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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLAN COMMISSION - 11/19/1997 - NEXTEL/1141 HAWTHORNE LN ELK GROVE VILLAGE Plan Commission Minutes November 19, 1997 8:00 p.m. Present: J. Glass, Chairman P. Ayers C. Henrici J. Meyers D. Paliganoff D. Sokolowski K. Zizzo Absent: F.Geinosky R. Guzzardi Staff: S.Niehaus, Assistant to the Village Manager Petitioners: M. Stern,Nextel Communications Item 1: Nextel Special Use Permit Request- 1141 Hawthorne Lane Chairman Glass opened the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. and briefly summarized the petition being presented to the Plan Commission. Acting Secretary Henrici swore in the petitioners. Chairman Glass explained that Nextel Communications was seeking a special use permit for the construction and installation of a wireless telecommunications facility with up to nine(9)antennas on the Village's water tower located at 1141 Hawthorne Lane. In addition,Nextel was seeking permission to construct an equipment shelter at the base of the existing water tower. Michael Stern introduced himself as a representative of Nextel Communications and provided a detailed description of Nextel's special use permit request. Stern explained that Nextel Communications is a multi-billion dollar wireless communications company that is licensed by the FCC to provide mobile radio service. Nextel offers a wide range of communications services including cellular phone capability,two-way paging, and two-way radio. The primary customers of Nextel are corporate businesses and public sector agencies. Stem also stated that Nextel was not a personal communications services(PCS)provider. Stern stated that Nextel currently has a wireless telecommunication facility in Elk Grove located on top of the Village's water tower at Pratt Avenue and Tonne Road which has been in operation since October of 1994. Stern stated that Nextel was in need of an additional antenna facility due to the increased growth of their customer base. Due to its height and location,the Village's water tower at 1141 Hawthorne Lane was an ideal location for their communication system. Stem stated that Nextel's engineers had worked closely with Village staff to design a site plan which would be consistent with the existing uses on the subject property. At the request of staff,Nextel contacted Cellular One and made arrangements for their equipment shelters to be combined, thereby limiting the number of buildings on the property. Stern stated that the new shelter will consist of two(2) pre-fabricated concrete structures covered by a common roof The exterior of the building will be brick matching the existing Ameritech building on the site. The building will also have a wrought iron security fence and be screened by 6 foot tall pine trees. Access to the building will be provided by an extension of the existing asphalt drive on the property. Stem explained that the revised site plan provided to the Plan Commission identified the proposed panel antennas located on the water tower at a height of 80 feet. However, in response to recent staff comments,Nextel was willing to increase the height of the antennas to 84 feet in order to provide aesthetic symmetry between the Ameritech, Cellular One and Nextel antennas. Stern stated that Ameritech is currently located on the tower at a height of 104 feet and that Cellular One had received a favorable recommendation from the Plan Commission to place their antennas at 94 feet. If Nextel were to place their antennas at 84 feet, equal spacing would be provided between each antenna facility. Stern also stated that Nextel's antennas would be painted to match the color of the water tower. Chairman Glass opened the public hearing to comments from the Plan Commission. Commissioner Zizzo questioned as to the appearance of the proposed shelter and its distance from Ameritech's existing building. Stem stated that the Nextel/Cellular One shelter would be approximately 20 feet from the Ameritech building and would be constructed of brick identical to Ameritech's building. Commissioner Henrici questioned whether or not the common cable area in the southwest comer of the building would be covered. Stern stated that the common cable area would be covered and included as part of the equipment shelter. Commissioner Sokolowski questioned whether Nextel and Cellular One would have individual leases for ground space. Stern stated that each company would have their own lease with the Village. Commissioner Sokolowski questioned as to who would be responsible for maintenance of the building. Stern stated that maintenance of the building would be the responsibility of Nextel or Cellular One and not the Village. Specific details on which company will perform the maintenance have yet to be determined. Commissioner Sokolowski questioned as to how many antennas would be placed on the tower. Stern stated that Nextel would be placing nine(9)panel antennas on the water tower structure. All cabling would be located inside the tower. Commissioner Paliganoff questioned if Nextel would be needing any additional antennas in the Elk Grove area in the near future. Stern stated that Nextel may be coming before the Village within the next year for authorization to install additional antennas at a different location. Commissioner Paliganoff questioned as to why Nextel needed the proposed site. Stern stated that Nextel's existing antennas in Schaumburg,Elk Grove and Itasca could no longer provide adequate service to their customer base in the area and that a new antenna site was necessary to improve service levels. Chairman Glass questioned how soon it would be before the proposed antenna reached its call capacity and where future antennas would be located. Stern stated that the proposed antenna would likely be at maximum capacity in 6 to 8 months. Any future antennas would not be located on the same site, but would be in the Grove corridor. Commissioner Meyers questioned as to who Nextel's competition was. Stern stated that Nextel had no competition at the present time due to the unique nature of their services. Likewise, Stern stated that Nextel is not a competitor of Ameritech,Cellular One,AT&T and other wireless telecommunications providers. Commissioner Meyers questioned as to why Nextel could not simply install their antennas in between Ameritech's antennas on the same painter's ring. Stem stated that a minimum of 10 feet of spacing was required between the centers of the antennas in order to prevent intermodular interference from occurring. Chairman Glass opened the meeting up to the audience at 8:30 p.m. Fred Strolina, 1142 Hawthorne Lane,expressed a concern with the antennas and stated that he was experiencing interference on his telephone and television which caused WBBM radio to appear on both devices. Chairman Glass explained that the FCC prohibited any wireless antennas to interfere with home appliances. Furthermore,Glass explained that any interference caused by wireless antennas would be the sole responsibility of the communications company. Chairman Glass also suggested that the interference from WBBM was caused by their radio tower at Devon Avenue and Rohlwing Road. Niehaus stated that he would provide Mr. Strolina with the local phone number for the FCC for their investigation. Chairman Glass closed the public hearing at 8:40 p.m. Upon further discussion, Commissioner Meyers moved and Commissioner Henrici seconded a motion to recommend approval of Nextel Communication's special use permit request to construct and install a wireless telecommunications facility, with placement of up to nine (9)antennas, on Village property located at 1141 Hawthorne Lane subject to the following: • final staff review of a site plan submitted by Nextel on November 19, 1997; and • placement of Nextel's antennas at a height of approximately 84 feet. Upon voting,the motion carried unanimously(Glass,Ayers,Henrici, Meyers, Paliganoff, Sokolowski, Zizzo AYES, Geinosky,Guzzardi,ABSENT). Item 2 Old Business There were no items of Old Business. Item 3 Approval of Minutes Commissioner Ayers moved, and Commissioner Paliganoff seconded a motion,to approve the minutes from the November 5, 1997 Plan Commission meeting. Upon voting the motion carried unanimously(Glass,Ayers,Henrici, Paliganoff, Sokolowski AYES,Meyers,Zizzo ABSTAIN, Guzzardi, Geniosky ABSENT). Adjournment Commissioner Meyers moved, and Commissioner Sokolowski seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. Upon voting, the motion was unanimously approved. Chairman Glass adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m. ;27 submitted, 1q . Scott R.Niehaus Assistant to the Village Manager c: Chairman and Members,Plan Commission,President&Board of Trustees,Village Clerk,Village Manager,Assistant Village Manager,Assistant to the Village Manager,Administrative Intern, Dir. of Engineering& Community Development, Dir. of Public Works, Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief(2),Assistant Fire Chief,Village Attorney, Chairman and Members,ZBA