the facility to an area with existing communication towers and a gravel road the applicant said the fire district accepts.
Lisa Elliott, the applicant’s representative on the phone, said she concurred with staff and did not present further. There was no public comment. The board voted to approve the amendment with conditions in Exhibit A of the staff report.
The motion was moved by board member Leo Harishni and seconded by Peter Gershon. The chair announced the motion passed with one nay and the rest in favor.
Why it matters
The change consolidates a disguised wireless facility beside an existing communications cluster, which the applicant and staff say reduces the need for additional paved access work. The record indicates the fire district’s road-paving requirement triggered the relocation request. The transcript contains conflicting height figures (58 feet in the staff report language, 48 feet in a staff oral remark); county staff should be consulted and the staff report examined for the authoritative height measurement.
What’s next
Per the board action, the permit remains subject to the conditions listed in Exhibit A of the staff report and the applicant will have an additional two years to obtain a building permit under the amended approval.
