By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday morning approved a special-use permit for the Nex-Tech to build a new cellphone tower at 1803 General Custer Road.
The Board of Zoning Appeals also approved a variance for the height of the tower, which will be 120 feet.
The location is on the south side of Heartland Gymnastics near Chetolah Creek.
The allowable height is 65 feet, although Curtis Deines, planning, inspection and enforcement superintendent, said the city is considering changing that ordinance to allow for taller towers.
The crumple zone for the tower is 63 feet, which means the fall zone would be short of the public street. However, the Heartland Gymnastics building is within that crumble zone.
Deines said a private property owner is allowed to assume the risk of a tower potentially falling on or damaging properties on his or her own property.
The tower would expand Nex-Tech Wireless' ability to offer 5G service. The tower would also have space for Nex-Tech to lease space to other providers.
Staff recommended approval of both the special-use permit for the tower as well as the height variance.
An attorney representing SBA Communications, Luke VanFletern of Wichita, spoke against the special-use permit for the tower.
Nex-Tech currently leases space from SBA for communications. SBA's tower is at 2000 Vine, which is about one-sixth of a mile from the site of the proposed tower. VanFletern argued another tower was not needed in such close proximity to another existing tower.
Jesse Rohr, Hays director of public works, said the city regulations don't prohibit new towers being in proximity to existing towers.
Nathan Sutter, director of Nex-Tech network operations and engineering, said the SBA's tower, which is near its maximum structural load limit, did not have enough load for Nex-Tech's new 5G equipment or for future growth. The new tower will also have space that can be leased to other providers.
"What this comes down to is that Nex-Tech would like to offer 5G services and beyond off of that tower. It is the only one in Hays that currently does not have those services, and we need to get it there," Sutter said.
Sutter said the new tower would provide dense 5G coverage for the Vine Street Dillons and the surrounding area.
A local resident asked if the 5G service would affect air traffic from the Hays Regional Airport.
Sutter said 5g signal is the same electronically as 4G or 3G signals. He said 5G has no effects on air traffic or on human health.
Richard Augustine, property owner, said he had no concerns about the safety of the tower.