HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Use - COM Application - 10/8/2002 L, MASON COUNTY PtA
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
A)Application for Special Use
A Special Use in one which possesses unique characteristics due to size,nature,intensity o Use,te-hnological
processes involved,demands upon public services,relationship to surrounding lands or other factors.The
purpose of this application is to provide for adequate oversight and review of such development proposals, in
order to assure that such uses are developed in harmony with surrounding land uses,and in a manner
consistent with the intent of the Development Regulations for Mason County; Ordinance No 82-96.
Applicants Name AT&T Wireless PCS, LLC
Applicant Representative Kirk Fraser,Wireless Facilties, Inc. Telephone#206-574-6309
Mailing Address 575 Andover Park West, Suite 201
Site Address: Lot C of Short Plat 2693
Tax Parcel#42016-32.OBW 9 o30 U
Legal Description: Lessor's Property of which Premises are a part is legally described as follows:
Lot C of Short Plat No. 2693 as recorded in No.621465,in Mason County Washington. '1S VI(In `t' 9Z1t
APN:42016-32.00W 9103c o Z�qj 8 O 130
a3 n13038
On a separate piece of paper please state your reasons for requesting a Special Use. Be sure to address the six
criteria that your request will be evaluated on.
1)Will the proposed use be detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare?
2)Will the proposed use be consistent and compatible with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan?
3)Will the proposed use introduce hazardous conditions at the site that can not be mitigated through
appropriate measures to protect adjacent properties and the community at large?
4)Is the proposed use served by adequate public facilities which are in place,or planned as a condition of
approval or as an identified item in the County's Capital Facilities Plan?
5)Will the proposed use have a significant impact upon existing uses on adjacent lands?
6)If located outside of an Urban Growth Area,will the proposal result in the need to extend urban services?
Applicant's Signature:
�174)z-
Kirk Fraser
Wireless Facilities,Inc. Toulf
OCT8 0 20 2002
A fee of$350.00 is payable upon submission. Acceptance by the County of this application does not guarantee al'Cr11YlIT ASSISTPICE CENTER
B) Responses to the six Special Use Application Criteria.
1)Will the proposed use be detrimental to the public health,safety and welfare?
No—experts, including doctors,biologists,engineers,and other scientists in the U.S. and other countries,have
conducted or participated in Radio Frequency(RF)studies over the last several decades and published their results
in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The consensus of the scientific community is that exposure to levels of RF
from wireless antennas is not hazardous to human health. These studies have been used to establish the safety
standards and guidelines, such as those used by the FCC,which were designed to limit the public's exposure only to
safe levels of RF. In recent years, many experts from around the world have reviewed these scientific findings.
Again,they conclude that there are no adverse human health effects associated with exposure to RF from wireless
antennas.
Additionally,the proposed project will actually enhance public safety and welfare by providing instantaneous
communication for wireless users. Every day,wireless phone users place over 100,000 calls to 9-1-1 and other
emergency numbers to save lives and assist victims of accidents,crimes, fires,storms,and natural disasters.
2 Will the use be consistent and compatible with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan?
proposed P P
Yes—as described in the Mason County Comprehensive Plan and Development Regulations,the location of the
project will accomplish the following:
• This proposal will enhance and improve wireless communications in this more rural portion of the county.
• This proposal will encourage collocation and will allow an additional two service providers to locate on this
tower and serves to reduce the proliferation of multiple towers in a single area.
• The proposed tower is situated in an existing stand of trees for additional screening and located in a small 40-
acre In-Holding Lands zone which is nestled in the middle of Long Term Commercial Forest.
• This proposal will not adversely affect the quality of life enjoyed by its residents. The project does not impact
the low housing densities,wilderness and semi-primitive recreational living opportunities and open space. The
project utilizes an unused 50' x 50' area that will not detract from the desired character of the county. On the
contrary, it will add to the safety and welfare of the area and allow it's residents and visitors more"worry-free"
access to those natural resources that are prevalent in the area.
3)Will the proposed use introduce hazardous conditions at the site that can not be mitigated through appropriate
measures to protect adjacent properties and the community at large?
No—the project does not involve the generation, storage,treatment or disposal of hazardous materials,hazardous
substances or hazardous wastes. Access to the radio equipment and tower is protected by a security fence
coupled with 24 hour,7 day a week remote monitoring from AT&T Wireless's Network Operations Center.
4)Is the proposed use served by adequate public facilities which are in place,or planned as a condition of approval
or as an identified item in the County's Capital Facilities Plan?
N/A—the proposed project is an unmanned telecommunications facility that is monitored remotely and will require
only a routine maintenance visit every 4-6 weeks.
5)Will the proposed use have a significant impact upon existing uses on adjacent lands?
No—The proposal will be placed in such a manner that its visual impacts on the surrounding area will be at the
lowest possible level. The site is situated in a stand of tall trees that serve as an excellent screen.The existing uses
on adjacent lands will not be impacted apart from benefiting from the enhanced wireless communications the site
will offer.
6)If located outside of an Urban Growth Area,will the proposal result in the need to extend urban services?
No—on the contrary,the proposed project itself extends urban type services to the rural areas by allowing the
provision of wireless voice services and next generation wireless data services. As discussed above,the project
area itself is unmanned and will be monitored remotely,thereby not requiring the extension of urban services.
C) Site Plan - see enclosed Site Plans.
D) Drawings of all structures with clear scale, including profile - see enclosed Site Plans
E) Responses to describe how the proposed tower/antennas will meet the goals of the
Ordinance No. 05-98 Telecommunications Antennas and Towers (Sec. 3a)
The proposed project meets all the general guidelines for the siting of towers and antennas. Specifically, these goals are:
1. Encourage the location of towers in Rural Areas and Long Term Commercial Forest Lands.
The project is located in a In-Holding Lands zone which is a rural use surrounded by Long Term Commercial
Forest.
2. Encourage strongly the joint use of new and existing tower sites.
AT&T Wireless has been very progressive in its attempts to locate on existing structures first; nine out of the
initial eleven sites designed for Mason County have been collocations on existing structures. In this specific
area there were no existing structures available to AT&T for collocation that would service this area,therefore
this new tower is needed. The tower will be built for collocation and will allow for up to three(3)different
service providers,including AT&T Wireless,to locate their antennas on it.
3. Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them,to the extent possible,in areas where the adverse
impact on the county is minimal.
The property address is comprised of a house and two mobile homes,and has been subdivided into 4 equal lots
(Lots A-D), each containing 5 acres,with the fore-mentioned residences sitting on Lot A.The other 3 lots to
the east(B -D)are vacant. There are only two more residences in the immediate area,one to the northeast and
one to the northwest.These five residences make up the entire In-Holding Lands zone. As discussed earlier,the
project will not impact the low housing densities,wilderness and open space.The project utilizes a 50' x 50'
area that will not detract from the desired character of the county.
4. Encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual
impact of the towers and antennas.
The project is designed such that its visual impacts on the surrounding area will be minimal. Additionally,the
site is situated in the midst of tall trees that serve as screening to the base of the tower.
5. Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the
community quickly,effectively,and efficiently.
After all Mason County permits are issued,the construction of the project will only take three to four weeks to
construct. Customers will immediately benefit from the improved wireless coverage in the area. Additional
telecommunication providers who wish to locate on the tower will benefit from a streamlined permitting process
and an even simpler construction process.
F) Narrative inventory of existing towers/antennas in the vicinity of the proposal site, noting
location, height, and design of each tower(Sec. 3c)
Because Cingular Wireless is still in the initial stages of adding coverage to Mason County,we currently have no existing
towers in our inventory per section 3d)of Ordinance No. 05-98. We do have 9 existing permits for collocation and the
closest two are located to the North and are listed below:
• 961 S02088— 130 SE Lynch Rd, Shelton,WA., 98584—collocation on 150'monopole owned by VoiceStream
• 961 S02087—531 SE Cole Rd., Shelton,WA., 98584—collocation on 150'monopole owned by VoiceStream
G) Responses to the eight review factors noted in Sec. 6c and to the information on the
availability of suitable existing tower or structures noted in Sec. 6d.
1. Height of the proposed tower.
The proposed tower height will be 150' feet high and will allow collocation for two additional carriers.
MASON COUNTY DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS May 5,2002
Publication cost is the responsibility of the applicant. Final permit processing will not
occur until advertising fees have been paid to the newspaper by the applicant. The
Shelton-Mason County Journal will bill the applicant directly.
I/WE understand that I/WE must sign and date the attached acknowledgment indicating
and that I/WE understand that is MY/OUR responsibility. I/WE must submit the signed
page as part of application in order for it to be considered as complete.
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DATE
AT�T iPCS, L_&�
OWNER
APPLICANT