9 May 14, 2014 Public Hearing

Transcription

1 9 May 14, 2014 Public Hearing APPLICANT & PROPERTY OWNER: HAMPTON ROADS SANITATION DISTRICT (Chesapeake-Elizabeth Treatment Plant) STAFF PLANNER: Stephen J. White REQUEST: Conditional Use Permit (wireless communication tower) ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION: 5332 Shore Drive GPIN: ELECTION DISTRICT: BAYSIDE SITE SIZE: Total Site Area: acres Tower Lease Area: 3,200 square feet AICUZ: Less than 65 db DNL BACKGROUND / DETAILS OF PROPOSAL Background The applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit for a wireless communication tower. The proposed site for the tower is a 3,200-square foot portion of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) Chesapeake-Elizabeth Treatment Plant site. The acre site is zoned I-2 Heavy Industrial District. The tower will support wireless communication equipment that is part of a Smart Sewer System developed by HRSD in response to a Regional Consent Order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Regional Consent Order directs HRSD and the localities of Southeastern Virginia to reduce sanitary sewer overflows, which are primarily caused by water infiltrating the sewer system during heavy rainfall, which exceeds the capacity of the sewer system, and results in the overflow of the sewer system. Page 1

2 A key component of the Smart Sewer System will be a microwave-based, wireless, Wide Area Network (WAN) communications system connecting HRSDs treatment plants and operational centers. Such a system requires the installation of a communications tower at each of the facilities. Conditional Use Permit applications for similar towers at HRSD s main offices on Air Rail Avenue and at the HRSD Atlantic Treatment Plant have also been submitted. The towers will include lightning protection, two microwave antennas, and a UHF omnidirectional antenna that can receive and transmit Tower Location signals among HRSD flow meters, pressure gages, rain gages, and related equipment and between the treatment plants and operational centers. This will allow HRSD to conduct analysis of a system during a wet weather event at the time the event is occurring. As a result, the system will be capable of determining if an overflow is imminent and then redirect flow to another system or to storage tanks. Details The tower will be located in the northwest corner of the treatment plant site, approximately 775 feet from Shore Drive. Access to the tower will be via an existing roadway within the treatment plant site. The tower is located within a 3,200-square foot compound. Due to the location of the tower within the treatment plant s fenced site, where access is available only to HRSD staff, there is no fencing proposed around the tower compound area. Similarly, due to the location of the compound, the shrubs and trees required by Section 232(f)(4) of the City Zoning Ordinance (CZO) for the purpose of screening the base of the tower and the associated equipment will not be installed. A deviation to this requirement, per Section 221(i) of the Zoning Ordinance is requested by the applicant. The compound area will contain the ground-level support equipment for HRSD s antennas, and will provide space for the equipment of antennas of wireless communication providers that collocate on the tower in the future. The proposed tower will be a monopole. The proposed height is 148 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) [144-foot high tower with 4-foot high lightning rod]. Based on a Determination of No Hazard (DNH) to Air Navigation issued by the Federal Aviation Administration / Obstruction Evaluation office (FAA/OE), on April 29, 2014, a height of 117 feet was determined to be the maximum that will not be a hazard to air navigation. The applicant has proposed a tower with a height of 148 feet, and the applicant has noted that such height is critical to the antennas on the tower actually being able to communicate with the other HRSD antennas. The applicant, therefore, has informed staff that it will be seeking a new NPH letter from FAA/OE that will allow the 148-foot height. That height is indicated on the plans referenced by Condition 1 recommended with this Use Permit. It is important to remember that Section 202(b) of the Zoning Ordinance states that no structure is allowed in any zoning district that on the basis of its height would constitute an obstruction to air navigation pursuant to Part 77, Subpart C, of the Federal Aviation Administration Regulations, 14 C.F.R et seq. or any successor regulation, or would cause an adjustment to an airfield's established straight-in, circling, alternate, takeoff and safety minima, or which would adversely affect radio reception or radar coverage for any airfield or FAA facility. The FAA/OE is responsible for making that determination and enforcing those regulations. Accordingly, the maximum height Page 2

3 of the tower will be either the 148 feet as shown on the conditioned plans or it will a lower height as determined by the FAA to not be a hazard to air navigation. Based on Section 202(b), however, in no case will the maximum height be allowed to exceed that established by the FAA/OE Office. A structural analysis of the tower was submitted (Section 232(c)(3) of the CZO), indicating that the tower will be designed to accommodate the applicant s equipment and additional carriers and will meet all structural requirements, as per the Uniform Statewide Building Code, and all wind loading requirements for this area. A final formal Structural Report will be provided with the formal site plan submittal. Initial information and data indicate that the use of the antennas mounted on the tower will have no impact on public safety communications (Section 232(h) of CZO). A complete Radio Frequency Emissions Analysis Report will be submitted with the formal site plan submittal. Antennas to be mounted on the tower include dipole antennas, a three-foot microwave antenna, and a six-foot microwave antenna. A four-foot high lightning rod will be mounted at the top of the tower as part of the lightning protection for the tower. The tower will have space for collocation of at least three additional wireless communication providers. EXISTING LAND USE: Sewage treatment plant LAND USE AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING: North: Military installation / I-2 Heavy Industrial District South: Shore Drive Little Creek Reservoir Single-Family Dwellings / R-30 Residential District East: Military installation / I-2 Heavy Industrial District West: Military installation / I-2 Heavy Industrial District EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) is in the process of creating a Smart Sewer System in order to meet a Regional Consent Order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) pertaining to sanitary sewer overflows. A wireless microwave-based Wide Area Network (WAN) being installed between HRSD s treatment plants and operation centers is a component of this system. To fully implement the system, a communication tower must be installed at each of their facilities. In addition to the equipment for HRSD, the tower at each location will also accommodate other wireless telecommunication providers. This Conditional Use Permit request is for the installation of a tower on the grounds of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District s Chesapeake-Atlantic Treatment Plant. The tower will be located in the northwest corner of the site, where the ground-level equipment will not be visible from Shore Drive. The proposed location is also 1,117-feet from the nearest residential dwelling. This proposed tower location ensures compatibility with the surrounding area. As noted in the Details section of this report, the tower meets the requirements of Section 232 of the City Zoning Ordinance, which provides the specific standards applicable to Use Permit requests for a Communication Tower. Also noted in the Details section, the tower compound will not be enclosed and Page 3

4 screened as required by Section 232. Section 221(i) of the Zoning Ordinance, however, allows the City Council to approve deviations to such screening and buffering requirements for good cause shown and upon a finding that there will be no significant detrimental effects on surrounding properties. Staff finds that the situation in this case is appropriate for such a deviation, due to the location of the tower within an existing secure, fenced site that limits visibility of the tower equipment from Shore Drive. Accordingly, there will be no detrimental effects on surrounding properties by the elimination of the screening requirements. Based on staff s evaluation of this request, approval is recommended subject to the conditions below. CONDITIONS 1. The site shall be developed substantially in conformance with the submitted plan package, consisting of three sheets (Title Sheet [T-1], Site Plan [Sheet Z-1], and Compound Plan [Sheet C-1]), entitled HRSD, Site Name: Chesapeake Elizabeth Plant 5332 Shore Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455, prepared by NB+C Engineering Services, LLC, and dated February 25, 2014, which has been exhibited to the Virginia Beach City Council and is on file with the Virginia Beach Department of Planning. 2. Based upon a finding that there will be no significant detrimental effects on surrounding properties, the screening required by Section 232(f)(4) of the Zoning Ordinance shall be deleted, as the location of the tower within an existing secure, fenced site, limits visibility of the tower and its ground-level equipment. 3. The owner / operator of the tower shall provide for the collocation of additional wireless telecommunication providers. 4. The applicant and owner-operator of the tower shall coordinate with the Community Plans and Liaison Officer, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story (JEBLCFS), for the purpose of resolving the request of JEBLCFS for obstruction lighting for the tower with regard to its visibility, as provided through night vision devices. A letter jointly signed by the Community Plans and Liaison Officer of JEBLCFS, the applicant, and the owner-operator of the tower, which specifies the marking / lighting agreed to by all parties, shall be submitted to the Planning Department / Current Planning. No permits for the tower shall be issued until said letter is submitted as indicated. NOTE: Further conditions may be required during the administration of applicable City Ordinances and Standards. Any site plan submitted with this application may require revision during detailed site plan review to meet all applicable City Codes and Standards. All applicable permits required by the City Code, including those administered by the Department of Planning / Development Services Center and Department of Planning / Permits and Inspections Division, and the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, are required before any uses allowed by this Use Permit are valid. The applicant is encouraged to contact and work with the Crime Prevention Office within the Police Department for crime prevention techniques and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) concepts and strategies as they pertain to this site. Page 4

5 AERIAL OF SITE LOCATION Page 5

6 SITE LAYOUT OF HRSD PLANT SHOWING LOCATION OF TOWER COMPOUND Page 6

7 PROPOSED PLAN OF TOWER COMPOUND AND ELEVATION DRAWING OF TOWER Page 7

8 ZONING HISTORY There have been no zoning changes, use permits, street closures, etc. in this area within the last ten years. Page 8

9 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 9

10 DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Page 10

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