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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes MINUTES .-.;,, ~`~ ~y, Planning & Zoning Commission CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS May 1, 1997 7:00 P:M. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairman Hawthorne .and Commissioners Lightfoot, Parker, Garner, Gribou, Massey and Smith. COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: City Planner Kee, Planning Technician Ruiz, Senior Planner McCully, Assistant City Attorney Shively, Staff Planner Battle, .City Engineer Laza and Graduate Civil Engineer Kasper. (Council Liaison Mariott was in the audience.) AGENDA ITEM: NO. 1: Approval of minutes from the meeting of Apri117,1997. Commissioner Gribou moved to approve the, minutes from the meeting of April 17, 1997 as written. Commissioner Lightfoot seconded the motion which passed unopposed (7 - 0). AGENDA ITEM N0: 2: Public hearing to consider a request for-;a conditional. use permit for a cellular telecommunications tower to be .located at 200 Cooner Street. Applicant is American Portable Telecommunications. (97-704) Senior Planner McCully .presented the staff report and .stated that the subject property is on the southeast corner of Conner and Jane Street. The two lots are currently zoned A-P and are vacant. The Conner subdivision is an older residential area that has a substantial amount of light .and general commercialzoning along the periphery fronting on University Drive and Texas Avenue. Most of the block that contains the subject property is zoned A-P but is still used..largely for residential uses. The A-P .classification on this. block could eventually act as a buffer zone between the heavier commercial near Texas Avenue and the .residential zoning. on the interior. To the .north across Conner there is an electrical substation and amulti-family building zoned R-S. Immediately to the east and south there are single family homes that are also .zoned R-5. Property o the west across Jane is zoned C-1 and contains office buildings, retail commercial, a service station, .and a bank complex. To date, several cell towers have been approved by the Commission as conditional uses.. These have all been located in the undeveloped areas of the City. The needs of the industry are resulting in additional sites being. sought in the urbanized area,of the City. Such uses. are listed as conditional uses in most. of the City's commercial zoning districts. Staff generally does. not make recommendations regarding conditional uses. Senior Planner McCully stated that should .the Commission find that the subject site is suitable for the proposed use, staff recommends that approval be conditioned on all Project Review Committee comments and Ghat the existing. driveway apron be closed.: The Committee reviewed. the site plan on '~ April 16 and recommends that there be screening installed around the base of the tower. The applicant has chosen to accomplish this screening with a wooden fence on two sides of the chain link security fence. The remaining two sides are to be screened with existing wooden fences that are located on the property lines. In responseto the notices, staff received two calls expressing concern about the close proximity of the tower to the existing residential area. Chairman Hawthorne opened the public hearing. Applicant .Tom Knickerbocker approached the Commission and explained that the subject property is being purchased and will be maintained bythe telecommunications company. The proposed location of the tower is such that .the existing oak trees will .screen the site from the adjacent residential area. Screening fences. will also be installed to screen the tower from Jane and. Conner Streets. There will be no lights, dishes or employees associated with the permanent tower. The owners will contract with a local landscaping company for: perpetual care of the proposed landscape screening. Mr. Knickerbocker stated that the site was previously an automobile .repossession yard and the tower wily be an improvement. The: following residents spoke in opposition to the conditional use permit request: Royce Hickman Representative of the owner of 405A & 409 Jane Street. Harry Wharton. Owner of 403 Jane Street Lynn Galloway Owner of 400 Eisenhower Nancy Crouch `Owner of 111 & 113 Cooney Street The following comments were made in opposition to the request: (1) The proposed tower will be unsightly and negatively effect the residential property values in the area. The tower will bean .eyesore and owners and tenants alike will not want to live next to such a facility. {2) The tower will pose. a health and safety risk for the residents in the area. (3) The tower could be placed on an existing high rise commercial building in the area that does. not encroach as much into the residential neighborhood.. There are other areas in the city that would. be more appropriate for. such a tower that. are not in single family neighborhoods. (4) University Drive is a main entrance to the Texas A&M University. The City has gone to great .lengths to beautify his entrance as well as Texas Avenue. Such an eyesore that is out of scale with the surrounding properties, should not be placed at the most highly traveled intersection in the county.. A tower in such a highly visible location is not the image College Station wants to project. (5) The proposed tower will also effect residents in the adjacent Bryan neighborhood and they ` ~% were probably not notified of the request. P & Z Minutes May 1, 1997 Page 2 of 6 >~, Chairman Hawthorne closed the public hearing. -~ Commissioner Parker moved to deny. the conditional use permit request. Commissioner Massey seconded the motion: Commissioner Lightfoot .expressed concern that if the: Commission decides to deny this request, the motion to deny should include statements that tie the decision back to the written records. Chairman Hawthorne agreed and stated that some .discussion should occur before the motion is voted upon so that they can be incorporated into the minutes. He stated that he will abstain from voting. on this particular, case. Commissioner Parker stated that he is concerned with the aesthetics of the proposed tower. There are several: high rise buildings within close proximity that are ideal. sites for such a tower... A stand alone tower in this location will negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood and is not in the health, safety and welfare of the general public. This is an issue of civic pride. Commissioner Lightfoot. stated that the high rise structures in that area are privately; owned and. the Commission cannot force them to work with the applicant. Within close proximity to he subject property, there is an electrical substation,. several hotels, a bank parking lot and a'popular restaurant. The proposed tower will not be any .more obtrusive. or intense than any of the existing commercial development in the area. Mr. Knickerbocker informed the Commission that it would be difficult to locate the tower on an existing building and the owner of one of the buildings is not interested in leasing the site: The state will note allow them to .place any. towers on campus. One advantage of the proposed tower'.. is that the owners can lease space to other users within. the area and help. eliminate the need for additional towers. Because of the fiber optics that -are used, the existing highway `department towers cannot be used because they move more than the proposed tower.: Mr. Knickerbocker suggested the use of a monopole tower to help address the aesthetic concerns. Commissioner Massey: stated that the concerns of the surrounding property owners are valid and the Commission agreed to scrutinize `these tower locations closer .when they are adjacent to a residential neighborhood. Commissioner Gribou stated that he could support the request if the applicant will install a. monopole tower for aesthetic reasons instead of the proposed demck-type tower. The motion to deny the conditional-use permit failed (1 - 5 - 1); Commissioner Parker voted in favor of the motion and Chairman Hawthorne abstained. Commissioner Gribou moved to. grant .the conditional.. use permit with the condition that a. monopole tower be installed and that all Project Review Committee comments be addressed.. Commissioner Lightfoot seconded the motion which passed (5 - 1 - 1); Commissioner Parker voted in opposition to the motion and Chairman Hawthorne abstained. P & Z Minutes May 1, 1997 Page 3 of 6 STAFF PRC REPORT APT Telecommunications Tower Case #97-704 Ordinance Requirements: _ Provide a landscape legend :outlining the total points. required and points provided. The site plan shows. only existing trees. The Commission has the discretion to require additional screening around the base of the site. _ Provide an irrigation plan for the proposed landscaping. Is FAA approval required?- d3~~ _ Where is the planned point of access from the street? Will a driveway be provided to the ~~~ ~ site for maintenance vehicles? Will the driveway be paved? eJ' ~ _ T~~e should be a screening fence around the base of the site. The proposed chain link fence with slats is not acceptable. _ How will the site be graded? Are the top of bank elevations existing or proposed? Show the closest fire hydrant location. _ Show the location of the proposed gate. Comments/Concerns: Coordinate electrical service details with Electrical Operations Coordinator Tony Michalsky at (409) 764-3660. Coordinate telephone service details and necessary easements with G.T.E. Representative Laverne Akin at (409) 821-4'723. SUBMIT 10 COPIES OF THE REVISED SITE PLAN BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1997 TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION PACKETS FOR THE MEETING OF THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1997, THE MEETING WILL BEAT 7:00 P.M. IN THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS. PROJECT REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT April 18, 1997 TO: Tom Knickerbocker,. Centurion Consulting Group 900 Gulf Freeway, .Suite 250, Houston, TX 77017 American Portable Telecom, Fluor Daniel 5400 Mitchelldale, Suite A-1, Houston, TX 77092 FROM: Presubmission-Conferenc Jane Kee, City. Pl er Kent Laza, City Eng r ' Others Attending Natalie Ruiz,. Planning.. Technicia Shirley Volk, Development Coordinator Jon Mies,.. Fire. Marshal Tony Michalsky, .Electrical. Operations Coordinator Laverne Akin,. GTE Representative SUBJECT: Conditional Use Permit- Telecommunications Tower; proposed cellular tower to be located at 200 Cooner Street, part of lot 8 and lot 9, block 2 of the Cooner Addition on the .northeast corner of Cooner and Jane Streets. (97-704) A Project Review Committee meeting was held Wednesday, April 16, 1997 to discuss the above mentioned conditional usepermit request. The following is a list of ordinance requirements identified by the Presubmission Conference. This list does not relieve the applicant of total compliance with all current ordinances. Ordinance Requirements: Provide a landscapelegend outlining the. total points required and points provided.. The site plan shows only existing .trees. The Commission has the .discretion: to require additional screening .around. the base of the. site. _ The proposed drip. irrigation system is acceptable. Reference the proposed system in a general note on the site plan. _ There should be a screening fence .around the base of the site. The proposed chain link fence with slats is not acceptable. However, because of the wood fence between the subject property and the adjacent :residential property, a chain link fence with established vegetation is acceptable. Note the top of bank elevations as proposed. _ Show the closest fire hydrant location. Show the location of the proposed gate. PRC Report Cellular Tower Case #97--704 Page 2 of 2 Comments/Concerns: Coordinate electrical service details with Electrical Operations Coordinator Tony Michalsky at {409) 764-3660. _ G.T.E. has overhead lines along Conner .Street. The developer is responsible for installation of one 2" conduit with. pull string from the .outside building trmmation to a power pole along Conner Street. Termination must be within 20' of power.. Coordinate telephone service details and necessary easements with G.T.E. Representative Laverne Akin at (409) 821-4723. SUBMIT 10 COPIES OF 'THE REVISED SITE. PLAN BY WEDNESDAY,: APRIL 2~, 1997 TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PLANATING & ZONING COMMISSION PACKETS FOR THE MEETING OF THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1997. THE MEETING WII,L BE AT 7:00 P.M. IN THE. CITY HALL COUNCII, CHAMBERS AT 1101 TEXAS AVENUE SOUTH, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS.