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ITEM: RESOLUTION NO. R2013-47 (CLEARVIEW COMMUNICATION TOWER CONDITIONAL USE)
A RESOLUTION OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA'S COUNCIL, PROVIDING FOR A DEVELOPMENT ORDER FOR PETITION NUMBER 2013-16 CU 1, TO ALLOW A CONDITIONAL USE FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION TOWER FOR CERTAIN PROPERTY KNOWN AS WELLINGTON MARKETPLACE, TOTALING 19.49 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST INTERSECTION OF WELLINGTON TRACE AND GREENVIEW SHORES BOULEVARD, AS MORE SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBED HEREIN; PROVIDING A CONFLICTS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
REQUEST: Approval of Resolution No. R2013-47, a Conditional Use (2013-16 CU 1) to allow a wireless communication tower within the Wellington Marketplace located on the northeast intersection of Wellington Trace and Greenview Shores Boulevard.
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EXPLANATION: Cliff Hertz, P.A. of Broad and Cassel, Attorneys at Law, on behalf of the applicant/petitioner, Clearview Tower Company, LLC., is requesting a Conditional Use to allow a 120 feet wireless communication tower within the existing Wellington Marketplace site as indicated on the proposed site plan (Staff Report Exhibit C). The petitioner is proposing a monopole flag pole tower as indicated in Exhibit "F" of the Staff Report. A monopole tower means a wireless communications tower consisting of a single pole or spire supported by a permanent foundation, constructed without guy wires and ground anchors.
Wellington's Land Development Regulations (LDR) Section 6.4.4.27.i.v. requires Conditional Use approval for new wireless communication towers 61 feet in height or greater in the Commercial, Commercial Recreation, Park and the Institutional/Public Facilities/Utilities Land Use on parcels 10 acres or greater. The LDR requires proposed towers within a commercial property greater than 10 acres and to be stealth or camouflage design to be compatible with existing uses of the site.
LDR Section 6.4.4.27.k.ii.(e) (Co-location) requires new towers to be constructed with capacity for co-location as follows; one (1) user for tower less than 80 feet in height, two (2) users for towers 80 to 120 feet in height and three (3) users for towers 120 feet in height or greater. The petitioner indicated they currently have only two (2) providers for the proposed 120 feet tower with the potential of three (3) additional providers for a total of five (5) providers which clearly does not minimize the impact on adjacent lands and is three (3) more providers than are required by the LDR. The proposed 120 foot tower will have a provider/user at 120 feet, 108 feet, 96 feet, 84 feet and 72 feet. At the PZAB meeting the petitioner indicated a provider/user will not be located at 72 feet on the tower; however they are still proposing a total of five (5) providers/users.
LDR Sec.6.4.27.h.xix. (Advances in Technology) states: "All wireless communications service providers shall use and apply any readily available advances in technology that lessen the negative aesthetic effects of wireless communications facilities to the residential communities with the Village."
LDR Section 6.4.4.27.k.i.(a). (Application Process) states: "The use of existing structures as antenna mounts shall be preferred to the construction of new ground-mounted facilities. To be eligible to construct a new tower within the Village limits, the applicant must establish to the satisfaction of the Village that applicant is unable to provide the service sought by the applicant from available sites, including co-locations within the Village and in neighboring jurisdictions; and the applicant must demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the Village that no other suitable existing tower or other support structure is available, including utility poles; and that no reasonable alternative technology exists that can accommodate the applicant's wireless communications facility"
The proposed tower is located in the southwest portion of the site and separated from the residentially zoned properties on the southwest by 482 feet which required approval of a variance to reduce the separation. The Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board (PZAB) approved the reduced separation of 482 feet at the September 9, 2013 meeting. A tower less than 60 feet in height requires a separation 400 feet from residential properties and towers greater than 61 feet in height require a separation 600 feet from residentially zoned properties. The LDR allows a tower height of 120 feet in Commercial Land Use Designation as a CU if all requirements of LDR Section 6.4.4.27. (Wireless Communications Towers and Antennas) and Section 5.4.4.E. are met.
Standards for granting a Conditional Use
Wellington's Land Development Regulations Section 5.4.4.E. requires Conditional Use requests to comply with nine (9) standards (Consistent with Comprehensive Plan, Complies with supplementary use standards, Compatibility, Design minimizes adverse impact, Adequate public facilities, Design minimizes environmental impact, Development patterns, Other relevant standards of Code and Consistency with neighborhood plans). The request for Conditional Use (CU) approval to allow a 120 feet wireless communication tower fails to meet six (6) of the standards which include the Consistent with Comprehensive Plan, Complies with supplementary use, Compatibility, Design minimizes adverse impact, Development patterns, and Other relevant standard of Code as indicated in the Staff Report Analysis.
The applicant request was also reviewed by Wellington's Wireless Telecommunications Consultant for compliance with local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations. The Consultant's report (Exhibit J of the Staff Report) indicates the petitioner has not adequately demonstrated the proposed 120 foot tower height is necessary and the minimum required to cover key objective areas from the proposed location. Based on the report (Exhibit J of the Staff Report) an 80 foot tower may be adequate height but a more detailed coverage map needs to be provided by the applicant to determine whether Big Blue Trace would receive the coverage desired from the proposed Wellington Marketplace location.
Based on the applicant provided cover maps and Wellington's consultant report, the petitioner could meet a portion if not all of their coverage needs with the following alternatives which will minimize impact:
a) One (1) or more 60 foot tower(s) and use of existing or proposed distributed antenna system (DAS) in this area without the need for a Conditional Use.
b) One (1) 80 foot tower and use of existing or proposed distributed antenna system (DAS) in this area. A Conditional Use approval is required but the lower tower height would minimize visual impact.
c) Deployment of community distributed antenna system (DAS) on existing utility poles or within/on existing buildings in this area. These systems are currently being used in Wellington and may reduce or eliminate the need for additional towers. The petitioner as indicated wireless data traffic has increased and will continue in the future which will require additional towers or use of new technology such as DAS. The use of DAS technology can boost coverage, improve reliability and enhance network capacity in hard to serve areas as indicated by one of the proposed providers/users (AT&T Wireless - <http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=23351>). Also the Consultant's report (Exhibit J of the Staff Report) indicates AT&T has deployed a DAS on Florida Atlantic University campus to distribute signal to more than 30,000 customers. A DAS deployed on new or existing utility poles or within/on existing buildings will not require a Conditional Use approval.
The applicant's justification for the Conditional Use is Exhibit "G" of the Staff Report. At the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board (PZAB) meeting the petitioner indicated, but did not provide documentation the adjacent Publix at the Courtyard Shops had a restriction on height that would exclude it from a possible location.
Documents for review
Attached are all documents submitted by the applicant for the proposed 120 feet wireless communication tower.
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: NO
PUBLIC HEARING: YES QUASI-JUDICIAL:
FIRST READING: SECOND READING:
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: YES
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
WELLINGTON FUNDAMENTAL: RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT
RECOMMENDATION: At the September 9, 2013 meeting the PZAB recommended approval of Resolution No. 2013-47 (Petition Number 2013-16 CU 1) a Conditional Use to allow a 120 feet wireless communication tower with conditions. The PZAB recommended a 120 feet monopole flag pole wireless communication tower with no flag and a total of five (5) carriers. The PZAB also recommended staff propose alternative tower colors and coordinate with the applicant on additional interior and perimeter buffer landscaping to minimize the visual impact of the tower. The landscaping is critical to effectively provide a vertical element at the perimeter of the site.
Staff - Based on the findings this Conditional Use request fails to meet six (6) of the nine (9) standards as required by Wellington's Land Development Regulations Section 5.4.4.E. Staff recommends denial of Resolution No. 2013-47 (Petition Number 2013-16 CU 1) a Conditional Use to allow a 120 feet wireless communication tower. A Conditional Use which fails to meet any of the nine (9) standards shall not be approved by the Village Council and shall be deemed adverse to the public interest.
If Council wishes to consider approval of the Conditional Use request, staff recommends limiting the tower height to meet the coverage needs of the two (2) current providers/users from the proposed Wellington Marketplace location with one of the three (3) above alternatives and the other conditions of Resolution No. 2013-47 to minimize impact.