Agenda - Council - 09/25/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

-70- a conditional use permit request from Verizon Wireless to construct cellular antennas on the CiD water tower located off of County Road #5. The new City water tower was desi~'e constructed in a manner to allow for various City equipment and cellular user's eqmpment to be stored indoors The City has a construction plan and estimated costs for aJ s~cond floor mezzanine area. The mezzanine area would be 1,900 square feet in size with ;'the capability to hold 250 pounds per square foot or 262.5 tons. Locating cellular equipmentm~ the mezzanine area will provide the City the opportunity to utilize the property surrounding the base of. the water tower for site landscaping, construction of a trail that will connect to an~adjacent park, and will provide an aesthetically pleasing entrance into Cottonwood pa~k~ It is sta~h~s opinion that construction of the mezzanine should not commence until there is:~a: signed:!ease agreement with a cellular user. When authorization has been obtained and the City has a si~ned lease agreement, construction of the mezzanine area could be completed, in a month. In order to recoup construction and architectural costs associated with the mezzamne area, the City will be charging a one-time fee to each cellular user that locates on the mezzardne. The fee is $60.00 per square foot of mezzanine space, the fee was derived per square .foot by taking construction and architectural costs ($115,000) divided by the total amount of space aX/ailable (1,900 square feet). The applicant is proposing to utilize the driveway that will be installed for City access to the tower. There will be no personnel stationed at the site on a permanent basis. The City Attorney is currently reviewing the proposed lease agreement from Verizon Wireless7 ..Verizon Wireless is currently proposing to enter into a lease a~eement with the City of Ramsey for water tower and equipment space in the amount of $24;000.00 annually.~ The Planning Commission met on August 7, 2001 to review the conditional use permit and hel~ a:Pubtic hearing. There was no c~tizen input during the public hearing. The ApPlicant state~'concern regarding locating equipment on the second floor mezzanine area.. Verizor~ Wireless is concerned that their equipment will be too heavy for the mezzarfine area, which could potentially lead to the mezzanine collapsing.' SUbsequent to the Planning Commission Staff ~nquired about how much weight the mezzanine area could withstand ~and found that 4xxx tons could be placed on the mezzanine area. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the conditional use permit with the equipment building being constructed 0ut§ide of the tower base, as proposed. City Staff ~s recommending that all equipment be located inside the water tower on the second floor mezzanine for the following reasons:: '. The column tower design was selected because i~ can facilitate inside storage and has an option for a second' floor mezzanine for additional storage. The. City has already'expended.~ some funds in designing a tower with the capability to service cellular users · The stren~h of the tower.was engineered with a second floor mezzanine ~n mind. · The land for the water tower was provided to the City at no cost for the pm-pose of a water tower and i~: was not intended to be occupied by cellular equipment buildings. · The water' tower displays the City's logo and is located on one of the most prominent commercial~ roads in the City. The site also functions as an entrance to the City's 27-acre Cottonwood Park with trails and landscaping that Staff is in the process of implementing. Larry Peterson, Connexus Energy, stated that Connexus donated the land for the water tower and they are strongly opposed to the eqmpment building being located outside the structure. City Council/August 28, 2001 Page 20 of 35 I