Plan and Zoning Commission sends AT&T monopole proposal to city council with conditions and 90-foot height limit

The Lockport Plan and Zoning Commission on July 8 recommended that the city council approve a special-use permit for a commercial wireless monopole at the Lockport Township Athletic Fields, forwarding the application with design and operational conditions and a new condition limiting height to 90 feet.

Commissioners and dozens of residents spent most of the two-hour hearing debating whether the utility compound and 120-foot monopole proposed by AT&T—on school property at 1298 Garfield Avenue—would be compatible with the park’s low-profile, family-oriented character. After several failed motions, Commissioner Peters moved to adopt staff’s findings and forward a recommendation for approval with the conditions summarized by staff and an added condition capping the pole at 90 feet; the motion passed on a 4–2 roll-call vote.

Why it matters: residents told the commission the pole and its equipment compound would be visually intrusive near baseball and pickleball facilities, could require a chain-link fence with barbed wire and would bring diesel backup generators close to where children play. Opponents also questioned whether AT&T has an actual coverage hole that justifies a new tower and asked for alternative-site and drive-test data. The applicant and staff responded that the carrier reduced its original 150-foot proposal to 120 feet, provided property-value studies, letters from engineers about structural design and that the Will County Regional Office of Education does not review cell towers on school property because the structures are not used for education purposes.

Public comments: residents repeatedly urged avoidance of a chain-link, barbed-wire perimeter and pressed for alternatives such as smaller repeaters on existing streetlight poles. Paul Angelzke, a local resident, said the compound’s ancillary equipment—base transceiver station hardware, grounding rings, and a diesel generator—would be ‘‘industrial, artificial, and unattractive’’ in a family park and warned of noise and diesel exhaust during outages. Michelle Angelzky said she contacted AT&T representatives who told her they reported full 5G+ coverage at addresses around the park and questioned whether the application included current drive-test data or a thorough alternative-site analysis. Joan O’Keefe highlighted lease terms she obtained by FOIA that grant broad access and airspace rights to the tenant and said those provisions raised safety and access concerns near children and school activities.

Applicant response: Derek McGrew of New Singular Wireless said the carrier reduced the tower height to 120 feet and provided photo simulations and property-value studies showing minimal impacts in comparable suburban communities. McGrew said the generator would be double-walled diesel, that equipment can be placed in an enclosed shelter and that the applicant is willing to replace barbed wire with an opaque composite fence, add landscaping, keep cables internal to the pole and install noise baffling. He also said the site would support school-bus communications, public-safety networks (FirstNet/911) and normal carrier voice/data services.

Commission debate and votes: Commissioners debated Finding of Fact #2 (whether the proposed use would have a substantial adverse effect on the character of the neighborhood). A motion to amend staff’s Finding of Fact #2 and recommend denial failed on a tie vote. A subsequent motion to adopt staff findings and recommend approval with staff-summarized conditions also failed. After further negotiation about enclosures, generator baffling, fence material, screening and height, Commissioner Peters moved to recommend approval to the city council with the staff-summarized conditions and an additional condition to limit the monopole to 90 feet; that motion carried on a 4–2 roll-call vote (Yes: Peters; Likens; Myczyk; Georgette. No: Calderon; O’Hare).

Conditions and commitments: the commission’s recommendation to the city council included staff-summarized conditions discussed at the meeting: place primary electronics and the generator in an enclosed shelter with a roof; require generator baffling and double-containment fuel systems; keep feeder and service cables inside the pole; use an opaque composite fence rather than chain-link with barbed wire; add evergreen screening/landscaping; and schedule generator testing with noise and nuisance protections. The recommendation also added a condition that the monopole height be limited to 90 feet in the commission’s recommendation packet to council.

Legal and procedural notes: staff advised the commission that a special-use permit recommendation is a referral to the city council and that the council is the final decision-maker. Staff also said the Will County Regional Office of Education had told staff it does not review or permit cell towers because such installations are not for education-use purposes, and that LTHS had an executed land-lease with the applicant. Commissioners discussed federal FCC limits on RF exposure raised by public commenters but were advised that local review may still consider aesthetics and character under state and city special-use standards so long as the decision does not rely on RF-based health claims.

What’s next: the commission forwarded its recommendation and findings to the city council for final action. Staff also announced a downtown master-plan open house on July 29 and the committee-of-the-whole meeting scheduled for August 5; the council hearing on the monopole will follow under the council’s schedule.

Representative quotes: "Most of it is industrial, artificial, and unattractive...Is this something that we are comfortable with in a family-friendly green space?" — Paul Angelzke, resident "AT&T representatives informed me they'd had no coverage deficiencies that they were aware of within the city of Lockport that would justify any new tower placement." — Michelle Angelzky, resident "We were able to get that reduced and now have a current proposal of an elevation at 120 feet." — Derek McGrew, New Singular Wireless representative

The commission’s recommendation packet and the applicant’s supplemental materials will accompany the case to the city council packet for their review and final decision.