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St. Charles Plan Commission members moved to recommend approval of a special use permit for the construction of a new 139 feet Verizon Wireless cell tower on the Volkswagen dealership property on Main Street (Route 64).
Doug Dolan, of Dolan Realty Advisors, presented the application request to plan commission members at the Aug. 8 meeting. The company is a commercial real estate firm that works with Verizon Wireless.
The petition calls for the leasing of a 500 square foot fenced-in area for the tower and equipment on the north side of the VW dealership property behind the parking lot at 4050 E. Main St.
The motion to recommend approval of the permit was passed in an unanimous vote at the meeting, and is expected to come back before the Planning and Development Committee on Monday, Aug. 14.
Before issuing the recommendation, the Plan Commission held a public hearing and presentation from the petitioners. There was no public comment or questions for the petitioners from present commission members.
Dolan said the new tower would improve the coverage and capacity across St. Charles, and enhance emergency and 911 services.
He said Verizon previously had a tower on the former Pheasant Run Resort site that was destroyed in a fire in May of 2022, and have since been using a mobile cell tower called a Cell on Wheels, or COW, stationed in the Pheasant Run parking lot, while searching for a permanent site.
Dolan said the COW is a diesel-fueled utility vehicle with an extendable cell tower, and has to be refueled daily.
He said constructing a cell tower on the VW site would allow for future Verizon network growth, without the need to build any more towers in St. Charles, as it would be able to accommodate three other carriers.
The structure will be a monopole tower with a 5 foot lightning rod. Dolan said they have received approval from the Federal Aviation Association, and the tower will not be equipped with any lights.
Dolan said the cell tower was originally proposed as a pine tree-style tower, fashioned with artificial tree limbs, but that was removed from the plan.
Dolan said he and the property owners agreed that without surrounding trees, the single pine would stand out more than a cell tower, and a monopole was more appropriate with the surrounding scenery.
St. Charles zoning standards require cell towers to be a minimum of 500 feet from any residential property, and the proposed tower site sits 505 feet from the nearest residential neighborhood, Pheasant Run Trails.
This subject property, which is owned by the VW dealership, is located within the Pheasant Run Crossing subdivision, which has a declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions that do not allow cell towers.
Dolan said they have come to an agreement with the property owners, and brought an approval letter for the tower with the condition that a formal agreement be signed by the applicants and Pheasant Run Trails owners prior to building permit approval.
The motion to recommend approval passed with the condition that the petitioners produce a signed agreement with the Pheasant Run Trails homeowners association.