HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP199800055 Presentation Special Use Permit 1998-11-11
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November 11, 1998 (Regular Night Meeting)
(Page 3)
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Martha Jefferson Health Services (MJHS) awarded a grant to fund
the Child Health Improvement Grant for the V.L. Murray Elementary
School Preschool Program. The funds will be used to coordinate a
project that includes learning about healthy food choices and
preparation, and growing and harvesting these foods. The parents,
students and teachers will work together to produce a cookbook of
tested recipes.
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Staff recommended approval of the appropriations totaling $960.00 as
detailed on Appropriation Form #98039.
By the above recorded vote, the Board adopted the following Resolution
of Appropriation:
APPROPRIATION REQUEST
FISCAL YEAR: 1998-99
NUMBER: 98039
FUND: SCHOOL
PURPOSE OF APPROPRIATION: DONATION FOR STONE ROBINSON AND
V L MURRAY PRESCHOOL GRANT
EXPENDITURE
COST CTR/CATEGORY
1 2210 61101 601300
1 3104 60216 601300
DESCRIPTION
INST!REC SUPPLIES
INST/REC SUPPLIES
TOTAL
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$300.00
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$960.00
REVENUE CODE
2 2000 18100 181109
2 3104 18000 181222
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DONATION
MJH CHILD HEALTH GRANT
TOTAL
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$300.00
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$960.00
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Item 5.3. Copy of Planning Commission minutes for October 13, 1998, was
received as information.
Item 5.4. Monthly update on the FY 1998-99 Project Schedule from the
Department of Engineering & Public Works as of October 23, 1998, was received
for information.
Item 5.5. Copy of letter dated September 24, 1998, to Cheryl Stockton,
Kirk Hughes & Associates, from Amelia G. McCUlley, Zoning Administrator, reo
Official Determination of Number of Parcels - Section 10.3.1, Tax Map 89,
Parcel 65, was received as information.
Item 5.6. Report for the First Quarter of FY 1999 for JAUNT services,
was recovered for information.
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Item 5.7. Letter dated October 29, 1998, to Forrest R. Marshall,
Chairman, from Amy S. Griffith, 'President, Van-on-the-Go, providing notice
that they have applied for authorization by the Virginia Department of Motor
Vehicles to operate as a common carrier for the purpose of providing van
shuttle services in the Central Virginia area, was received as information.
Item 5.8. Copy of minutes of the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority Board
of Directors for September 28, 1998, was received for information.
(Note: The Board heard the next two ag~nda items concurrently.)
Agenda Item No.6. SP 98-44. WQMZ Tower (Signs #69 & 74). Public
Hearing on a request to replace an existing 345' tower wi an approx 520' tower
in accord wi provisions of See 22.2.2(2) of the Zoni'ilg Ordinance'. TM6'1, P192,
consists of 8.96 acs znd C-l. Located in NW corner of intersec of Rio Rd &
Melbourne Rd. Rivanna Dist. (Advertised in the Daily Progress on October 26
and November 2, 1998.)
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November 11, 1998 (Regular Night Meeting)
(Page 4)
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Agenda Item No.7. SP-98-55. WQMZ Tower (Signs #47 & 48). Public
Hearing on a request to replace an existing 345' tower w/ an approx 520'
tower. The existing tower, & the proposed tower, is located in the flood
plain. Location of tower in flood plain requires SUP in accord w/provisions
of Sec 30.3.5.2.2(4) of the Zoning Ordinance. TM61, P192, consists of 8.96
acres zoned C-1. Located in NW corner of intersec of Rio Rd & Melbourne Rd.
Rivanna Dist. (Advertised in the Daily Progress on October 26 and November 2,
1998. )
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Mr. Cilimberg summarized the joint staff report on these two petitions
which is on file in the Clerk's Office and made a part of the permanent
records of the Board of Supervisors. He said the applicant proposes to remove
and replace an existing tower located at the intersection of Melbourne Road
and Rio Road. The existing tower is a guyed lattice tower approximately 345
feet tall. The proposed tower will be a guyed lattice tower approximately 520
feet tall. The purpose of the increased tower height is to improve the
coverage provided by WQMZ which is an FM radio station. The new tower may
also be used by personal wireless service providers. The existing tower is
lit, and the proposed tower will also be lit. The proposed tower does not
penetrate into the Airport Protection Overlay District. An increase in the
visibility of the tower does result in potential adverse impact. Staff
contacted City Planning staff who reviewed this project and received no
objections. The area is well within the Development Area of the County, and
all of the potential impacts are to the Development Area.
Mr. Cilimberg said it was staff's opinion that the visual impact is not
extreme and is not unusual in a developed environment. Therefore, it
recommended approval subject to conditions. The Planning Commission, at its
meeting on October 27, 1998, unanimously recommended approval of the petition
subject to the conditions recommended by staff, but did make the following
changes:
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Condition No.3 which had stated: "Antennas may "be attached to the
tower only as follows:. was changed to say "All antennas located on the
existing tower may be relocated to the new tower. Additional antennas
may be attached to the tower only as follows:.
Condition No.3. was added reading: "All antenna shall be located such
that no portion of the antenna is more than two (2) feet from the tower
structure..
Condition No. 8 was added reading: "The guy wires for the tower shall
be located in such manner as to not interfere with the proposed Meadow
Creek segment of the Rivanna Greenway Trails. This shall be verified by
Department of Planning and Community Development review of the building
permit..
Mr. Marshall asked if the Board members had questions of staff. There
were none. He then asked if the applicant would like to speak.
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Mr. Dan Miller, Manager of Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) , spoke. He said this business is owned by Mr. Larry Richardson who
operates several radio stations in the area. It is a "mom and pop. operation
in the communications industry. They compete with the newspaper and the
television station for news consumers, they compete with the radio stations in
the market for listeners, and with all of these for advertisers. Nationwide,
radio stations have either downsized or eliminated their news departments.
Charlottesville, in the last decade, has seen a doubling of the number of
radio stations, and the only remaining news department is the one at
Charlottesville Broadcasting which focuses on the Charlottesville/Albemarle
region.
Mr. Miller said he has talked with a number of people about the
increased height of the tower on Melbourne Road, and the only comment has been
to ask if it will improve WINA's nighttime signal. Unfortunately, the answer
is "no". People say they like to listen to the election coverage, emergency
news, or the University of Virginia games. He reminds them that they should
listen to 95.1 on the FM dial which provides this same coverage. The tower
for 95.1 was moved to Melbourne Road in the early 1960s and it can be seen
from a distance. The proposed tower will look much like the existing tower
with its pulsating red light which is part of the urban skyline.
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November 11, 1998 (Regular Night Meeting)
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Mr. Miller said the FCC's reclassification of Class C FM stations made
them realize it was in their best interest to increase the height of the tower
to the standard for Class A FM stations. He has met with numerous people
during the last year, been to Board meetings, and meetings of the
Telecommunications Task Force, and met with cellular and PCS telephone
providers when it became apparent their collocation on CBC's tower might serve
the County. Recently, they agreed to allow the County Planning Commission to
postpone action on their request when it was found that the City Planning
Commission had not been informed of the request by City staff. Since ~e met
with the City Planning Commission, they now have no objections to the request.
Since, the County Planning Commission has reCommended approval of the request,
he asked that the Board also give its approval.
Mr. Bowerman asked the threshold of a flashing red beacon and a strobe
type light device. He asked if the FAA requires a specific device or if it is
subjective on the part of the tower owner. Mr. Miller said he brought an
engineer to speak to that question.
Mr. Jerry Yacuzzi said the normal consideration by'the FAA for strobe
lights is 500 feet, but that is by use. It does not mean that once the' tower
reaches the 500 foot mar~, the light ~ould be a strobe light. The FAA looks
at the towers on what is called "determination of hazard navigation." If the
proposed construction does not propose any hazard to navigation, then the
tower can have a red beacon up to 1000 feet. The proposal by WQMZ and the
clearance they have already obtained from the FAA will allow a flashing red
beacon at the top and at the mid-section of the tower. There will be no
strobe lighting.
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Ms. Thomas said she had a question about collocation. She asked what is
already on the tower. Mr. Yacuzzi said there is the FM transmission antenna
backup, STL receiver antennas that allow them to get the signal from their
location to the tower, and also ricochet out for WINA. They are called
"banana peels" because they are not wide, and they are made of lattice steel.
Ms. Thomas said in thinking about the new 200 feet on the tower, it is
the additional panels that will make that portion of the tower visible. For
the most part, the people who now see the tower will be more bothered by the
things that protrude, and during the day. The County has never had a request
for a tower of this height, and she wonders about requiring that any of the
additional collocations be done below the 345-foot level. She asked if
technologically anything would to be higher than 345 feet other than that of
WQMZ. Mr. Yacuzzi said he does not believe any of the cellular providers want
to be above that height. For a two-way wave, whip antennae, there is one
Charlottesville company that is interested in locating at the upper portion of
the tower. That is a two-way radio provider. For those who do not find it
feasible to locate on Carter's Mountain, this offers an alternative for
location.
At this time, Mr. Marshall opened the public hearing.
Ms. Heidi Parker was present on behalf of Alltel Corporation. She
expressed support of the application. At this time, they are diSCUSSing
collocation with Charlottesville Broadcasting. They would collocate under the
345-foot mark, in fact, it would probably be between 180 and 200 feet. They
would like to be able to collocate without coming to the Board with a special
permit application.
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Mr. Paul Grady said he had recently attended several Charlottesville
City Council meetings and several people spoke against the Meadow Creek
Parkway. This worries him. At this time, City Council is split 3:2 in favor
of the Parkway, but he is afraid that a constant barrage of negative assaults
on the Parkway will wear down that support. He believes it behooves this
Board to take action to ally some of that criticism. Mayor Kaye Slaughter
asked if it would be possible for VDOT to purchase adjoining land to add to
McIntire Park to replace the land that would be used for the Parkway. The
parcel in question tonight under these petitions is the next adjoining parcel
to McIntire Park.
Mr. Grady asked that the Board deny this tower request, and use its
powers of eminent domain to purchase the property and then offer to sell it to
the City as an extension of the McIntire Park, or sell it to VDOT so they
could sell it to the City to replace the lost park land. He is afraid that if
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November 11, 1998 (Regular Night Meeting)
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the Board does not act immediately, the 30 years of planning for the Meadow
Creek Parkway will "go down the tubes."
With no one else from the public rising to speak, the public hearing was
closed.
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Ms. Thomas said she did not bring up the question of having collocation
antennae under 345 feet, but if there is interest in that idea, the words "and
shall be below three hundred forty-five (345) feet in height" should be added
to the end of Condition No. 3b. She appreciated the suggestion that this land
be added to the Park lands since that has been one of her suggestions for the
Meadow Creek Parkway. With Condition NO.8, the Rivanna Greenway trails will
not be interfered with, and that is probably a good protection for what Some
people are worried about, the trails themselves.
Motion was then offered by Ms. Humphris, seconded by Ms. Thomas, to
approve SP-98-44 subject to the following conditions recOmmended by the
Planning Commission, and with the modification of Condition No. 3b as set out
above. Roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded
vote:
AYES: Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman, Ms. Humphris and Mr. Marshall.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Mr. Martin.
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(The conditions of approval are set out in full below.)
4.
Tower height shall be limited to five hundred twenty (520)
feet;
The tower shall be designed so that, in the event of
structural failure, the tower and all of its components
will remain within the property;
All antennas located on the existing tower may be
relocated to the new tower. Additional antennas may be
attached to the tower only as follows:
a. Omnidirectional or whip antennas shall not exceed
twenty (20) feet in height or seven (7) inches in
diameter, and shall be of a color which matches the
tower;
b. Directional or panel antennas shall not exceed five
(5) feet in height or two (2) feet in width, shall
be of a color which matches the tower and shall be
below three hundred forty-five (345) feet in height;
c. Satellite and microwave dish antennas are
prohibited;
d. Antennas may be installed in addition to those
installed by the permittee when the tower is first
constructed without amending this special use
permit, provided that all necessary building permits
are obtained from the Building Official and the
antennas otherwise comply with these conditions; and
e. All antenna shall be located such that no portion of
the antenna is more than two (2) feet from the tower
structure.
The tower shall be used, or have the potential to be used,
for the collocation of wireless telecommunications
providers, as follows:
a. The permittee shall allow wireless
telecommunications providers to locate antennas on
the tower and equipment on the site, subject to
these conditions:
(1) The permittee shall provide to the County,
upon request, verifiable evidence that it has
made a good faith effort to allow such
location. Verifiable evidence of a good faith
effort includes, but is not limited to,
evidence that the permittee has offered to
allow other providers to locate on the tower
and site in exchange for reciprocal rights on
a tower and site owned or controlled by
another provider within Albemarle County.
Each outdoor luminary shall be fully shielded such that
all light emitted is projected below a horizontal plane
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November 11, 1998 (Regula;r Night Meeting)
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6.
running though the,lowest part of the shield or shielding
part of the luminary. For purposes of this condition, a
luminary is a complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp
or lamps together with the parts designed to distribute
the light, to position and protect the lamps, and to
Connect the lamps to the power supply. All lighting shall
be shielded from public roads. Outdoor lighting, other
than the tower lighting, shall only be on during periods
of maintenance;
The permittee shall comply with Section 5.1.12 of the
Zoning Ordinance;
The permittee shall obtain Engineering Department approval
of the tower design prior to reCeiving a building permit.
The Engineering Department shall review the tower design
to insure that the design is adequate due to its location
within the flood plain; and
The guy wires for the tower shall be located in such a
manner as to not interfere with the proposed Meadow Creek
Segment of the Rivanna Greenway Trails. This shall be
verified by Department of Planning and Community
Development review of the Building Permit.
7.
8.
Motion was then offered by Ms. Humphris, seconded by Mr. Bowerman, to
approve SP-98-55 subject to the following conditions recommended by the
Planning Commission, and with the modification of Condition No. 3b as set out
above. Roll was called and the motion carried by the fOllOWing recorded vote:
AYES: Mr. Perkins, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Bowerman, Ms. Humphris and Mr. Marshall.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Mr. Martin.
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(The conditions of approval are set out in full below.)
1.
Tower height shall be limited to five hundred twenty (520)
feet;
The tower shall be designed so that, in the event of
structural failure, the tower and all of its components
will remain within the property;
All antennas located on the existing tower may be
relocated to the new tower. Additional antennas may be
attached to the tower only as fOllows;' , .. ,
a. Omnidirectional or 'whip 'antennas shall not exceed
twenty (20) feet in height or seven (7) inches in
diameter, and shall be of a color which matches the
tower;
b. Directional or panel antenn~s shall not exceed five
(5) feet in height or two (2) feet in width, shall
be of a color which matches the tower and shall be
below three hundred forty-five (345) feet in height;
c. Satellite and microwave dish antennas are
prohibited;
d. Antennas may be installed in addition to those
installed by the permittee when the tower is first
constructed without amending this special use
permit, provided that all necessary building permits
are obtained from the Building'Official and the
antennas otherwise comply with these conditions; and
e. All antenna shall be located such that no portion of
the antenna is more than two (2) feet from the tower
structure.
The tower shall be used, or have the potential to be used,
for the collocation of wireless teleCommunications
prOViders, as follows:
a. The permittee shall allow wireless'
telecommunications providers to locate antennas on
the tower and equipment on the site, subject to
these conditions:
(1) The permittee shall provide to the County,
upon request, verifiable evidence that it has
made a good faith effort'to allow such
location. Verifiable evidence of a good faith
effort includes, but is not limited to,
2.
3.
4.
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