TOWN OF NORMAL ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014, 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, UPTOWN STATION 11 UPTOWN CIRCLE, NORMAL, IL Members Physically Present: Mr., Mr. Palmgren, Mr. Blakney, Mr. Schaab, Ms. Hood, and Ms. Brand Members Absent: Mr. Penn Others Present: Deputy C orporation Counsel, Wayne Karplus, Director of Inspections, Greg Troemel, Town Planner, Mercy Davison and Office Associate, Sheila Elgin Call to Order: Chairman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and noted a quorum was present. Approval of Minutes: Mr. Palmgren moved, seconded by Mr. Blakney, to approve the m inutes of the August 21, 2014, meeting. Motion to approve carried 6-0. Public Hearings: a. 14-09-13-V: Side-Yard Setback, 1827 Truman (Driveway Expansion) Ms. Davison reviewed the staff report. She said that the owner would like to park two cars in the driveway. He would need to expand toward the sideyard because there is a porch on the other side. He is requesting a one foot sideyard setback for the driveway. Mr. Dale Lasser, 1827 Truman, Normal, IL, was sworn in by Chairman. Mr. Blakney asked if there would be a need for a retaining wall due to the elevation of the adjoining property. Mr. Lasser said th at he did not believe that a retaining wall would be necessary. Mr. Palmgren asked if Mr. Lasser had spoken to his neighbor. Mr. Lasser said that he had and they did not have a problem with the driveway expansion. Ms. Davison said
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 2 SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 that she had not received any comments from the adjoining residents. Mr. Troemel said that notices are sent to all properties within 400 feet. Mr. Blakney noted that when these homes were built, single-car garages were prevalent. This will provide needed off-street parking. Mr. Blakney moved, seconded by Ms. Brand, to approve the application as submitted. b. 14-09-14-SU: Special Use Permit, 2200 W. College Ave. (Cell Tower) Ms. Davison reviewed the staff report. She said that the land is undeveloped and is surrounded by M2 zoning with some R1-B zoning across White Oak Road. The applicant is requesting a variance for the height as is typical of most of the towers in town. They are proposing a 140 tower. The maximum height allowed by code is 105. There will be equipment at the base of the tower with security provided by chain link fence with barbed wire. There will be minimal traffic generated and a n access road will be provided. Staff feels this is a good use of the property and recommends approval of the application. Mr. Scott Garcia, 2004 Coneflower Ct., Yorkville, IL, was sworn in by Chairman. Mr. Garcia said that he represented Verizon Wireless, Central States Tower and Stark. They currently have a long-term lease with Stark. Chairman asked if it was a 5-year lease. Mr. Garcia said that it is a 5-year lease with 5 year renewal options. Chairman asked what the life of a cell tower was. Mr. Garcia said that they are built for 30 years. They will have modifications and will have room for co-location. Mr. Palmgren asked Mr. Garcia about the staff recommendations for landscaping. Mr. Garcia said that they will do whatever is necessary for the plantings. Ms. Davison said that they will have a landscaping plan for Council. Mr. Troemel said that is has been 10 to 12 years since the Town has had a new tower and asked Mr. Garcia to explain what has prompted the need for new towers. Mr. Garcia said that coverage and voice works. Data usage is driving the need for more
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 3 SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 towers. They are also putting new equipment in a Bloomington site and a County site. They have been working on these sites for about one and a half years. Mr. Troemel said that almost every tower has requested upgrades and structural integrity has to be verified. Chairman asked about security. He said that there is a fence with barbed wire, but is there equipment for security. Mr. Garcia said that there is equipment inside that reports if equipment goes down or malfunctions. The FCC requires immediate action. This could be the only means of communication. Mr. Blakney asked how many co-location spaces were available. Mr. Garcia said that there are three. Chairman said that it was interesting that there is a 30 year life span. Mr. Troemel said that some of the towers are approaching 20 years. Mr. Blakney noted that once the towers are there, you don t even think about them. Chairman said that there is no question on the demand. Ms. Hood moved, seconded by Ms. Brand, to recommend approval of the application to Council with staff recommendations. c. 14-09-15-SU: Special Use Permit, NW Corner of Route 66 & Paperchase (Cell Tower) Ms. Davison reviewed the staff report. She said that there are two requests for variations. One is to exceed the maximum height of 105 with a 150 tower. The other is the proximity to another nearby tower. It is not possible to co-locate on the existing tower due to its height. There are no residences nearby. The closest is one residence located in the County. This is an industrial area and staff believes the use is appropriate. Chairman asked what the distance was to the other tower. Ms. Davison said that it is close, about 200 feet. Mr. Palmgren asked why this tower is taller. Mr. Garcia said that the height is driven by where it is located. It also makes sense to
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 4 SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 locate it in the corner of the property. Mr. Schaab asked if the additional height was normal. Mr. Troemel said probably not. When the code was written we initially proposed 70 maximum height but changed it to 105. This height will probably not get the job done. Mr. Garcia said that most of the towers that he is doing are 250. If they get 150, they probably won t need another tower. Chairman asked about the range. Mr. Garcia said that it is determined by line of site. They also don t want to be crossing over other towers. Mr. Troemel noted that for comparison, the tower located in downtown Bloomington is 400 tall. Chairman asked if there had been any discussion with other carriers. Mr. Garcia said absolutely. There will be 12-18 antennas. Verizon will be on the top and the other carriers will be located below. Mr. Palmgren asked if they hoped that the other carriers on the other tower located on the property would move. Chairman asked if the other tower was at capacity. Mr. Garcia said that he did not know who was on the other tower. Mr. Troemel said that we have followed other communities ability to regulate. The towers are critical to communication. Mr. Karplus said that the FCC will not allow us to prohibit. We have to provide coverage. This is a good location. He asked if there would be interference with the other tower on the property. Mr. Garcia said no, they have their own frequency. He said that he as seen towers as close as 30 and as many as 5 towers on a parcel. Mr. Karplus said that we would have to have a good reason to deny or regulate the height. Mr. Troemel asked what the Board s feeling was on the landscaping. It is located in the middle of a batch plant operation and plantings would probably not survive. Mr. Schaab said that Stark already had some landscaping on the berm. Mr. Troemel said that the existing landscaping is not code compliant. Landscaping requirements are based on lot perimeter. Ms. Davison said that they would need 3 trees and 15 shrubs. Mr. Blakney said that those plants probably would not survive. Mr. Palmgren asked if the requirements could be changed if there is no longer a gravel pit/batch plant. Mr. Troemel said that we can require that they place the plantings elsewhere. Mr. Garcia said that the trees that are currently there are about 20-25 tall and there are about 60 of them. The plantings are already pretty dense. Mr. Troemel said that there is also a buyout provision if they cannot plant the trees. That money goes into a fund to plant trees elsewhere in the Town. Ms. Davison said that if the site
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 5 SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 Other Business: redevelops, current landscaping requirements will apply. Mr. Palmgren said that it would make more sense to plant in other places. Mr. Troemel said that the choices are to put the plantings in, use the buyout option, or put the planting somewhere else on the site. Chairman said that it doesn t make sense to add three trees to the site. Mr. Schaab moved, seconded by Mr. Blakney, to recommend approval of the application to Council with the height variation and recommendation to provide required plantings around the tower or exercise the buyout option. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Board members thought that they had recently done this. Ms. Davison said that she would check and get back to them. Adjournment: There being no further business, Mr. Schaab moved, seconded by Ms. Hood, to adjourn the meeting at 5:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sheila Elgin Secretary