The City Council holds a public hearing Monday on a permit for a 155-foot cell tower in the Walmart parking lot on West Princeton Drive, and the city's planning staff has raised questions about the request.
In a memo for the Nov. 9 meeting, Planning Manager Parker McDowell wrote that wireless facilities "provide an important public service, and are much needed in Princeton." But he said the application "does not provide sufficient justification for the requested location or demonstrate that less intrusive alternatives were evaluated."
What is proposed
SBA Towers X LLC, working through Kimley-Horn and Associates with permission from the property owner, Wal-mart Real Estate Business Trust, wants to build a monopole inside a fenced 30-by-85-foot compound near the lot's western edge next to South Beauchamp Boulevard. The lease area covers about 2,550 square feet of the 19.31-acre store tract at 701 W. Princeton Drive.
The company's narrative says the tower would fill coverage and capacity gaps and could hold equipment for more than one carrier. It lists a 5-foot lightning rod, no lighting on the structure, and new access and utility easements. The memo says an eight-foot chain-link fence would surround the compound.
Staff concerns
City code requires a tower that tall to sit at least 275.69 feet from a residential district, and residential property lies west and south of the site. The memo says the materials do not explain why this location is necessary, whether a lower or stealth design would work, or whether a less visible industrial site could provide similar service.
Staff also wrote that the pole would be a visually dominant structure along U.S. 380, a stretch the comprehensive plan adopted in August calls for a high-quality, visually cohesive commercial corridor. The application does not address that goal, the memo says.
