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Planning commission approves 75-foot monopole on Enterprise Way, extends lapse period to 1 year
Summary
The commission approved CUP 2025-13 for a 75-foot monopole wireless facility on city property at the end of Enterprise Way, requiring desert-tan paint, shrouding of antennas and underground utilities; the commission modified the staff condition to extend the discontinuation/lapse period from six months to one year.
The Taft Planning Commission on Nov. 25 approved a conditional use permit (CUP 2025-13) to install a new 75‑foot monopole wireless telecommunications facility within a 50‑by‑50‑foot lease area on city property at the dead end of Enterprise Way (APN 20220‑290‑07). The facility will serve as a freestanding monopole designed to host Verizon’s antennas and to accommodate up to three carriers.
Staff said the application met Tier 2 standards in Taft Municipal Code Chapter 6-12-33 for wireless facilities when conditioned, and that required federal reviews were provided: the applicant supplied an FCC compliance report and FAA verification. Staff recommended conditions including painting the pole a desert-tan color, installing a radome or shrouding around antennas, requiring underground utilities, installing full‑width screening slots on the chain‑link fence facing any public view, and screening for proposed microwave dish antennas.
Applicants from Assurance Development (representing the anchor carrier Verizon and tower owner VerticalBridge) said the tower will improve in‑building wireless coverage and emergency 911 service. “This facility will allow Verizon to fill a service need by providing in‑building wireless coverage to the city of Taft,” Phoebe of Assurance Development said. The application included coverage maps showing substantially increased in‑building coverage with the new site and an EME report demonstrating compliance with FCC exposure limits.
VerticalBridge and the applicant requested that the planning commission extend the planning-condition lapse/discontinuation period from the staff-drafted 6 months to 1 year to allow the tower owner time to secure another anchor tenant if an anchor carrier discontinues service. The planning director confirmed the municipal code allows the commission to set a different discontinuation period.
A motion to adopt the resolution approving CUP 2025‑13 with the staff conditions and the one‑year discontinuation period passed on roll call: Commissioner Daven (yes), Vice Chairman Schertz (yes), Commissioner McDaniel (yes), Commissioner Black (abstain), Chairman Livingston (yes).
