2005.07.14 PC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Minutes — July 14, 2005 Page 2 of 4 Croix but the applicant had not shown how a tower in that location would impact the coverage for the area. Wireless communication towers and antennas are subject to regulations in Chapter 35 of the Hugo City Code and are federally regulated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The CDD explained how the proposed tower did not meet all the requirements relating to the location of the tower. He explained that the applicant failed to show that it was not feasible to locate the tower on an existing structure and failed to show why the proposed location was preferred over other areas such as The Kelly Land and Cattle property in Hugo, which is heavily wooded and a tower could be located with minimal visual impact to other property owners, or along the Xcel Energy power easement where there are existing 160 foot high poles. Schumann opened the public hearing. Debra Weiss, agent representing Cingular Wireless, explained that site selection was driven by consumer needs and demands for coverage from users. She said that sites to the north or south would provide overlapping coverage and the site in Marine on St. Croix was only a proposed site so she did not provide any data on non -existing coverage. Ed Tschida, 9822 152nd Street North, questioned why they would want to put the tower on a 20 acre parcel when there were much larger parcels in the area. Kate Ankenbauer, 10257 152nd Street North, said she was against the construction of the tower. She said that even though it was a rural area, the homes were close together and the tower would be in view from her home. Larry Ehret, 14604 Keystone Avenue North, said he was approached by the tower company first and declined to have it on his property because he was concerned that it would be too visible and affect the value of his property. David Thomas, 10105 152nd Street North, said the tower would be in view from his home and there were other areas the tower could be located. Larry Ankenbauer, 10257 152nd Street North, said he was against the tower because it would be in his view and he was concerned about the valuation of his property. He asked if there would be lights on the tower and the CDD said there would not. Kate Ankenbauer said that she had AT&T (now Cingular) service a while ago and never had any trouble with reception at her home. There were no other comments and Schumann closed the public hearing. Debra Wiess asked for a continuance of the application and asked to wave the time deadline according to State Statue 15.99.