All right.
My name's Keith Tindall.
K-E-I-T-H-A-T-I-N-D-A.
I hear it.
Well, let me just get you.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
All right.
We've got to figure out where to get that.
So you have your phone and computer on?
Computer's on.
I think the audio's off now.
Just a second.
or if i may the mr chairman that i could summarize his testimony for you i want to
you want to do that then please you know we we hired saber technologies right they were the ones
that actually put together this tower elevation to show that the the that the design and if you
can look at my cursor there are points in which the the the tower will have breaking points and
almost and i would say almost like collapsible cups it will fall onto itself so given that if
we're in a hurricane the bottom will not will not give way initially because as the winds will fly
If it gets to a certain point, there will be breakage, but it will collapse onto itself. And that full collapsing only gives us a 50-yard radius. So we are comfortable with this technology.
um they the saber technologies uh uh uh has has done wonderful jobs throughout the country
with this type of uh technology but i think we should be able to um uh rest assured that
that will the product that they're putting together will be the same as they had intended
which is that it will break off and will sit at no more than a 50-foot radius.
So I believe that's what Keith Tindall would have said,
and I think that's something that the board should take into consideration.
Our third issue, which we believe the board will feel comfortable granting this variance, is the community. The community has expressed a strong support for our project, including the proposed relocation of the tower, as well as the overall project.
This support was championed by Councilman Mike Driscoll, who led the efforts to engage all the stakeholders and secure consensus for both the warehouse and the tower of relocation.
We have been meeting with the Councilman for over a year, discussing the overall warehouse and the community impact.
And as such, moving the tower to the rear of the lot aligns with the community preferences and ensures the site's development benefits the neighborhood.
And we thank the councilman for his involvement. And you could see on our exhibit that he did give us a letter of support.
Now, our fourth reason really deals with the fact that we have no negative impact on the surrounding property or the neighborhood.
Our relocation enhances the parcel while maintaining the essential function of a cell phone tower, which provides critical telecommunications infrastructure for business, residents, and emergency services.
We submit that this project reflects a thoughtful approach to balancing industrial development with infrastructure needs and community priorities by enabling the efficient use of the site and granting the variance, we further submit that we satisfy Section 303AE of the zoning code, as well as creating positive economic development in the Northeast.
Now, I want to conclude by saying, again, our physical constraints with the property combined with the advanced safety features of the tower and the overwhelming support for the project.
Now, I want to conclude by saying, again,
I think it's pretty compelling that giving us relief will not have a negative impact and will actually be a positive thing for the community.
If I may, can I call on Jacqueline Schwartz?
If she could be identified.
Jacqueline Schwartz has been allowed to speak.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Jacqueline Schwartz, J-A-C-Q-U-E-L-I-N-E.
Last name Schwartz, S-C-H-U-S-C-H-E.
Can you do that one more time? Break it off a little bit. Do it one more time.
Sure. J-A-C-Q-U-E-L-I-N-E-S-C-H-W-A-R-T-Z.
I affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Jacqueline, can you state your position in terms of the Rockefeller Group?
Sure. I'm an associate on the development team for Rockefeller Group.
Applicant name for this project is R.G. Toursdale, LLC.
Okay. And you heard everything I said today, and would you adopt that as your own testimony?
Yes. I just wanted to clarify, I think a couple of things were lost in translation with some of the technical difficulties.
So the tower that we are proposing is designed to withstand high velocity winds, a less than 1% chance of those wind events actually happening in this area. They have not happened to date. And the tower is designed to have a 50-foot fall zone.
Thank you. Mr. Chairman, that concludes my presentation.
Questions? Thank you.
Questions from the board.
Yeah, I have a question.
Can we go back to the site plan?
Can you tell me what the, what's the other one?
What's the other one?
What's that one?
Yeah, the one, the color.
can you tell me what the the circle is around the uh in the triangle this is 250 feet
that's 253 feet okay and then the triangle
what's what's that and then the smaller circle is that the 50 foot that is the 50 foot okay
and then the triangle is what we were just showing um uh actually i believe it was just showing
uh i believe it's a hundred foot radius that's all okay so it was just showing
what we look like in comparison gotcha and so that inner circle is the 50 foot
Yeah. Yes. And just for the board, I just want you to realize we are this area and maybe the photos can show.
So I think this is, this was a combination junkyard and repair mechanic haven.
So walking through the sites, and when we did this with the councilmen, as well as, and I think some of the neighbors, neighborhood leadership, it was an environmental mess.
And this was the lot that was for sale.
But even along here, it's also, I'm not going to say junkyard, but it's also an auto mechanic haven.
i will say that as well so again we feel comfortable that this is the right decision
the community feels comfortable that this is the right condition we've um here
here are photos entering the site with the original cell phone tower
Entering the site with the original cell phone tower, just pull back a little photos before we, we started demolition.
These are some of the structures that used to be on the site.
This is near the railroad tracks.
this is near the rear and now what
and all of this has been demolished so far this is torsdale avenue
this is some of the stuff we found inside
Mind you, these structures aren't there.
This is us clearing the site.
And these are just photos of our posting.
And that is it.
Unless there's any other questions, I can bring it back up.
Other questions from the board?
It says here that it's a freestanding tower and building or tower-mounted antennas.
Which is it?
Well, it's both because it's creating the structure,
And then it's creating, adding antennas on the structure.
But it says freestanding tower and building or tower mounted antennas.
So I understand you're building the tower.
So these will be tower mounted antennas, not building.
There won't be towers on the building.
Or are you planning to do both?
No, I, this is, let me get back to, and I'm just getting this from the summary, you know.
yeah so is that
here's the tower there are structures here that we're going to have to support the tower
all right there's there's a 10 10 foot 10 foot 5 inches by 20 foot shelter
this is the pad okay so the i it's it technology is wonderful and and what we're proposing is this
tower that will have a lot of support on there because the goal is to not only support t-mobile
or AT&T, but also
emergency services
as well. Yeah, you're going to
co-locate. Yes.
The antennas. But they
won't be on the building. They will
be on this tower. Correct.
Okay. All right.
Thank you. Darwin,
just a real quick question. And I
understand about if it
collapses and all that. What about the
antennas? Are they windproof?
I mean, how do they secure
the antennas on top of the towers?
That's a good question. And if Keith is still available, he might be the best person to answer that.
Is Keith still around?
Yes. Keith Tindall has been allowed to speak.
Keith.
keith can you hear me yes there he is
he's already been sworn did you hear the question
we can't hear you keith
so so while he's and he can corroborate this okay hold on now oh there he is yeah go ahead
I'm going to hang up my phone. Can you hear me now?
Yeah, go ahead.
Keith, the question was asked about the antennas being mounted onto the tower.
Keith, the question was asked about the antennas.
Okay. Can you hear me?
All right. Yeah, the antennas, we have antenna mounts that we provide with the tower.
So they stand the antennas off maybe three feet, depending on which mount it is.
And then the antennas themselves get you bolted to pipes that are part of those mounts.
So it's all structural steel up there that's supporting everything, and we've designed it all for way more than what's required at this site.
Thank you.
Any other questions from the board?
I have a quick question.
Does the collapsible nature of this tower allow for, like, future growth?
Like, what if you need to include more antennas or whatever?
Does the collapsible nature limit that, or is it a flexible-type tower?
No, it doesn't limit it, actually.
Yeah, the tower is designed for three carriers with all of their future loading, you know, not just what they're putting on there initially.
So it's designed for more square footage than what they'll put on initially.
And so even with all those three carriers and 114 mile an hour wind, you know, the tower is designed to support all of that.
So the wind would have to exceed 114 miles an hour for that for that collapsible mechanism to kick in.
With all those with all those future carrier loadings on.
Thank you. Sure.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
I just wanted to clarify one point. It looks like on the refusal, what they did is there's a use category called wireless service facility. So they put that on there and they listed both of the subcategories, which is freestanding towers and building or tower mounted antennas.
It sounds like both are applicable in this case.
So that's why they listed both of the specific use types within the use category.
So I think that's what happened with the refusal and why it's written a little bit.
It seems a little bit confusing.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Planning?
Oh, sorry.
I thought I was unmuted.
No, that's fine.
That's fine.
Good evening.
My name is Nina Salmonic, and I'm with the Planning Commission.
This proposal completed its civic design review in October 2023.
The Civic Design Review Committee's advisory recommendations are not an expression of the City Planning Commission's recommendation or opinion regarding zoning variances, special exceptions, or other discretionary approvals associated with this proposal.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from existing medium industrial I-2.
The appellant has demonstrated that the proposed relocation of the cell tower location will not cause detrimental impacts beyond what would be reasonably expected.
The Planning Commission recommends the board grant the requested variance for the removal and relocation of a cell tower structure.
Thank you. MI 2024.
Sorry, this is Hillary. Just a point of clarification for Nina.
you said this particular application went through cdr or was there another part of the project that
went through cdr because i didn't think a cell phone tower in and of itself would go through cdr
uh that's correct the building portion and the site went through cdr okay so that was a separate
application yes okay all right thank you i was with you i understand
MI 2024-006-660-8301-Torrisdale Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tana Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Dari, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Members of the board, happy holidays.
Okay, same to you.
Thank you.
So number three, MI 2024-001-676-1918 East Washington Lane.