Council Approves Zoning Variations for Microwave Tower by 6-1 Vote

Plans for a 180-foot microwave tower will move forward after voted Monday to approve zoning variations at 8245 Lemont Road.

The 6-1 vote came after a lengthy debate over the specifics of the tower and the impact it could have on the neighboring Woodmere condos and townhomes.

Woodmere Condo Association President Jill Petranek said she still had concerns related to safety, liability and environmental issues, as well as the tower’s appearance.

Specifically, she said she and other condo residents were worried about the fall around the tower, should it collapse. She also wondered about debris, such as icicles, that might fall from it.

Petranek questioned the tower's proximity to a possible wetland area, noting that if hawks or other protected birds roosted on the tower, maintenance crews couldn't tend to it for the length of the nesting period.

The tower would be situated about 120 feet from the nearest residential units. The council amended the ordinance to clarify that the tower’s 180-foot maximum height includes any antennae. 

The petitioner, Stanley Stann, said the tower he proposed is "one of the most solid structures there are."

Oversight of telecommunication towers falls mostly under federal rather than local statutes, which city attorney John Murphey said limits the city’s role in regulating the structure.

A no vote from the council could have provoked a lawsuit that the city would need to defend with substantial written evidence drawn from previous meetings on the tower.

“What we have until this point is the written recommendation of the staff recommending approval, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommending approval and the aldermanic committee recommending approval,” Murphey said.

That paper trail would make defending a council vote against the proposed variations a tough sell in court, he said.

Ward 6 Alderman Sylvia McIvor, whose jurisdiction includes the property, was the lone dissenting vote.

“I just feel like I don’t know that we’ve gotten definitive answers from credible sources that all the concerns have been addressed,” she said. “I feel it’s being pushed through.”

Once Stann submits plans for the tower, the city will present them to several engineering firms for review. The city is also going to determine whether a nearby detention pond is a regulated wetland area, which could affect what kind of permits he needs for construction.