Queen Creek council approves wireless tower at Crismon, Ocotillo

The Queen Creek Town Council recently approved a new 65-foot-tall wireless communication tower at South Crismon and East Ocotillo roads that is to eventually work with three mobile carriers.

Young Design/Tilson Infrastructure wants to establish and operate the tower. The proposed facility is about 1,200 feet southeast of the Crismon and Ocotillo roads intersection within the Ameripark RV Storage facility, a more than 10-acre parcel.

The council voted 6-0 Sept. 3 to approve the tower as part of the council’s public consent agenda in which all items are voted on with one motion and vote following a public hearing. Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley is taking a leave of absence to focus on her family.

Recently, the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend issuance of a site plan and conditional-use permit for the proposed Tilson Crismon Heights Wireless Communication Facility.

“The nearest tower is approximately 3,300 feet east of the subject site, located at Queen Creek High School. The wireless communication facility will initially serve AT&T as the primary service provider, but the tower design will allow equipment for two additional carriers,” according to a staff document.

The land’s zoning allows for wireless communication towers at a maximum height of 65 feet to the top of the panel array, with an additional 5 feet for the “tree canopy.”
The applicants need a conditional-use permit because the proposed tower does not meet the required minimum setback of 53 feet. The setback is about 7 feet.

“Otherwise, the proposed tower meets all other development standards. The subject property has historically been utilized for RV storage. The close proximity to the property line is based upon the property owner desiring to minimize any loss of RV parking spaces or to adversely impact vehicle movement/circulation,” the report stated.

The proposed tower would be more than 500 feet to the nearest residential use, which is to the southwest across the Union Pacific rail line and Rittenhouse Road.

The tower will have a faux-tree design that will include branches extending up to 10 feet from the pole, a faux bark cover from the base of the pole up to the branches, as well as antenna “socks” placed over each cell antenna to blend in with the tree design.

A neighborhood meeting was held June 23 and was attended by one resident, who expressed “support for the proposed tower due to weak cellular coverage at his residence and the neighborhood,” the report continued.

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