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Plan commission approves 50‑year antenna SUP and PD amendment at 4413 Naaman School Road
Summary
Crafton Communications and site developer CTGI received plan commission approval for a 50‑year special use provision and plan development amendment for an 85‑foot monopole at 4413 Naaman School Road, with landscaping and screening requirements and a reduced setback from residential zoning.
The Garland Plan Commission on June 23 approved a request from Crafton Communications and the site developer CTGI to install an 85‑foot steel monopole antenna compound at 4413 Naaman School Road, granting a 50‑year special use provision and a plan development amendment to reduce the required buffer distance from residential district boundaries.
Staff explained the request follows a recent Garland Development Code amendment that now requires an SUP for nonresidential antennas and allows certain deviations. The property is a 0.22‑acre parcel that largely abuts city‑owned agricultural floodplain; staff recommended approval with a reduced minimum distance of 120 feet from a residential district (the code’s usual requirement is greater) and with conditions for landscaping and screening around the tower compound. Staff also noted the site is largely constrained by floodplain and utility easements and that the applicant’s requested 50‑year term matches the lease.
Doug Henderson of Crafton Communications, representing CTGI, said the compound and driveway are sited outside the floodplain and that the developer plans an 8,000‑square‑foot compound area. “It is completely outside of the floodway and the floodplain,” Henderson said, describing the parcel as a difficult site to develop for other uses and noting the lease term drove the 50‑year request. He and the applicant said they designed the compound to accommodate carriers and that the monopole could support up to three carriers.
Commissioners asked about tower height and potential failure modes; staff said the proposed 80–85 foot monopole complies with the Garland Development Code and that monopoles are engineered to break rather than fall intact, reducing the distance of any debris in a failure event. Staff also said that city engineering and other departments reviewed flood studies and concluded the tower location is outside the floodplain.
A motion to approve the SUP and PD amendment for a 50‑year term with the requested deviations and landscaping/screening conditions passed unanimously. Staff said 20 notification letters were sent and no written responses were received.
The approval advances the PD amendment and SUP to city council; planning staff will include the landscaping and screening conditions in the council packet and confirm the site design meets the approved limitations.
