Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 03/09/2000

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City Attorney Goodrich stated if this is being referred back to the Planning Commission, it should include issues to address. He noted the City must act within 60 days, request an extension or they could possibility consider a moratorium to allow time to discuss, in a broader sense, allowing towers in residential zones should be revisited. Community Development Director Frolik stated in Staff's opinion they had a complete application on December 16, 1999, so February 16 is 60 days out, but the City has the right to evoke an additional 60 days and extend it to April 16, 2000. '-- City Attorney Goodrich stated in that time the Council could ask the Planning Commission to look again at the issue of allowing towers in residential zones, talk about this specific application, and respond to the Council's concerns. He noted that they could also obtain additional information, if requested. City Attorney Goodrich stated another alternative would be to consider a moratorium ordinance on the citing of towers in residential zones so it can more thoroughly reviewed. He noted the admonishment of the FCC to address these requests quickly; meaning the moratorium should not extend beyond 60 to 90 days. Councilmember Anderson stated that an ektension of this application will be just about the same timefi'ame. Ms. Bocian stated they have additional information to present. She admitted that they understand 180 feet is pretty high so they have looked at what they would need in the way of towers and placement to comply at 75 feet. David Mitchel, U.S. West Engineer, stated their initial intent was to obtain a tower at 180 feet in Ramsey which is quite spread out but not densely populated. He explained that this height of antenna would allow them to serve as many customers as possible and avoid building their own tower over 200 feet due to additional FCC regulations for lighting, etc. Mr. Mitchel noted that south of Highway #47 they co-locate on a tower and also have a site on Highway #10 at the Instatop. He presented a diagram of signals in Anoka County which indicated areas of good and poor service. Mr. MitcheI stated they are adding to their service area to increase their customer base. He then presented another diagram indicating the coverage should this tower be included which would extend coverage north through Ramsey and into Burns Township. Mr. Mitchel stated they were asked by the Planning Commission if they could co-locate at 140 feet on the tower to the south on 165th Avenue. They researched that option and the coverage, and found it would provide coverage of about a 2.5 mile radius so they would need additional sites to fill in the intended coverage objective. He stated that another issue is with respect to residential and height restrictions in residential, noting if they put in a site at 75 feet, the coverage area shrinks to 3/4 of a mile to a one mile radius, resulting in the need for seven to eight additional sites to achieve the same coverage objective. Mr. Mitchel stated they would like to get as much coverage as they can from one tower to serve their customers. City Council/January 25, 2000 Page 18 of 35 I