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Board approves 260-foot communications tower for 3525 West 275 North
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a special exception for a 260-foot lattice communications tower at 3525 West 275 North (Harmony/Harmonian Towers) with conditions on fencing and vegetation; applicant and adjacent landowners described coverage benefits and site maintenance.
The Whitley County Board of Zoning Appeals on June 23 approved a special-exception permit allowing Harmony (Harmonian) Towers, with Verizon as anchor tenant, to construct a 260-foot lattice communications tower at a site near 3525 West 275 North.
Staff said the site is zoned agricultural (A-G), partially wooded, and that the applicant provided required materials including elevations and a site plan showing a 100-by-100 lease area and an enclosed equipment compound. Staff recommended that existing vegetation serve as the required landscape buffer — and suggested the board require an easement or similar mechanism so screening is preserved. Staff also recommended the facility enclosure be opaque (slatted chain-link) and maintained.
Applicant representative Brett Blackers told the board the tower would fill coverage gaps for outdoor and indoor cellular service; he said LTE service from the site could extend two to three miles while 5G coverage would be shorter. Blackers described the tower as 255 feet plus a 5-foot lightning rod (260 feet overall), noted the design accounts for a collapse containment of 127 feet, and said the structure is designed to resist wind speeds higher than the county code minimum (staff cited an ultimate wind speed without ice of 107 mph on the plans).
Adjacent property owners Marty and Amy Davison, who live nearby, told the board they presently use the parcel as a food plot and intend to maintain the area and screening around the facility. The Davisons said they would be responsible for caring for the ground directly around the tower.
Board members asked questions about coverage radius, fall-zone containment, structural wind loading and drainage; the applicant confirmed culvert and drainage details were included in construction plans. After brief discussion the board moved, seconded and approved the special exception with the conditions presented; the motion passed unanimously.
The permit allows Verizon as anchor tenant and provides compound capacity for additional carriers. If vegetation used for screening is removed, staff said perimeter landscaping meeting code standards must be provided. The board also recorded that the applicant supplied coverage maps (informational only) showing improved service in an area described by staff as poorly served.
The board and staff closed the meeting after announcements about upcoming training and a public listening session on data-center code work.
