Department of Planning Services Division of Planning Phone: 302/ FAX: 302/

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1 Kent County SARAH E. KEIFER, AICP Director of Planning Services Department of Planning Services Division of Planning Phone: 302/ FAX: 302/ STAFF RECOMMENDATION REPORT Application Number : CS Site Plan Title : DOV Royal Farms 117_MC Present Zoning District : BG (General Business) & AR (Agricultural Residential) Present Use : Convenience Store w/ Gas Pumps Proposed Use : Same with Telecommunications Tower Location : On the southwest corner of Forrest Ave. (DE Rt. 8) and Pearsons Corner Rd. (Co. Rd. 101), across from Hartly Rd. (DE Rt. 44), southeast of Hartly I. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: The staff recommends CONDITIONAL APPROVAL based on the information submitted as the application demonstrates compliance with the conditions for approval as outlined in Tower, broadcasting and telecommunications (conditions attached to this report). The staff offers additional requirements, as follows: A. Code Requirements: 1. Add the Kent County Planning Services file number CS to the title block of the site plan. 2. The final plan must be approved within 18 months of preliminary plan approval and construction shall commence within 18 months of final plan approval. 3. An engineer s report accompanied this submission. After reviewing the report, the information requested in section B.(2)(d) must be provided prior to final approval. This requires that a copy of the NEPA Review be submitted. KENT COUNTY COMPLEX 555 Bay Road Dover, DE (Handicapped Accessible)

2 Page 2 4. Also from that report, items B.(2)(b)[6][e], B.(2)(b)[6][g], B.(2)(b)[6][h] were not included. The applicant has stated that these items cannot be determined without a physical examination of towers in the area. Since the proposed pole is serving a different function than the other towers in the area, the staff is comfortable in these items being excluded from the report. 5. If the waiver requests described below are denied, the applicant is aware that they will need to screen the proposed pole from view and/or build a sidewalk along the road frontages of the subject site. II. ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE The Emergency Medical Services, School, and Central Water Service are not applicable to this application because those standards only apply to residential subdivision and land development. With respect to the Roads element of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, staff has determined that road capacity exists to serve the proposed development. The Ordinance provides that if a proposed land development meets any one of the following criteria, a Traffic Impact Study shall be conducted: a. The proposal exceeds the projected average daily traffic warrants provided in DelDOT s Rules and Regulations for Subdivision Streets as amended; b. The proposal is projected to generate more than fifty (50) peak hour trips, excluding traffic passing by the subject property, unless the project is located in a DelDOT Special Study Area or District as designated by mutual agreement between Kent County and DelDOT; c. The area of influence of the subject property includes roadway segments and intersections currently operating below the level of service D; or d. The proposed development causes the total number of dwelling units within the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) to exceed the projected totals set forth in the Dover/Kent County MPO Transportation Improvement Plan. Paragraph (d) deals with increasing the number of dwelling units within the TAZ. This application will not add any dwelling units to the TAZ and this paragraph is not applicable to this application. Given that this use is projected to generate approximately two trips per month, this project will not exceed the projected average daily traffic warrants provided in DelDOT s Rules and Regulations for Subdivision Streets (as amended) nor will the project generate more than 50 peak hour trips. Therefore, no traffic impact study will be required. To ascertain whether the area of influence of this project extends beyond the site entrance(s) of the property, the following calculations were made: The AADT

3 Page 3 (Annual Average Daily Traffic) for Halltown Road is 7,964 and for Pearsons Corner Rd. is 2,459. Halltown Rd. is classified as a minor arterial that calls for the above number to be multiplied by 1% and Pearsons Corner Rd. is classified as a minor collector that calls for the above number to be multiplied by 5%. Doing so results in 80 trips for Halltown Rd. and 123 trips for Pearson Corner Rd. The number of trips generated by the proposed cell tower does not exceed the 80 or 123 trips and therefore the area of influence for this application does not extend beyond the site entrance. No traffic impact study is required and levels of service are not examined for this application. III. WAIVER REQUEST: Section states: Where it can be shown that strict compliance with the requirements of this chapter would result in extraordinary hardship to the applicant because of unusual topography or other conditions which are not self-imposed, or that these conditions would result in inhibiting the achievement of the objectives of these regulations, the Commission may modify or waive the requirements so that substantial justice may be done and the public interest secured; provided, however, that such variance, modification or waiver will not have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of this chapter or be contrary to the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan for the County. 1. The applicant has submitted a letter requesting a waiver from the landscaping and screening requirements for a Telecommunications tower [pursuant to Section E]. This section requires that Landscaping shall be provided around the base of the tower and adjacent to the required minimum six-foot-high security fence equipped with an appropriate anti-climbing device. The landscaping shall consist of a minimum twenty-five-foot-wide planting strip with ground cover and/or grass, including at least one row of six-foot-high evergreen trees adjacent or proximate to the fence and ten-foot-high, one-and-one-half-inch caliper deciduous trees no more than 20 feet apart. Applicants may substitute alternative landscape plans that meet the intent of this section to limit the visual impact. The Planning Staff recommends that this waiver be granted approval. In this specific case, there is a hardship in meeting the above requirement. The applicants have not submitted an alternative to the required screening, because in this case screening does not appear to be appropriate. The goal of masking the cellular equipment in a light pole is to make it as innocuous as possible. It is meant to fit into the landscape of this site and not be noticed by anyone except the technicians serving the facility. To require landscaping or fencing would only draw attention to the pole, which distracts from the integrated nature they are striving for on this site. 2. The applicant has submitted a letter requesting a waiver from the required sidewalk along Halltown Rd. [Section (A)].

4 Page 4 The Planning Staff recommends that this waiver request be approved. The existing Royal Farms has a sidewalk installed from the corner crosswalk to the site entrance along Pearsons Corner Rd. and, even though they could benefit from safe pedestrian access in both directions, this cellular pole will generate no additional foot traffic. The surrounding properties are agricultural or residential and do not appear to be able to be developed further. The goal of this section is to build a connective pedestrian network along developed properties and there does not appear to be an advantage to adding additional sidewalks on this site for this application. If the Royal Farms would expand or an additional high traffic use would locate in this location, then a larger sidewalk network would be appropriate. This recommendation by the Planning Staff is specific to this proposed use and would be of a different nature should the subject site for a tower be on an undeveloped site located in an area projected for growth. IV. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Kent County Comprehensive Plan recommends that the subject property be utilized for highway commercial and low density residential purposes. The property is zoned BG (General Business) & AR (Agricultural Residential). The tower is to be placed in the BG district and this zoning district provides for a telecommunications tower as a conditional use upon approval by the Levy Court through the Conditional Use/Site Plan process. If approved, this plan will comply with the Comprehensive Plan and the BG zoning district requirements. The ± acres subject site is currently improved with a convenience store with gas pumps and a large truck parking area. The remainder of the acreage is undeveloped. The character of the surrounding area is predominately residential and agricultural in nature, but there are other commercial properties that exist around the intersection of Rt.8 and Pearsons Corner Rd. across from the subject site. The applicant met with a member of the Planning Staff in a pre-application meeting to review this land use application. The conditions which must be met as part of the Conditional Use/Site Plan approval process were discussed. The plan meets these minimal requirements, minus the items discussed above. An engineering report was submitted by the applicant as required by (attached). The staff reviewed this report and has made comments on it in section I above. The Levy Court may add any necessary conditions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Kent County. This site will be accessed by the existing entrances on Halltown Rd. or Pearsons Corner Rd. The proposed structure is a 22 ft. tall light pole with an antenna on top that will resemble the light poles already in the parking area. It is to be placed in the northwest side of the parking area and will replace an existing light pole. The only other site changes will be the addition of four bollards around the base of the pole to protect it from accidental contact.

5 Page 5 There have been two previous land use applications on the subject site and one in the surrounding area similar to this request. Z rezoned the 5.0± acre commercial area of the property to allow the Royal Farms and S was the site plan for the actual construction of the business. CS approved a telecommunications tower on a farm located approx ft. to the west of the subject site. VI. OWNER/DEVELOPER: The owner/developer shall be aware of and be prepared to comply with all comments regarding this project stated in this report. All comments must be addressed in the final plan prior to final approval. Final approval of the plan must occur within 18 months from the date of preliminary plan approval. Failure to obtain final approval shall nullify the plan. Once the plan receives final approval, construction in accordance with the plan must occur within 18 months of final approval or the plan shall be deemed null and void. Letters of No Objection to Final Approval from the following agencies will be required prior to final approval: 1. DelDOT, Division of Highways 2. Kent Conservation District 3. Office of the State Fire Marshal This recommendation was made without the benefit of public testimony and is based on the information presented when the application was received by the Department of Planning Services. The Regional Planning Commission shall give considerable weight to public testimony received during public hearing in considering its recommendation to Levy Court in this matter. ENC: Data Sheet Exhibit A Location and Zoning Map Preliminary Site Plan Engineer s Report Package dtd. 4/10/17 Addendum A from applicant discussing Cond. Use and Waivers Tower, broadcasting and telecommunications