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03-16-2004 (Planning & Zoning) Minutes MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION WYLIE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX 2000 Highway 78 North, Wylie, Texas 75098 Regular Business Meeting March 16, 2004 7:00 pm Notice was posted in the time and manner required by law and quorum was present. Commission Members Present: Staff Members Present: Red Byboth Claude Thompson, Director William Chapman Mary V. Bradley, Secretary Don Hughes Terry Capehart, Planner Mike Phillips Carter Porter Chris Seely Kathy Spillyards CALL TO ORDER Chairman Seely called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE Commissioner Seely offered the Invocation and Commissioner Byboth led the Pledge of Allegiance. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION No one appeared to speak. CONSENT AGENDA ITEM 1. Consider and act upon Consider and act upon approval of the Minutes from the March 2, 2004 Regular Meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Byboth to amend the fifth paragraph on page 3 to reflect that Commissioner Porter suggested tabling the Zoning Change until March 16, 2004 meeting with the agreement of the applicant, and seconded by Commissioner Porter,to approve the minutes as amended. Motion carried 7—O. P&Z Commission Meeting March 16, 2004 2 of 5 PUBLIC HEARING 1. Hold a Public Hearing and consider a recommendation to the City Council regarding a change in zoning from Commercial Corridor (CC) to Commercial Corridor (CC) with Special Use Permit (SUP) for a Telecommunications Tower, subject property being located at 713 Cooper Drive, and being part of Lot 3, Block A of Wylie Industrial Park Addition, City of Wylie, Collin County, Texas. (Zoning Case 2004-01) (Tabled from the March 2,2004 Regular Meeting) Thompson reminded the Commissioners that the item was tabled from the March 2, 2004 meeting, in order to allow the applicant time to provide additional documentation concerning the availability of alternative sites for the tower. The report is the same as provided previously, and the applicant will provide additional information at the meeting. The subject property was created in 1972 as Lot 3, Block A (22,769 square feet or 0.523 acre) of the Wylie Industrial Park Addition. The entire lot totals 22,769 square feet or 0.523 acre in size, and is currently vacant. The applicant is leasing 625 square feet (0.014 acre) at the rear of the lot. Prior to the City wide revision of the Zoning Ordinance and Map in November of 2001, the property was zoned Industrial (I). The property is currently zoned Corridor Commercial (CC) District, and Telecommunications Microwave Towers are allowed within the CC District only with an approved Special Use Permit (SUP). The overall height of the tower is proposed to be one hundred (150) feet, rather than the 120 feet maximum height allowed by the Zoning Ordinance, but will comply with all other regulations of the Ordinance. The tower is being designed to accommodate various users, which is encouraged in the Zoning Ordinance, and one of the users would be emergency communications (city police and fire dispatch). So, in actuality this is not only a private commercial economic venture but is in some ways is a public community service. However, the proposed location is within Wylie's new central business area and visible from the major central place intersection of State Highway 78 and Farm Market 544. This visual impact within the city's core is the most significant concern of Staff and Commission. Commissioner Hughes questioned if additional locations were considered as directed by the Commission at the March 2, 2004 meeting. Thompson stated that the applicant was unable to meet the deadline before posting, and will be discussing the additional locations at this meeting. Chairman Seely opened the Public Hearing. P &Z Commission Meeting March 16, 2004 3 of 5 John Rooney, 11830 Webb Chapel, Dallas, Texas, represented the applicant T-Mobile of the subject property, and introduced other representatives; Dave Kirk, Zoning Director, Vicki Sisson, Site Acquisition, and Steve Greenwood, RF Engineer. T-Mobile has determined that the subject lot is the only viable site to meet engineering and radio- frequency propagation needs. Mr. Rooney stated that they had researched the medical building as suggested; however, placing a tower on the 3-story building would require even greater heights and visibility, may not be structurally possible and would not meet directional specifications. Dave Kirk added that putting the tower by the hospital or on top of the medical building next to the hospital may be closer than the Ordinance required 200 feet distance from a residential area. Mr. Rooney distributed several pages to the Commissioners which described several limitations and conditions for a tower location. The license from the federal Government requires carriers to provide seamless coverage, basically meaning having a connection in an area with no gaps in communication. The Telecommunications Act attempts to provide for both the rights of municipalities to have supervision over these towers and the need for a carrier to locate a tower with the least intrusive means. The search realm, which includes the physical and engineering requirements when constructing a site, is only a quarter of a mile in diameter. The center of this search realm is the intersection of State Highway 78 and Farm Market 544. Mr. Rooney reviewed a promulgation map of existing towers showing a gap with no coverage as well as dropped calls due to inadequate coverage around the proposed tower site. A promulgation map with the proposed tower and existing tower was provided indicating the link complete with no gap of coverage. Mr. Rooney stated that T-Mobile is willing to compromise and install a 120 feet tower. The tower of 120 feet will fulfill T-Mobile needs as well as some other carriers if able to locate below the 120 feet height. Chairman Seely questioned the technical requirement for the distance between towers. Mr. Rooney responded that depends on each site, because the towers are affected by both topography and gravity. Commissioner Byboth recommended a location off State Highway 78 which would fill the coverage area in the south. The tract of land is un- developable and obscure from highway visibility. Mr. Rooney stated that there are several factors which limit where a tower is located, engineering requirements and the ability to find a site that can be leased, and Mr. Byboth's property is not within the engineered search realm. Mr. Rooney stated that when businesses increase use for wireless communications, such as Wal-Greens nationwide coverage for prescriptions and all other inventory, they are going to need full coverage without gaps. The proposed subject property is where they are going to need a tower. There is no proof and no indication that such towers affect property value at all that towers or are in any way a determent rather than an asset to the community. P &Z Commission Meeting March 16, 2004 4 of 5 Commissioner Porter questioned why the tower can not be 200 yards further toward Sachse. Steve Greenwood, T-Mobile Engineer, described the color coverage definitions of the handouts stating that red is quality assured within buildings, yellow will assure vehicle coverage, green will assure outdoor coverage, the color between Sachse and Wylie is yellow so there will be coverage while driving, but not within buildings. Commissioner Porter questioned if a flag could be placed on top of the tower if the tower was to be approved at the subject property. Mr. Rooney stated that the tower can be designed to serve as a flagpole with all antennas mounted inside the pole, but would cut down on the coverage radius. If allowed to be higher, a flag could be located on the top of the tower above the antennas, and could be lighted from below. Sam Satterwhite, Director Wylie Economic Development Corporation, and a resident of Wylie, spoke in opposition of the zoning change because the tower would diminish the ability to redevelop the subject area to its optimum level to become Wylie's central place as planned. New buildings might screen the ground-based equipment and over one-third of the tower but could not cover the arrays of antennas, and a flag would draw even more attention to it. A motion was made by Commissioner Hughes, and seconded by Commissioner Chapman, to recommend denial to the City Council for the zoning change. Motion carried 6— 1, with Commissioner Phillips voting approval. ACTION AGENDA 1. Consider a recommendation to the City Council regarding revisions to the Comprehensive Plan Map. Thompson stated that the proposed revisions to the Comprehensive Plan are built upon the same philosophy of the current Plan except that the current Plan did not illustrate the philosophy completely accurately. The intent for publishing the revisions is to have the Land Use Plan on one side of the map and the text on the opposite side. The Commission generally approved the revisions at the March 2, 2004 meting but delayed final discussion to give then-absent Commissioners an opportunity to express their views. There was discussion of the different Non-residential Districts, which included amending to three levels from the current four; now to include Commercial Corridor, Neighborhood Service, Community Retail and Industrial. Business Center will be converted to the most appropriate district as dictated by each location. A motion was made by Commissioner Porter, and seconded by Commissioner Chapman, to recommend approval of the revisions to the Comprehensive Plan Map to the City Council. Motion carried 7—0. P &Z Commission Meeting March 16, 2004 5 of 5 ADJOURNMENT With no further discussion, a motion was made by Commissioner Hughes and seconded by Commissioner Byboth to adjourn the meeting at 8:51 p.m. � W i C is Seel , Chairman M B ��ley, Secret