This is a special review request as per BMCC 27-620(d)1 to allow an 80-foot monopole and wireless communication facility in a Residential 9,600 zone on a church property, legally described as C/S 1876, Tract 3A1,. The property is 1.844 acres in size and is generally located at 4135 Grand Avenue. The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on April 4, 2017, and is not forwarding a recommendation as a result of a 2-2 vote by the Commission on this item.

Special Review applications are reviewed using City Code criteria referenced in the Alternatives Analyzed section of this memo. Special Reviews do not require an ordinance for approval, are not zone changes on property; rather, are tied to specific uses that are allowed in a given zoning district but are subject to a review by the City prior to the use being allowed. Special Reviews, unlike zone changes, may be conditioned to mitigate possible impacts from the use on the subject property or surrounding properties.
 

City Council may:

• Approve the request
• Conditionally approve the request
• Deny the request
• Allow the applicant to withdraw the request
• Delay action on the request for up to 30 days

APPLICATION DATA
OWNER: King of Glory Lutheran Church
AGENT: Kevin Howell, Digital Skylines
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: C/S 1876, Tract 3A1
ADDRESS: 4135 Grand Avenue
CURRENT ZONING: R-96
EXISTING LAND USE: Vacant with utility infrastructure
PROPOSED USE: Same with 80-foot monopole and ground facilities
SIZE OF PARCEL: 1.84 acres

The Planning Division reviewed the application and recommended conditional approval to the Zoning Commission. The Zoning Commission had a split 2-2 vote on this application with one member recusing himself from the vote. Therefore, the Zoning Commission is forwarding no recommendation to the City Council. Before a recommendation of approval or conditional approval can be made, each special review request must demonstrate conformance with three primary criteria: 1) The application complies with all parts of the Unified Zoning Regulations, 2) The application is consistent with the objectives and purposes of the Unified Zoning Regulations and the 2016 Growth Policy, and 3) the application is compatible with surrounding land uses and is otherwise screened and separated from adjacent land to minimize adverse impacts.

This application conforms to the first criteria in so far that the zoning regulations adopted by the City Council have designated that any wireless facility that does not conform to certain provisions of Section 27-620 may apply for a special review. The property is not a school, government property, or government utility site where wireless facilities may be allowed by right. The proposed facility meets all the requirements of the zoning regulations except for the required landscaped hedge on the exterior of the security fencing. There is no water on the proposed location. The applicant is proposing instead a privacy fence. The Planning staff proposed a different type of privacy wall in its recommended conditions for the application.

The application meets criteria from the second requirement as it is consistent with some of the objectives of the 2016 Growth Policy:
Essential Investments: Neighborhoods that are safe and attractive and provide essential services are much desired. The proposed special review will provide reliability to an essential service in West Billings neighborhoods. Many homes and even businesses are removing land line services and relying on wireless communications.
Strong Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods that are safe and attractive and provide essential services are much desired.
The proposed special review will allow the applicant to remain outside of the denser residential areas to the north and west while still providing an essential service to those areas. This stretch of Grand Avenue is already visually compromised by the 70 foot tall power poles that run along the front and west side of this property.

The application also meets the third criteria in that it is compatible with surrounding land uses in the area. This site is in a transitional area of Billings, with residential uses to the north and west, agricultural uses to the south and commercial services to the east. There are minimal
impacts from the proposed use that need to be mitigated. The conditions recommended with the special review should mitigate impacts on the site and the surrounding properties.

RECOMMENDATION
The Zoning Commission is forwarding no recommendation to the City Council due to its 2-2 vote. Staff proposed the following recommended conditions in its presentation to the Zoning Commission and provides them here for City Council information and consideration:
1. The special review is limited to the proposed 80-foot monopole, the ground equipment shelter and ancillary equipment necessary for the operation of the wireless facility on Tract 3A1 of C/S 1876, specifically on the proposed 1,250 square foot leased area as shown on the submitted site plan, generally located at 4135 Grand Avenue. No other use is intended or implied.
2. The monopole will be constructed of a matte-finish material.
3. The proposed 6-foot vinyl privacy fence shown on the site plan is not approved. This fence will be replaced by a wall with a 6-foot minimum height, constructed of concrete masonry units (CMU), with an engineered stone cladding or veneer on the exterior that resembles a stacked sandstone similar in color and tone to the natural sandstone rimrocks to the north and west. The sight-obscuring gates may be constructed of a complementary material and color to the stone veneer. The applicant will submit a detail sheet with the building permit drawings showing
compliance with this requirement.
4. Any back-up generator on site will use "whisper quiet" technology so adjacent land uses are not disturbed.
5. These conditions of special review approval shall run with the land described in this authorization and shall apply to all current and subsequent owners, operators, managers, lease holders, heirs and assigns.
6. The proposed development shall comply with all other limitations of Section 27-613 of the Unified Zoning Regulations concerning special review uses, and all other City of Billings regulations and ordinances that apply.
 

If the special review is approved a small amount of value will be added to the City's tax base. If the special review is not approved, the property may remain as it is and not increase any taxable value.

This is a special review request to construct a new wireless facility on property owned by the King of Glory Lutheran Church at 4135 Grand Avenue. The proposed monopole tower will be 80 feet in height and there will be an equipment shelter on the leased ground around the tower. The lease area is in the southwest corner of the property and is 25 feet by 50 feet (1,250 square feet total). Northwestern Energy maintains significant over head power lines in the area connecting to the substation to the northwest (1565 43rd St West). There are no wireless
antennae support facilities over 50 feet in height within 1 mile of the proposed location. The applicant, Digital Skylines on behalf of Verizon Wireless, states the ability to serve this growing area of Billings is tenuous. The need for the new facility is to ensure reliability of service in the future and to increase capacity.

Grand Avenue is a principal arterial street with a growing traffic demand. It currently handles over 10,000 vehicle trips per day in this area. New subdivisions, a new grocery store at 54th St West, and a new middle school at 56th St West and Grand Avenue will add to the traffic in the area. New multi-family apartments are under construction at 41st St West just north of the church. The applicant states many residents are eliminating their land line phones and using only wireless service for phone service. This is increasing demand on existing capacity. Residents without land lines in their homes will only be able to contact emergency services using their wireless devices. Reduced capacity in the wireless network could impact public safety services.

There are no nearby residential structures. The tower will be located at the proper setback from the west property line - 40 feet. Towers located adjacent to residential zones must be setback at least 1/2 the height of the tower. The power line poles along the front of Grand Avenue are 70 feet tall. The power lines turn north at the west edge of the subject property. The proposed wireless support structure will be 10 feet taller than these power poles and will not impinge on the existing view-shed of this area on Grand Avenue. The ground equipment shelter will be about 10 feet by 16 feet. A vinyl privacy fence is proposed to surround the leased area. Due to its location on a high visibility transportation corridor, the Planning staff recommended a different type of security wall as one of the proposed conditions.


 

The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on April 4, 2017, and received the staff report and recommendation as well as testimony from the applicant's agent, Kevin Howell from Digital Skylines. There was no one present representing the property owner, King of Glory Lutheran Church. Mr. Howell stated he represents Verizon Wireless for this application.  There is a need in Billings for additional capacity.  The majority of band width is required from after school gets out to midnight.  Although there is coverage in the area, demand raises in the evening and slows down quite a lot because of the use. Currently, 50% of households no longer have a land line but use cell phones only, according to Mr. Howell.  With this pole at 80 feet tall, the carrier will be able to get just far enough above the power lines to have a clear signal.  Commission Members asked what determines capacity and can't there be towers on the rims that would provide coverage?  Mr. Howell stated that the FCC controls band width and the band width determines capacity.  Capacity is tied to number of users, so for example if one tower can handle 5,000 users in a densely populated area, it would cover a smaller geographic area than the same tower in a suburban low density area.

The public hearing was opened and six members of the public spoke regarding this special review application.  Their comments included statements that: The cell tower will devalue properties in the area;  The tower will be an eye sore for the area homes and along Grand Avenue;  The tower will turn the land into a commercial use and will look bad from the ground; The tower needs to be located in a commercially zoned area;  Neighbors don't want a cell tower on church property.;  Why was the site for the cell tower located on the west edge of the property and not the east edge of the church property; Why not locate the tower on the small square of land on the northwest corner of the Wendy's property east of the proposed location.

Mr. Howell came forward to respond to comments from the public.  He stated that Verizon is open to different locations.  This site was chosen because of the large power lines already in place. Verizon believed that an additional pole among the existing ones would not be as obtrusive as a monopole standing out by itself.  Phone carriers are not able to just go into commercial areas because that is not where the capacity demand is highest.  It is in residential areas where the demand is the highest and carriers need to be able to locate where the demands will be met most efficiently.   This is a utility that is in demand by the public and cell phone providers need to build the infrastructure to meet the demands of the consumers. 

The public hearing was closed and Commission Member Wagner recused himself from the voting due to a potential conflict of interest. Commissioner Boyett made a motion to recommend conditional approval. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Larson. The board members discussed the special review. It was pointed out that it would be nice if someone representing the church had been at the meeting to discuss different locations on the site. The Commission also noted that cell phones are very heavily used and they are no longer a luxury item but a utility that is widely used as are other wireless devices at home and work.

The Commission voted 2 in favor of the motion and 2 opposed to the motion, so no recommendation was forwarded to the City Council.

The Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies is discussed in the Alternatives Analyzed section above.