Planning commission approves AT&T conditional use permit for 90‑foot faux‑elm cell tower near private airstrip

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved Case PLZUDash25Dash0003, granting AT&T a conditional use permit for a 90‑foot faux‑elm telecommunications tower and associated equipment enclosure near a private airstrip. Planner Trish Cooley told commissioners the applicant provided an FAA determination of no hazard to air navigation and revised the proposed lease area to increase the distance from the runway centerline.

Cooley, planner 2, described the project as a multi‑carrier facility with a 90‑foot faux elm tower (95 feet with stealth applications) and a 2,500‑square‑foot equipment enclosure surrounded by an 8‑foot masonry screen wall. She said the applicant moved the proposed location from roughly 550 feet to over 755 feet from the private airstrip centerline to meet the 7:1 transitional surface slope standard applied to civil airports and that the site plan shows required residential setbacks and fall‑distance buffers. "The applicant has provided a determination of no hazard to air navigation from the FAA," Cooley said.

The development code cited by staff limits towers in the planned community (P.C.) zoning district to a base height of 50 feet with an additional 25 feet allowed per additional carrier; Cooley said the proposed design would accommodate two carriers and could allow a 100‑foot height in that scenario. She recommended approval of the CUP subject to conditions A through G.

During questions, Commissioner Basler said he retained concerns about locating a tower near an airfield but acknowledged that he had reviewed FAA requirements and that the FAA finding "overrides" his safety concerns as recorded in the meeting transcript. At the public hearing, Burrell Shears, president of Western Pilot Service, thanked the commission for a 60‑day postponement, said AT&T modified the proposal to comply with airport regulations, and withdrew Western Pilot Service’s objection: "I still believe there are better places to put a cell tower than beside the airport, but because they have modified it and they do meet the letter of the law, I am withdrawing our objection based on that fact," Shears said. He told the commission the airstrip is active, with 18 airplanes and one helicopter based there and 32 operations that day.

A motion to approve PLZUDash25Dash0003 "subject to conditions A through G" was made, seconded, and carried by voice vote. One commissioner voiced opposition; the motion nonetheless passed and the permit was approved. The transcript records the approval but does not include a roll‑call vote tally.

The project site was described in the record as south and west of the southwest corner of Rooks Road and W MC 85 (the transcript alternately transcribes the road name as "Brooks"). Staff noted an approved subdivision is required to establish the new property lines that create the lease parcel. The applicant for the CUP was identified in the record as Misty Hunter with SmartLink on behalf of AT&T.

The commission attached conditions A–G to the approval as listed in the staff recommendation; the transcript does not list the text of those conditions. The approval is contingent on the applicant completing the subdivision necessary to establish the property lines and on any standard department sign‑offs referenced in staff materials.