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Variance Board Meeting Minutes – Wednesday, March 6, 2013 Page 4 Associate Planner Bryan Lloyd provided a brief review of the request by Verizon Wireless 147 (VAW), LLC, in conjunction with property owners, the City of Roseville and Ramsey 148 County, of 1901 Alta Vista Drive, located in City Planning District 15 with Comprehensive 149 Plan designation of Park/Open Space (POS) and Zoning District classification of Park 150 and Recreation (PR) District. Additional detail was included in Sections 4.1 through 4.4 of 151 the staff report dated March 6, 2013. 152 Mr. Lloyd advised that “support buildings,” were intended for housing electrical equipment 153 associated with actual telecommunications antennas mounted on a nearby tower, and a 154 footprint of 200 square feet, as per code. Even if the generator was not housed within the 155 building, the current standard-size support building, allowing for future equipment 156 upgrades, would require a VARIANCE. Mr. Lloyd advised that staff could not find actual 157 rationale for this apparently arbitrary size limit from Ordinance 1166 adopted in 1996. 158 While both the City of Roseville and Ramsey County share a common interest in 159 preserving open space and facilitating recreational pathway connections, Mr. Lloyd 160 advised that they also support other interests including the Police Department’s reliance 161 on the Verizon network for mobile communications and the public’s frequent 162 discouragement from reduced existing coverage by Verizon’s due to this “dead spot.” 163 Mr. Lloyd reviewed staff’s analysis of the tower and telecommunication facility located in 164 Reservoir Woods Park, summarized in Section 5.2 of the report; and advised that staff 165 recommended APPROVAL of the request. Mr. Lloyd advised that staff had not received 166 any negative feedback from the public to-date related to the variance request. 167 Chair Gisselquist sought clarification on the existing buildings, and opined that they could 168 all use more path or curb appeal from an aesthetic design perspective. 169 Mr. Lloyd responded that the other equipment and buildings would remain as they were 170 those of other service providers, and that Verizon was a separate provider. 171 Member Boguszewski questioned if this arbitrary standard for 200 square feet would 172 interfere with future requests based on todays and future technologies. 173 Mr. Lloyd responded that prior to the 2010 Zoning Code revision and its subsequent 174 adoption; staff had made a conscious decision not to address those specific code 175 revisions until opportunity allowed for a broader analysis of industry standards from which 176 to make text amendment recommendations. Mr. Lloyd advised that staff had included 177 that research and review as part of the 2013 work plan, anticipated for this summer. 178 Member Boguszewski suggested that sufficient flexibility be built into those square 179 footage revisions to allow for long-term technological advances and needs. 180 Verizon Wireless (VAW), LLC, d/b/a Verizon Wireless, Representative with Buell 181 Consulting, Inc., David Fischer 182 Mr. Fischer thanked staff for their presentation; and expressed appreciation to the 183 Variance board for consideration of the variance request. 184 Regarding future consideration for increasing the square footage for equipment buildings, 185 Mr. Fischer noted that the standard size for AT & T buildings was 12’ x 30’, or 360 186 square feet; therefore, an allowance of 400 square feet or more in the future would allow 187 greater flexibility and make the approval process easier for all parties. 188 Chair Gisselquist closed the Public Hearing at approximately 6:13 p.m., with no one 189 appearing for or against. 190 Member Boguszewski concurred with staff’s analysis and their recommendation. 191 Chair Gisselquist concurred; noting that this was in a business/commercial portion of 192 Reservoir Woods; and opined that this looked like a nice brick building and that it should 193 fit in this mostly-remote area in the context of the overall site. 194