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City of Arden Hills City Council Meeting for January 25, 2016 P:\Planning\Planning Cases\2015\PC 15-025 - AT&T Wireless Antenna CUP Amendment - 3900 Bethel Drive\Memos_Reports_15-025 Page 3 of 5 5. Visual and land use compatibility with uses and structures on surrounding land; adjoining land values; 6. Park dedications where applicable; and the 7. Orderly development of the neighborhood and the City within the general purpose and intent of this ordinance and the Comprehensive Development Plan for the City. Additional Review City Attorney The City Attorney has reviewed this case and advises that the federal government, through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has recently adopted rules further limiting the authority of local governments to restrict or deny the expansion of existing antennas or towers. The FCC rule is predicated on their view that once the tower or antenna facilities are sited and in operation, modifications or minor expansions to modernize or expand should not be subjected to as detailed a review as the original siting determination. While the rules are complicated, they basically grant authority for the operator to expand the facilities by the greater of 10% of their original height or twenty feet. The City Attorney has drafted a CUP Amendment (Attachment A) and noted that both AT&T Mobility, as the lessee and primary applicant, and Bethel University, as the property owner, should be required to sign the document before the issuance of a building permit. Findings of Fact The Planning Commission reviewed Planning Case 15-025 at their regular meeting on January 6, 2016. Draft minutes from the meeting are included in Attachment H. The Planning Commission offers the following findings of fact for consideration: General Findings: 1. The applicant has requested a Conditional Use Permit Amendment in order extend the height of the existing wireless antenna installation at 3900 Bethel Drive, approved in Planning Case 10-010. 2. The property at 3900 Bethel Drive is located in the B-1 - Limited Business District. 3. Cellular towers and antennas are allowed as a conditional accessory use in the B-1 District. 4. The proposed upgrade would increase the number of antennas from six (6) to nine (9). 5. The Zoning Code states that no antenna shall be mounted at a height exceeding 75 feet. 6. The proposed upgrade would increase the height of the antenna assembly canisters that house the antennas to 63 feet above ground level. 7. The antennas would be located approximately 1,185 feet from the nearest property line. 8. The antennas would be concealed inside the antenna assembly canisters, which will be painted to blend in with existing mechanical equipment on the roof.