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City advances new wireless-telecom zoning rules, adds protections for small neighborhood parks
Summary
City council approved first readings of three ordinances that revise how wireless telecommunications towers are sited, set a setback tied to tower height, and bar towers in small neighborhood parks under 5 acres; changes follow months of planning-and-zoning review and a pending conditional-use application for 108 West Park Street.
The Brandon City Council on first reading advanced three ordinances that revise local rules for siting wireless telecommunications towers, including a new formula for setbacks and a prohibition on placing towers in small neighborhood parks.
Patrick, a city planning staff member, told the council that planning and zoning has held multiple meetings on the topic since November and recommended the changes. “So the number planning and zoning came up with was 1.1 times the height of the tower,” Patrick said, describing the new setback rule that replaces the current fixed 300-foot requirement measured from residential lots.
The new code language proposed in ordinance 07-28 would measure the required separation as 1.1 times the tower’s height from the base of the tower to the property line of a residentially zoned lot. Patrick said the change is intended to balance residents’ proximity concerns with federal limits on local authority under the Telecommunications Act and the federal interest in avoiding de facto prohibitions on service.
Ordinance 07-29 would update the lot- and yard-regulations table for the General Business district to implement the same height-proportional setback for towers in that zoning. Ordinance 07-30 adds wireless telecommunications towers as a conditional use in the Institutional district and, at the request of planning and zoning, bars new towers in parks smaller than 5 acres — a change planning staff said would exclude most of the city’s smaller neighborhood parks and leave only larger parks such as McCarty, Aspen and Pioneer as possible sites (subject to the setback rule).
Patrick said the ordinances also include a practical step for staff: applicants who submit documentation to the Federal Communications Commission would be required to provide those FCC filings to the city for its file. “If they submit documentation to the FCC, we would like to just have it in our files,” Patrick said.
Councilmembers voiced appreciation for planning and zoning’s work. Mayor Harry Buck thanked the board and staff: “Thank planning and zoning for us. They put in a lot a lot of time, and they look at these things very thoroughly and appreciate their efforts,” he said.
Council members approved the first readings of the three ordinances. Patrick noted the regulatory changes come as the city is reviewing a conditional-use permit application for a proposed tower at 108 West Park Street; that application also includes a rezoning request scheduled for separate hearings. Patrick said a final decision on any tower application will depend on whether applicants can establish a coverage gap or feasible alternative sites consistent with federal standards.
The measures will return for additional readings and public hearings as required by ordinance. Planning and zoning’s work on the revisions began in November and included at least seven meetings and one public hearing, according to staff.
