New freestanding communication facilities are to be constructed by Google Fiber to provide wired internet at two Mesa locations.
The Mesa Board of Adjustment voted 4-0 on May 3 to approve special use permits and a substantial conformance improvement permit as part of a consent agenda with other items. Vice Chair Nicole Lynam and board members Chris Jones and Ethel Hoffman were absent.
Gilbert, University hut
A special use permit for vacant land north of East University Drive and east of North Gilbert Road will allow the development of a new freestanding communication facility and the reduction in the number of required parking spaces. A substantial conformance improvement permit will allow deviations from certain development standards to allow for the development of the facility in the office commercial zoning district.
The equipment for the facility will be installed in a 1,664-square-foot lease area on a concrete foundation and will serve residents remotely. The facility will be screened from public view by an 8-foot-tall concrete masonry unit block wall with two access gates, Planner Chloe Durfee Daniel said in a written staff report.
The applicant is Robert Vaccaro of BHC. The owner is Grace United Methodist Church of Mesa.
A backup generator, powered by natural gas, would be tested once a month, Vaccaro said at a study session prior to the May 3 board meeting.
“Maintenance — they usually come out once a month and run it for about an hour to make sure it kicks on correctly in the event of some sort of a power failure,” he said. “The Google Fiber hut basically acts as a utility structure that is filled with equipment that takes outside fiber internet and converts it to a signal that’s able to service houses in the area. So it kind of takes it from the wide internet to kind of service-level fiber that can run to someone’s house... No wireless signals — all underground.”
The building, typically referred to as a “hut,” supports the construction of a fiber network to offer high-speed internet service. It is to be a 12-foot-by-30-foot premanufactured structure with tan aggregate siding and a flat roof, according to a written project narrative from Google Fiber.
“Multiple utility conduits that will house fiberoptic cable will be extended between an on-site utility vault to new utility vaults that will be placed in the right-of-way of Gilbert Road,” it states. “As a point of clarity this site will not house any sort of antenna, tower or wireless communication transmission devices.”
Guadalupe, Southern hut
The special use permit sought for property south of East Guadalupe Road and east of South Sossaman Road will allow the development of a new freestanding communication facility in the limited commercial zoning district.
The applicant is Robert Vaccaro of BHC. The owner is Brent Howard of AEI Sossaman LLC.
The equipment for the facility will be installed on a 2,080-square-foot lease area on a concrete foundation and will serve residents remotely. It will be screened from public view by an 8-foot-tall concrete masonry unit wall to match the block wall of the nearby residential area and will have two access gates, Planner Daniel said in a written staff report.
The hut building will be a 12-foot-by-30-foot premanufactured utility structure with tan aggregate siding and a flat roof. The location is concealed by two adjoining buildings of The Shops at Sossaman on the southeast corner of the property, according to a written project narrative from Google Fiber.
The seven-member Mesa Board of Adjustment conducts public meetings to hear and decide requests for variances, special-use permits and interpretations of the city of Mesa zoning ordinance and sign code. Members are appointed for staggered terms of three years, according to the city’s website.
Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @rhdyer. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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