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• An independent RF engineering review to clearly demonstrate why the antenna is not proposed for the City water tower site; • Conformance with all other City regulations; and, • A building permit. In addition to allowing the current configuration of the tower to remain and to provide the possibility of adding new antennas in the future, this CUP amendment is also intended to encourage the placement of antennas on existing towers instead of building new towers. The result would be in keeping with the goal of the Zoning Code to reduce the demand for future new towers in the City. The administrative review process for existing sites is common in other communities, including Shoreview, Roseville, and Minnetonka. If someone were to propose constructing a new antenna tower or placing an antenna on a private building, a CUP and public hearing would still be required along with the administrative review requirements. The CUP process is important for new towers because the potential impacts to the public health, safety, welfare, and aesthetics would need to be fully evaluated. Engineering Review As noted in the first part of this report, the Reiling Tower has undergone a number of changes to the antenna configuration since it was constructed in 1972. The current configuration is not in conformance with the original approval, and the changes were not reviewed by the City. The CUP amendment addresses the non-compliance with the 1972 CUP; however, the City contracted with Ulteig Engineers to have a complete structural review completed since the previous changes were not reviewed by the City (Attachment Q. In summary, the Ulteig report is in good condition and has been properly maintained. The report indicates that there are 30 antennas on the tower (the diplexers are support equipment used by the antennas). Of those, 18 antennas are used by Verizon Wireless for cellular services, two are used by American Messaging to provide pager services, and one dish is used by Nextera to provide business internet services. Staff is working with the property owner to identify the purpose of the remaining nine antennas. The report notes that Clear Wireless is seeking to add six antennas to the tower, which, if done, would put the tower at 97.4 percent capacity in its current condition. The Clear Wireless antennas have not yet been reviewed by the City. If the CUP amendment is approved, Clear Wireless would be subject to the administrative review process to add the antennas. If the nine unidentified antennas can be removed from the tower, additional capacity may be available on the tower in its current condition. According to the supplementary report provided by Ulteig, the tower has the ability to be upgraded in the future to provide additional capacity for antennas. The legs of the tower are only at 62.8 percent capacity and It would be possible provide additional bracing to increase the overall capacity. City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting for February 3, 2010 I Wetro-inet. usl ardenhills 0anningOanning Cases 12009109-023 Reding Tower Zoning and CUP Amendment (Pending)102-03-10 - _PC Report _-_Reding Tower CUP Amendmentl.doc page 6 of 9