HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 7-22-2009MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
AMES, IOWA JULY
22, 2009
The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 7:15
p.m. on July 22, 2009, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present:
Bruce Calhoun, Elizabeth Erbes, Denise Link, and Thomas Weber. Board Member Gary Taylor
was absent. Staff members Charlie Kuester and Judy Parks were also present.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Erbes, seconded by Calhoun, to approve the minutes of
the meeting of July 8, 2009.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously.
CASE NO. 09-12
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT - US CELLULAR, 1701 6TH STREET
Public Hearing on Conditional Use Permit in the General Flood Plain (Overlay)
District to allow construction of an elevated platform at 1701 6th Street.
City Planner Charlie Kuester stated that US Cellular of Urbandale is proposing
construction of a platform to elevate electronic equipment for its cell tower,
which is located on Iowa State University property. Mr. Kuester showed the Board
a map of the subject property. He explained that the property has an address
of 1701 6th street, although the parcel is not connected to 6th street. He stated
that the district is zoned S-GA, or Government/Airport District.
Mr. Kuester explained that the zoning is out of the purview of the City; however,
the City’s authority over the flood plain ordinance is city -wide. He also stated
that the FEMA designation for the area Zone “AE,” meaning a 1% annual chance
of flood and that Base Flood Elevations (BFE) have been determined for the area.
Mr. Kuester showed a map of the site in relation to the flood way fringe and
the flood way. He explained that the structure and the equipment are there
already, but the equipment is close to the ground. He said that US Cellular
would like to put in a platform and elevate the equipment to get it above the
BFE to protect it from future damage. Mr. Kuester stated that the floor of the
proposed equipment structure would be elevated eight feet above the BFE of the
area, which is five feet more than required by City Ordinance. He also explained
that many of the performance standards that the Board would normally consider
were not relevant to this case.
Mr. Kuester stated that there are factors which the Code requires the Board
to consider when making its decision, including:
1. The danger to life and property due to increased flood heights or velocities
caused by encroachments.
2. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands or down stream
to the injury of others.
3. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood
damage and the effect of such damage to the individual owner.
4. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing development and
development anticipated in the foreseeable future.
Mr. Kuester pointed out that elevating the electrical equipment above the flood
elevation would reduce many of the aforementioned risks, as well as reduce any
encroachment into the flood way fringe. He also stated that the proposal would
not make any change to the current use of the property.
Mr. Kuester told the Board that staff recommends approval of the application
based on staff’s conclusions that the structure meets the criteria of the flood
plain ordinance.
Board Member Calhoun asked how deep the flood water would be in the subject
area. Mr. Kuester replied that the ground elevation is one foot below the BFE.
Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Kuester discussed access to the site and where the flood
plain ends.
Board Member Weber asked for clarification about proposed and current elevation.
Mr. Kuester pointed out that the equipment shelter, not the tower itself, would
be raised.
Rich Kotite, Integrated Wireless Development, 1450 NE 69 th Place, Suite 57,
Ankeny, Iowa, stated that it was unsafe to have the shelter in water. He explained
that they wanted to build a platform and move the generator, which is used for
backup power, onto the steel platform.
Board Member Calhoun asked if there were certain emergency situations when the
tower would need to be accessed. Mr. Kotite replied that if an outage was localized
to the tower itself, an operations technician would go to the site to try to
fix the problem if it couldn ’t be fixed remotely. Mr. Calhoun asked if there
were any conditions that would endanger public safety if the tower was
unaccessible in a flood. Mr. Kotite said that there would not be a physical
threat, but that it could prevent people from making emergency phone calls if
the tower was out.
Moved by Calhoun, seconded by Weber, that the Zoning Board of Adjustment adopt
ORDER NO. 09-12 granting a Conditional Use Permit for construction of a steel
platform to elevate electrical equipment above the flood elevation at 1701 6th
Street.
Roll call vote: 4-0. Voting Aye: Weber, Link, Calhoun, Erbes. Voting Nay: None.
Motion declared approved unanimously.
COMMENTS: There were no comments by the Board.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:31 p.m.
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Emily Burton, Recording Secretary Denise Link, Chair