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Germantown panel approves Verizon co‑location on MLGW tower, requires power from existing poles
Summary
The Germantown Planning Commission approved Verizon's request to colocate antennas inside an existing MLGW transmission tower at 9713 Wolf River Boulevard but amended the approval to require Verizon and MLGW to obtain power from an existing utility pole rather than installing a new pole in a resident's backyard.
The Germantown Planning Commission voted to approve a preliminary and final site plan allowing Verizon to colocate a 130‑foot monopole telecommunications facility inside an existing MLGW transmission tower at 9713 Wolf River Boulevard, with a commission amendment requiring power be brought from an existing utility pole instead of placing a new pole in a neighbor's backyard.
The amendment, offered on the floor by the chair and seconded, passed on roll call after commissioners raised concerns about the visual and property impact of adding a new utility pole immediately behind a residence. Commissioner debate centered on whether MLGW's easement rights or technical constraints absolutely required the new pole and whether feasible alternatives existed.
Cece Drayton, an attorney for the applicant at Baker Donaldson, told the commission the proposal is a replacement location because Verizon's prior site on the Grace Evangelical Church steeple is no longer safe. "This tower is needed due to geographic service requirements," Drayton said, saying the change would reduce dropped calls and improve reliability, including 911 emergency coverage. Drayton described a 20x30 equipment enclosure and said utility runs from the tower site to the new power pole would be installed underground.
Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff on alternatives to siting a new pole in the resident's backyard. The chair said, "I'm not willing to put a pole in somebody's backyard when there's been absolutely no mention" of the affected neighbor; other commissioners urged the applicant to work with MLGW and city staff to attempt to use an existing pole or place a new pole adjacent to an existing pole if necessary.
Ahead of the vote on the amendment, roll call showed mixed views: Commissioner Sloan and Commissioner Levy supported the amendment; Commissioners Sisson, Bacon and Clark opposed it; Commissioner Jacobs, Alderman Salvaggio and the chair supported it; Mayor Palazzolo abstained on the amendment. After the amendment passed, the commission approved the site plan as amended. The approval was subject to the standard conditions and the design review and construction‑plan processes noted by staff.
Staff and the applicant said lease and financial terms between Verizon, MLGW and the city remain under negotiation; staff said a draft lease will be presented to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen once the site approval is secure. Staff also said that the Design Review Commission will review fencing, landscaping and final elevations, and that MLGW and Verizon will continue technical coordination on where power risers must be located within MLGW's easement.
The commission recorded that MLGW advised applicant teams that the two closest poles have primary risers feeding the adjacent subdivision and therefore could be unavailable, a point the applicant said it would revisit with MLGW. The commission asked staff to ensure the amendment's requirement for attempting to use existing poles is memorialized in the minutes and communicated to the Design Review Commission and to MLGW during the construction plan review process.
The matter will move forward to the Design Review Commission for detailed plans and to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for lease approval when those documents are ready.
