AGENDA #8
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to Petition regarding Radio Transmitting Tower
DATE: May 24, 2004
This memorandum provides a response to a petition from Mr. Ruffin Slater requesting that existing Town policies regarding telecommunication towers be changed. The petition was received on May 11, 2004 seeking permission to erect a Radio Transmitting Tower for a new radio station (Attachment 1). We recommend no Council action on this petition. We believe it is possible for the petitioner to accomplish the objective of starting-up this radio station with a transmitting facility that works within the administrative guidelines established by the Town Council.
BACKGROUND
This situation comes about because of grant deadlines associated with plans to start a new radio station. Following is background information from 2003 provided by Weaver Street Market, one of the sponsors:
“In April we submitted a grant application for broadcasting equipment to the Public Facilities Communications Program (PTFP) of the US Department of Commerce. PTFP provides matching grants for equipment purchases for public radio and TV stations. We requested a grant for 75% of the cost of the needed equipment, or about $33,000.
Our argument for receiving the grant is that Carrboro needs to have its own radio station.”
Further background information appears in attached copies from Weaver Street Market and WCOM websites (Attachment 3).
We understand that the plan is for the radio station to be located in Carrboro, across the street from Carr Mill Mall and Weaver Street Market (at the site of a former bank on the corner of Greensboro and Weaver Streets). Plans call for a studio and a transmitting antenna at that site (approximately 50 feet tall). The purpose of the transmitting tower would be to relay a signal to a main tower in Chapel Hill - - the 98-foot tower proposed near Southern Village. A copy of a sketch showing the proposed Carrboro tower is attached. The proposal would be a modification of a conditional use permit, and is expected to be considered by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in June (Attachment 5).
On May 11, 2004, the Town Council received a petition from Mr. Slater regarding a proposed Chapel Hill location for the main Transmitting Facility associated with the new Carrboro radio station. On May 11th, Mr. Slater indicated in his petition (Attachment 1) that he needed approval of a tower location by the end of May so that he could begin broadcasting by the end of June. In the petition, Mr. Slater asked that the Chapel Hill Town Council approve a change to our current policy in a manner that would allow his 98-foot tall Radio Transmitting Facility to be approved by the staff.
The May 11th petition indicated that Mr. Slater would like to locate the proposed facility at 1127 Smith Level Road. The proposal is for an eighty (80) foot tower with an additional eighteen foot (18) antenna mast on top, for a total height of 98 feet. He also indicated that a sixty-eight (68) foot tower on top of the Weaver Street Market at Southern Village would also be an acceptable location. Please refer to the attached materials provided by Mr. Slater (Attachment 2).
We have had subsequent conversations with Mr. Slater and now understand that an alternate approach is viable (please see discussion below, under “New Proposal”).
DISCUSSION
The property on Smith Level Road is designated as Rural Residential on the Land Use Plan and identified as Residential - Low Density 5 on the Zoning Atlas. This low density residential zoning district does not allow Radio Transmitting Facilities as the principal use of a property.
The proposal at Southern Village, a sixty-eight (68) foot facility on top of a forty (40) foot tall building, does not satisfy the accessory status required for staff approval.
Under certain circumstances, Chapel Hill’s regulations allow accessory antennas. Chapel Hill has in place an administrative policy establishing guidelines to determine if an application for a proposed tower can be considered to be an accessory to the principal use of a site. (“Accessory” is defined in the Ordinance as “customarily incidental.”) The administrative policy was endorsed by the Town Council on November 10, 1999. A copy of the 1999 policy document is attached (Attachment 4). We do not believe the 68 foot tall facility at Southern Village or the 98 foot tall facility proposed on Smith Level Road would fit the accessory definition.
We use these guidelines regularly to determine if an application for accessory antenna can be administratively approved. We receive approximately 50 inquiries a year about antenna location in our jurisdiction. If a proposed facility represents an accessory use, as described in the guidelines, an application can be reviewed and approved administratively.
If the proposal does not match the guidelines’ description of “accessory use,” the application cannot be reviewed as an “accessory use” and would only be authorized if allowed as a principal use with the approval of a Special Use Permit by the Town Council. These guidelines reflect the Town Council’s guidance on these issues and, in our opinion, offer a procedural advantage to those proposals that would add new telecommunication facilities in a visually unobtrusive manner.
PROCESS
We do not believe it is reasonable to consider a 98-foot free-standing tower, or a 68-foot tower placed on top of a roof, to be “customarily incidental” to the functioning of a single-family house or a commercial building. Accordingly, we do not recommend that the Council direct us to make that finding.
A proposal to place a tower in either of these locations would be a special use, and would need a Special Use Permit (similar to the Conditional Use Permit process in Carrboro). The Land Use Management Ordinance specifies the process for consideration of a Special Use Permit application, and the fastest possible time frame would involve at least 4-6 weeks. Mr. Slater indicates that he needs an approval by May 31 (one week).
NEW PROPOSAL
We have discussed this situation with Mr. Slater and have suggested an approach that would work within his time constraints.
We understand that Mr. Slater has continued his search for a property to place a tower in a location and design that would be consistent with Chapel Hill’s guidelines. We understand that Mr. Slater is hoping to submit an administrative Zoning Compliance Permit application, in accordance with the Town guidelines, for an antenna at the Scroggs Elementary School soccer field. We understand that the antenna would be placed on top of an existing 73-foot light pole. The Town policy would allow administrative approval of an antenna that increases the height by no more than 15% (for a total height of 84 feet). If the application is filed in a timely manner, we believe that Mr. Slater can achieve his deadline. A memorandum from Mr. Slater is attached (Attachment 2), describing this new approach.
The soccer field at Scroggs School is owned by the School District. However, the light poles on the field are owned and maintained by the Town of Chapel Hill. Accordingly, permission from both the School District and the Town will be necessary to place a Transmitting Facility on a light pole.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend no Council action at this time. We believe that the existing regulations of the Land Use Management Ordinance and associated administrative policy for this type of activity are working well. The type of Transmitting Facility the petitioner proposes on Smith Level Road (98 foot tall facility) is not an accessory-type use and would be allowed only with the approval of a Special Use Permit in particular zoning districts. The Smith Level Road property is not zoned accordingly. The type of Transmitting Facility proposed at Southern Village (68-foot tall facility on a 40 foot building) does not fit the accessory policy and would require approval of a Special Use Permit Modification with several modifications of regulations.
However, we understand that Mr. Slater is proceeding within the Council’s adopted guidelines and will be applying for an administrative Zoning Compliance Permit for an antenna at Scroggs Elementary School. The existing administrative policy will allow a 15% increase on the light pole (for a height of 84 feet). Therefore, we recommend no Council action on this petition.
ATTACHMENTS