Design Review Commission continues review of proposed 55‑ft stealth arch for fairgrounds telecom equipment

The Design Review Commission on Tuesday continued consideration of a conditional use permit to replace an existing 80‑foot freestanding telecom tower at the town fairgrounds with a stealth arch that would house carrier antennas in two 8‑foot canisters.

Caitlin Page, the town’s senior planner, opened the new‑business item (P26114) and said the application proposes to integrate telecom equipment architecturally into the rodeo grandstand entrance while preserving the fairgrounds’ public function. The applicant representative said the move would be at Diamond Communications’ cost as part of an anticipated lease renewal for the fairgrounds property.

Tom Wenyi, the project representative, described the design and equipment layout. “The top of the arch will be 55 feet,” he said, and added that “all the equipment is contained within those canisters,” with antenna centerlines at about 50 feet and cabling routed to the existing cabinets beneath the stands. He said the existing tower dates to 2014, currently carries AT&T and T‑Mobile antennas, and will be stripped of antennas if the arch is approved.

Commission discussion focused on aesthetics, community character, and safety. Several members said a disguised structure is preferable to a visible pole, while others called the proposed arch visually prominent and asked for versions with lighter materiality or filigree detailing. Commissioners raised safety questions about lightning and grounding; the applicant said the installation would be grounded and noted there is an existing grounding ring for the present tower, but commissioners requested more complete structural and electrical engineering details.

Members asked for stakeholder involvement from fairgrounds backers and clearer information on signage and materials. One commissioner summarized concerns about appearance and safety and moved to continue the item so the applicant could return with refined design options, material/color samples and explicit grounding or structural engineering responses. The motion to continue passed 6–0.

Next steps: the applicant will revise the design in response to the commission’s feedback and return for a subsequent review, supplying material samples, color swatches, and the requested safety/grounding documentation.