Board approves conditional use for telecommunications towers at Meta data center campus

The Lebanon City Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve a conditional-use request allowing two telecommunications towers on the Meta data center campus at 3602 West State Road 32.

Planning staff presented the application and recommended approval, saying the towers are a conditional use in the LEAP zoning district and that the proposed structures meet the Unified Development Ordinance’s bulk and design standards. Ben Bontrager, who presented the item to the board, said the campus covers about 1,500 acres and that the towers are intended to support both cellular service and public-safety communications. “The height of that structure is a 100 feet, so it’s about half of what’s permitted,” Bontrager said, noting the tallest antenna shown is about 110 feet.

Bontrager told the board the site plan places one tower near the northwest corner of the campus and another in the interior; he said the closest property line is about 1,000 feet from the nearest tower and the nearest residence (on 200 North) is roughly 2,000 feet away. He said the towers will include ground equipment in secured, fenced enclosures and that staff will require an RF emissions analysis to verify transmissions remain within FCC thresholds.

At a public hearing the chair opened for docket 26-36, no members of the public spoke. The applicant’s representative emphasized the towers’ role in supporting emergency-responder communications, saying the systems are intended to ensure those inside buildings can communicate without interruption.

A committee member moved to approve the conditional-use request “subject to the applicant submitting construction details for a privacy-style or opaque fence surrounding the proposed towers and support buildings and a landscape plan that provides additional natural screening complementing the privacy fence,” reflecting the staff recommendation. The board recorded the vote and Chair Koos said the motion carried unanimously.

The board’s approval allows the unmanned telecommunications facility to proceed under the city’s UDO requirements for the LEAP district, with the stated condition that the applicant supply final construction and landscape details to planning staff. The meeting adjourned following the vote; the board did not set additional conditions or mitigation measures on record beyond the fence and landscaping requirement.

Next steps: the applicant must submit the required construction and landscape plans for staff review; the board will not revisit the conditional-use approval unless the applicant alters the proposal or fails to meet the condition.