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Planning commission approves conditional use permit for stealth cell tower near Wayland Baseball Field
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Summary
The Boulder City Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for a 90-foot “mono elm” stealth cell tower on city-owned land southeast of Wayland Baseball Field to address cellular coverage gaps. Staff framed the request as allowable by conditional use due to GP zoning ambiguity; no oral public comments were offered.
The Boulder City Planning Commission on April 15 approved a conditional use permit to allow a 90-foot “mono elm” telecommunications tower on approximately 9.93 acres at 891 Avenue B, city staff said.
Planning Manager Nikisha Lyon told commissioners the applicant, Vertical Bridge on behalf of T-Mobile, proposed the stealth tower to address gaps in cellular connectivity and improve network capacity in Boulder City. ‘‘The cell tower has been designed as a stealth facility, engineered to resemble a natural Elm tree to minimize visual impacts,’’ Lyon said, adding the equipment would be enclosed behind an 8-foot CMU screen wall and would require limited lighting and maintenance access.
Lyon said the Government Park (GP) zoning subzone is intended primarily for park and recreational uses and does not clearly define or permit telecommunications towers, so staff and the city attorney recommended evaluating the proposal through a conditional use permit under section 11-20-2.1 of city code. She outlined five criteria the commission must consider, including consistency with the master plan, compatibility with adjacent uses, and whether the proposal would be detrimental to health, safety or general welfare.
Commissioner Steve Rudd asked if a higher-quality drawing was available; staff said no enhanced drawing beyond the packet materials was provided and that some site photos are confidential under Nevada Revised Statutes. Declan Murphy of Vertical Bridge, appearing remotely, said the site is designed to accommodate multiple carriers and that ‘‘I would imagine it would be 5 g s at some point,’’ though he could not confirm immediate deployment of 5G.
The public hearing produced no oral comments. A commissioner moved to approve Resolution No. 1281 (findings and conditions for CU-25-287); a second followed and the motion passed unanimously.
The resolution conditions require the applicant to provide an FAA obstruction evaluation and comply with any FAA-determined requirements prior to building permit approval; building division, public works and fire code compliance will be reviewed through the standard permitting process. The packet contains the justification narrative and modified site plans referenced by staff.
The commission took final action to approve the permit; the lease of the property from the city remains pending zoning compliance and lease execution.
