Johnson County BZA approves special exception for 290‑foot Verizon tower; variances continued

A majority of the Johnson County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception Oct. 28 to permit a 290‑foot wireless communications tower on a 45‑acre agricultural parcel near Trafalgar, while deferring decisions on the variance requests tied to the tower design and equipment compound.

The special exception (SP‑1‑25), which was filed by Bradley Family Farms and Vertical Bridge with Verizon as the prospective tenant, passed on a 3–2 roll call after public comment from multiple neighbors and deliberation by the board. The board agreed to continue the companion petition for development‑standards variances (V‑12‑25) to the November meeting to allow the petitioner and staff to file written findings of fact on the variances.

The application seeks permission for a standard three‑legged lattice tower 290 feet tall, an equipment compound that the applicant described as sized to accommodate future collocations, and waivers of landscaping and camouflaging requirements in the county zoning ordinance. Planning staff told the board the proposed tower site is on a 40–45‑acre agricultural field at the corner of State Road 135 and 550 South in Hensley Township and that the proposed tower location meets the county’s 1,000‑foot separation requirement from residential structures as mapped in the staff packet.

Michelle, a planning staff member, summarized the request for the board and noted the ordinance still contains a 60‑foot cap on tower height that is rarely achievable for commercial wireless coverage. “Our ordinance requires a 60 foot limitation on cell towers,”…