The Planning and Zoning Commission is recommending that the Town Council decline a special use permit that would allow Verizon Wireless to install a cellular antenna on the roof of one of the Park Place buildings that would exceed the maximum build height by more than two feet.

The commission heard from Verizon representatives on the matter during its regular session held on Thursday evening, March 22.

All told, Verizon is looking to install three cell towers on top of Park Place building D; second down the Avenue of the Fountains from Town Hall. As stated in the meeting backup material, the development agreement between the town and N-Shea Group, LLC requires public Wi-Fi service to be installed as part of the project, making the service available to visitors to downtown. That Wi-Fi service is included as part of the Verizon installations.

However, the back side of the Park Place development is on a lower grade than the side facing the Avenue of the Fountains. As a result, the two planned cellular installations on the front of the building actually meet the height limit of 54 feet. The tower on the back side, though, would exceed that limit by 2 feet, 4 inches, hence the need for a special use permit for that specific installation.

According to presenters, noise was not a concern for these specific installations, and the design would include structures/colors in line with the building itself.

Commission Chairman Amberleigh Dabrowski, though, said she was not comfortable with recommending approval. She referenced the ongoing project’s history with height requirements, stating she was not comfortable with pushing that limit further, not even by a distance of 2.4 feet.

The motion to recommend declining the permit was passed unanimously. The Fountain Hills Town Council is expected to vote on the matter itself at an upcoming meetin.g