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HomeMy WebLinkAbout14-04 Statement of Justificationcinguiar WIRELESS June 24, 2004 Frederick County Department of Planning and Development 107 North Kent Street Winchester, VA 22601 Re: Statement of Need and Justification for Conditional Use Permit at Shenandoah University for the Replacement of Light Pole for a Telecommunications Facility Statement of Need Cingular Wireless is experiencing extremely heavy call volumes along route 17 and Interstate 81. The three adjacent "Cell Sites" are overloaded creating call placement and call quality problems in the network. Also, there are some areas of "no coverage" at Shenandoah University and along Interstate 81 and route 522. Cingular Wireless is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit to allow for the replacement of an existing steel pole at Shentel Stadium with a new steel pole that will support the existing lights and provide for a Telecommunication Facility. The proposed new structure will provide space for up to three (3) wireless communications companies, antenna for the Shenandoah University's local use and support the existing lights that are used currently to light the stadium field. Locating a Telecommunications Facilities at ball fields, such as Shentel Stadium, where tall light poles already exist has been one way that the telecommunications industry has mitigated the impact of tall structures to support their antenna. Justification The Shentel Stadium location is a very good location for Cingular Wireless and other telecommunication companies providing service in the Winchester area in that it is on high ground and right along I-81 near a major intersection with Route 17. The current use of the property also lends itself to locating a telecommunication facility in that there are several tall poles with lights at the stadium. In addition, across interstate 81 from the Shentel Stadium to the Northwest is a Winchester Recreation Park, a public park with several ball fields also containing tall poles supporting lights. Also to the west is the Shenandoah University's main campus that will provide additional separation and buffering of the facility from adjacent communities. The Shentel Stadium location is a good location in that it is buffered from adjacent communities on the West side by I- 81, the University and the Winchester Recreational Park, on the South by Route 17 and a highway commercial area, and on the North by the Winchester Country Club. The parcel is large and already contains several tall structures. It is also located between Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076 Cingular's existing sites in the area that are carrying extremely heavy call volumes which is creating customer service issues for Cingular within their network. A Radio Frequency (RF) Engineering Design Justification Statement has been provided with the Conditional Use Permit Application to document the need for the proposed facility at the Shentel Stadium location. It also shows that a facility at this location will improve Cingular's wireless network in the area by providing the needed coverage and extra capacity in the area. The RF statement justifies the proposed location by showing that the proposed site at the stadium will solve both the "coverage" issues that Cingular Wireless is having in the area and the "customer service" issues created by the heavy call volumes in the area. The RF statement includes two maps with "coverage plots" over top of the area maps. One map shows the network coverage without the proposed site and the other one shows the coverage with the proposed site included in the network. The additional coverage is shown as the "boxed" area on the map including the proposed site. The RF statement is attached for review. Design of the Facility The proposed Telecommunications Facility will be located within the Shentel Stadium fenced compound, on the western side of the complex, along interstate 81. This location was selected because it was on high ground and farthest away from any adjacent communities. Drawings have been included which show the replacement of an existing 55' light pole on the west side of the stadium with a new Monopole of 125'. This new height is required to meet Cingular's coverage needs in the area by providing enough "overlap" to the adjacent "Cell Sites" to off load calls and "fill in" the coverage holes mentioned above and in the RF statement. A 10'X 20' shelter will be placed on a concrete slab adjacent to the new Monopole to house Cingular's radio equipment. The radio equipment will be connected by coax lines inside of the pole running to the antenna mounted on a triangular platform on top of the pole. Utilities will be connected to existing power and telephone near the site. Additional space will be available in the compound for other carriers to locate equipment and space will be available on the Monopole below Cingular's platform for their antenna. The University will also be mounting an antenna or two to the Monopole to provide links for their various department needs. Existing access roads will be sufficient for access to the facility and will not require any upgrading. Cingular does not propose to light the facility unless required by findings of the FAA or the local Winchester Regional Airport authority. Please see the attached drawings for more details. Other Locations/Candidates Considered Cingular Wireless has considered several "Candidates" including all existing structures and towers through out the area. It should be noted that there are no existing towers or Monopoles within the Search Area. All of the existing Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076 structures (other than the light poles at the park and Shentel Stadium) are to the North of the Search Area and would not provide the required coverage Cingular Wireless needs to solve their coverage issues. The Candidates that were considered are listed below. 1. Winchester Country Club This Candidate was inside of the Search Area. This site would be a "Raw land" Site and would have required a new Monopole of at least iso' as well. The Country Club decided not to lease space for a Telecommunications Facility. A balloon test was conducted at a location on the gulf course and the location was unacceptable to the mcinibers of the Club. 2. National Fruit Company This Candidate is outside of the Search Area by 1.5 miles to the North. There is a smoke stack on the property that could have been considered to mount the antenna. This Candidate was too far to the North so it would not have provided "overlapping" coverage with the adjacent "Cell Site" to the South. It also would not have provided the "in fill" coverage required along route 522. 3. WINC Radio AM Tower This Candidate is also outside of the Search Area by 1.7 miles to the Northeast. Again this Candidate would not provide the overlapping coverage to the "Cell Site" to the South. In addition, AM Towers are difficult for wireless carriers to mount on because they are a part of the AM antenna pattern and often affect the wireless signal. 4. WAZT LPTV AM Tower This Candidate is also outside of the Search Area by 1.5 miles to the Northwest. This Candidate is also an AM Tower and presents the same problems as Candidate number 3. It also would not have provided the required coverage to the South to solve the capacity issues with the next "Cell Site." 5. Shenandoah Mobile Tower This Candidate is outside of the Search Area by 1.65 miles to the North. This Tower did not have an available height high enough for Cingular to consider, only loo' on the tower. In addition, this site would not have allowed Cingular to "in fill" the coverage holes along Route 522 or help off load calls on the adjacent "Cell Site" to the South. Summary Cingular Wireless is requesting that the Conditional Use Permit for a new 125' Monopole Telecommunications Facility at Shentel Stadium be approved by Frederick County. The location selected minimizes the impact of the facility as much as possible by placement among other tall poles in a sports complex. The size of the parcel and its location next to I-81, Route 17 and Shenandoah University help separate the structure from adjacent communities to the South and West. The property is "buffered" to the North by the Winchester Country Club and Winchester Recreational Park. Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076 The proposed location and height will allow Cingular Wireless to meet is objectives of the Search Area which are: to improve the coverage and call capacity along I-81, Route 17, and Route 522 and off load calls from adjacent "Cell Sites." There are no existing structures that are high enough for Cingular's to mount their antenna to meet the objectives so a new Telecommunications Facility must be built. Additional antenna may be located on the Monopole by other companies in the future. The Shenandoah University will utilize the new Monopole for communications and educational needs as well. Attachments: RF Design Justification Memorandum Maps/Coverage Plots Photo Simulations Design Drawings Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076 X cingu ar fits you best"' RF DesiLyn Justification Memorandum for Shenandoah University The main driver for Cingular Wireless to be looking for a potential site in the Shenandoah University area in Frederick Co in VA is in a need to offload traffic on our existing sites in the area. Specifically, to relieve sector two of National Fruit, sector one and three of Winchester, and sector one of Stephen City. Sector 2 of National Fruit handled 21.63 Erlangs of traffic in April 2004 and is forecasted to handle 38% more traffic by December 2004. Sectors one and three of Winchester handled 9.52 Erlangs and 16.19 Erlangs of traffic in April 2004 respectively. The traffic in these sectors is forecasted to increase by 174% and 52% respectively by the end of the year. Sector 1 of Stephen City handled 9.09 Erlangs of traffic in April 2004 and is forecasted to carry up to 218% more traffic by December 2004. These sectors are facing the Winchester city and the commuter traffic along I-81. These sites have reached their maximum capacity and in order to meet the increasing demand, a new site has to be added in the area. Cingular is about to commission a site in the Shenandoah University area that will help to alleviate traffic on I-81, the eastern part of the intersection of US 17 with I-81 and majority of the Frederick Heights area. The official Search Area objectives are: Offload the traffic from National Fruit sector 2 and improve network accessibility/call quality along Rt. 7 and I-81, a major commute, residential and commercial area between National Fruit and Winchester sites. The site will also help offloading the traffic in the Apple Blossom Mall and the Shenandoah University campus. The Shentel Stadium proposed location in University Drive is ideal for the search area to Cingular because it could provide the required height and proximity to our primary area of concerns: the intersection segments between I-81, US 7, US 17, US 522 and SR 657 in Winchester VA. The site being a capacity site needs to provide sufficient overlapping coverage to effectively offload the traffic. The proposed site will not only offload the traffic from existing sites but also fill the small coverage holes in the middle of the three sites National Fruit, Winchester and Stephen City. The site will provide better coverage in the area between South Pleasant Valley Rd, SR 857, US 17 and I-81. It will also fill the small coverage holes in the area between US 522 and I-81 towards the south. Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive • Hanover, MD 21076 X cingular fits you best"' The communication quality between a mobile subscriber unit and the cell site depends on a variety of factors affecting the radio path over which the signal travels. Several types of signal impairments take place over the radio signal's path. One of the main concerns with Cingular Wireless with the existing Billboard towers used by other carriers is potential shadowing due to environmental absorption such as the high foliage and terrain fluctuations between the Billboards and our existing sites. To meet the objectives of offloading our National Fruit and Winchester sites, we will need to have a strong overlapping coverage that will provide a radiation center of at least 125 feet from the proposed Shenandoah University Shentel Stadium location. Haroon Ajaz 6/22/04 RF Engineering Manager - Cingular Wireless Telephone: (410) 712 7815 Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive • Hanover, MD 21076 NUddke Rd Cedar Cry Proprietary iet 50 Washington - Baltimore, Ging,ular Wireless cAm ul-19 "Offl VoVera GSM On Air Sites GSM Existing Coverage NATIONAL FRUI VA10 (N/v0141 l /' CD Via,.`_ afey WINCHESTER VA10 \�'r y� State Hwy 657 r = a STE E S \� VA10 S�yw AL y �2� d -d s -\.0 2 C ..617 Ifor Rd Q T �`O d Ch dske� apel Ave \ Washington - Balitimore Cingular Wireless Existing Coverage with proposed Shenandoah UnIve X 1> A/I X <Z� 0 CO I Proposed Shenandoah University Coverage GSM Existing Coverage GSM On Air Sites - I — N 'I X leh", 1 6' to S S S 0 X - X Met Stacl&m Cedar Creek Grade EST�E RX M, VAl 0 ate Hwy 67 �X I X > STEP"E VA X S x 2 a Y lor Rd ., \mg Q Tasker tffid6e Id ChappiMe cd� Mro prietary Onffilder!IAI k�vRviular WIrMess and Autheprix-0 Clients N .6.17 e cingular fits you best" Telecommunication Towers and Potential candidates near Shenandoah University Search Area 1. National Fruit Company Cingular Wireless has an existing GSM Site on this location 2. WAZT LPTV AM Tower This Candidate is close to the existing GSM Site National Fruit. This candidate is further away from I-81 than National Fruit and does not meet our site objective of improving call quality along SH 7 and 18 1. It does not provide overlapping coverage with existing GSM sites STEPHEN CITY and WINCHESTER. It is located 2.2 miles away from the center of the Search Ring. In addition to this, the candidate is an AM Tower and will cause interference issues with Cingular antennas. Please refer Fig 2. 3. WINC Radio Tower This Candidate is close to the existing GSM site NATIONAL FRUIT. The proposed site for Cingular Wireless is a capacity site and is supposed to offload traffic from existing GSM sites STEPHENS CITY, NATIONAL FRUIT and WINCHESTER but this candidate will not offload traffic from STEPHENS CITY and is 5.3 miles away from that site as shown in Fig 3. 4. Shenandoah Mobile Tower This Candidate is also too close to the existing GSM site NATIONAL FRUIT. The candidate only provides overlapping coverage with NATIONAL FRUIT on parts of SH 7 to the west of I-81. It does not improve the coverage on 1-81S, US Highway 17 and US Highway 522, and also does not provide overlapping coverage with the other 2 adjacent existing GSM sites as shown in Fig 4. 5. Shoneys Sign This is a Sign board and is around 70ft tall. The RC (Radiation Center) available for Cingular antennas is very low. The ground elevation at the location is only 686 ft, giving an overall AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) of 756 ft compared to the primary candidate (Shenandoah Shentel Stadium), which is 840 ft. Due to the high tree line and environmental absorption of the signal, the candidate does a poor job as shown in Fig 5. The candidate provides decent overlapping coverage with GSM sites NATIONAL FRUIT and WINCHESTER but would not offload traffic from GSM site STEPHENS CITY as it is 5.8 miles away from it. 6. Federal Mogul Friction Products -Water Tank The RC (Radiation Center) available on this Water Tank is 100 ft. Though the candidate does a decent job in filling the small coverage holes near I 81S, it does not provide sufficient overlapping coverage with National Fruit Sector 2 and Winchester Sector 3 to offload the traffic as shown in Fig 6 7. Wilson Trucking This is a "Raw land" candidate and we would have to build a new monopole on this property. Though Cingular Wireless considered this as a potential candidate initially, it was realized that it is located very close to the airport and is near the driveway of the airport. So, this site cannot be used for our purpose. Please refer to the attached document (Obstruction Evaluation for Spectrasite Communications). -CEIVELD jUl_ 19 2004 FREDERICK COUIM PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT Page 1 of 2 Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive • Hanover, MD 21076 X cin ar _ fits you best" 8. Cracker Sign The candidate is a Sign Board and is around 80 ft tall. Due to the varying terrains and absorption of the signal by the surrounding environment, we need a good height for the antennas to effectively offload traffic from existing GSM sites. The footprint of this candidate is very small due to the low height and high tree line, and it does not provide sufficient overlapping coverage with adjacent existing GSM sites as shown in Fig 8. The AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) of the candidate is around 801 ft when compared to the AMSL of the primary candidate ( Shenandoah University Shentel Stadium) which is 840 ft. 9. Exxon The location of the candidate is good. The candidate is around 70 ft tall. The ground elevation and hence the AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) of the candidate is good which is around 834 ft, but as the height is low and due to the surrounding taller buildings and the higher tree line, candidate does not provide sufficient overlapping coverage with existing GSM sites as shown in Fig 9. It is also important to note that there are already 3 carriers on the board and there is no space for Cingular Wireless to mount their antennas on this Sign board. 10. Carper V Golf Course This is a "Raw land" candidate and we would have to build a new monopole on this property. 11. Site Solutions This candidate is located between existing GSM sites NATIONAL FRUIT and WINCHESTER and provides good overlapping coverage with these two sites but would not offload traffic from GSM site STEPHENS CITY as it is almost 6.38 miles away from that site. The candidate also does not fill the small coverage holes between the 3 existing GSM sites NATIONAL FRUIT, STEPHENS CITY and WINCHESTER as shown in Fig 10. 12. Winchester Country Club This is a "Raw Land" Candidate and we would have to build a new monopole on this property. Ir , Haroon Ajaz 7/15/04 RF Engineering Manager - Cingular Wireless Telephone: (410) 712 7815 Jill 19 2004 �ueffr Page 2 of 2 Cingular Wireless 7150 Standard Drive • Hanover, MD 21076 �wl 4�) m Waahingon- - Battimore c-Ingul'ar wireless Telecommunication Towt-ra and Potential Candidate* "*or Shenandoah Search Area GSM On Air Sites GSM Existing Coverage WT LPTV M Tkwer.L 4 Shenan 'aa: to wer V6 'c Radio A t Cade r Sig Mogul Fri tion Prod�NT w4ton I -u; , �n M Proprietary QTY VA 10 4 LFRUJIT AIC country ctub inanckd-i K-U-niv-Shentel Stadium o n WINCHESTER VAIO r V wolf Course 0 2 and Auth i'A n Pf Avp.. -0, I Washington 4 Baltimore Gingular Wireless FIG 2 Existing; Coverage with WAZT LLT V AM Tows FIG 3 CO N Washington - Battimore, Cingutar Wireless Existing Coverage with WINC Radio Tower 50 f Creek Grade A 9 V �- A10 70 E/he Ra d Confidential: Cinqu GSM On Air Sites WINC Radio Tower Coverage Existing GSM Coverage N A�6 rigid �t Wo b WINCHESTER"- VA10 \� A State Hwy 657 2 '01d,C �-P�l Ave IZ reless and Aut! rued O'll �e 17 Washington - Baltimore Cinigular, Wireless FIG 4 tXtsting Coverage with Shenandoah M, obile Tower GSM On Air Sites Shenandoah Mobile Tower Coverage \\\,6,9 9 Existing GSM Coverage cb co "FRUI VAIO �Xy z gat X 'INN Cedar Creek Grade WINC -HESTEW� VA1 0 \StateW _Y 657 cn CO N, N TbktiE�s TY VA1 0 A! X23 \ "0 2 �ofor Rd Old el, aye A% " e Middle Propriety and Confidential: Clnguat,)4treless and Auth Hzed Oflep- A a;. Washington - Baltimore Cingular Wireless FIG 5 Existing Coverage with $honeys Sign CQvera.g:e Y, LA AL GSM On Air Sites Shoneys Sign Coverage Existing GSM Coverage A 50 N,T10hAL FRUI VA10 S Hwy ('00 faf .9 edar 4, co creev, GradeCO W1 I NCHEST ER VA1 0 I ' syr State tlwY 657 c_n A STE ES TY VA10 2 14 mm�� m I lor Rd Q d Lapel Ave Middle C3 Proprieta.. -nd Confidential: Cin gular *reless and Ah ri ed Clio 711 Rd 6�9 50 Creek Washington - Baltimore Cingular Wireless Coverage with Federal Mogul WT Coverage GSM On Air Sites r Federal Mogul WT Coverag Existing GSM Coverage c o : I�TIO AL FRUI VA10 6s� \(4s � cq h � �WINCHEST�ER VA10 d ��State y2 _HWy 657 .STEKI EMS 7 TY VA10 d' C: G^ I,/'/Rd o T ropriet� nd Confidential: inqu 2 4 -617 miles �; p rAve ,ti`? ,-A \ ra�aJ a Rd Washington, - Baltimore, Cingular Wjraj�a$.$ ExIsting Coverage with Cracker Sign Cover 50 Cedar��� creev, Grade N �q) COT A . INAMONAL FRUI VA10 7�6,%�, A 7 o7/7 tS't 0 Co -k WINCHESTER VA10 war Sign A `State Hwy 657 ��� CD C' N - � cb 11 , S TY VA10 T Proprieta, nd Confidential: Cingu L es s and 0 2 ...617 mils '�,dc"a a pel -Av -GId e ' b zeu vile univz,, GSM On Air Sites Cracker Sign Coverage Existing GSM Coverage . INAMONAL FRUI VA10 7�6,%�, A 7 o7/7 tS't 0 Co -k WINCHESTER VA10 war Sign A `State Hwy 657 ��� CD C' N - � cb 11 , S TY VA10 T Proprieta, nd Confidential: Cingu L es s and 0 2 ...617 mils '�,dc"a a pel -Av -GId e ' b zeu vile univz,, FIG 9 Washington - Baltimore Lingular Wireless Existing Coveraae with Exxon Slmn Cnvaranc \te co co �YY Y TIO J��AL FRUI VA10 US Hwy 50 / COT I Sfe .WINCHESTER VA10 y "State Hwy 657 AL GSM On Air Sites Existing GSM Coverage Exxon Sign Coverage Y i stat .STEPHEf S TY VA10 \ etiwy 2 <o for Rd 0 o Tis Old ap�l'Ave ���I�� Proprieti tat s *rel and' Aipth� 07art n igit. `�a 17\ Washington, . Baltimore Cun,g;uxlar Wireless FIG 10 ExIs ina Caver°acs with -Ritp Re%hiflemc c*mymrn^n cb Rd 6�9 -.US HwV 50 Cedar rR i 4mh�r S .At ° °co Qom° a5 .WINCHESTER VA10 G sX/1 rState Hwy. d td�e VA10 0 r Propriety /and Confidential: ingu� GSM On Air Sites Site Solutions Coverage Existing GSM Coverage oil oid�eraVe i do \ C3 a� C110 -i Oil °Q 17