New Olympia communications tower that will resemble a pine tree approved

On Monday, February 6, Olympia Hearing Examiner Mark Scheibmeir held a hearing to deliberate the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application for a wireless communication pole designed to resemble a pine tree.

The applicant, Phillip Kitzes of J5 Infrastructure Partners, was seeking a CUP to construct a 120-foot freestanding wireless tower on a 675-square-foot project area at 1818 4th Avenue East Olympia.

“The tower will be designed to look like a pine tree in order to meet the city's concealment requirements. The project will also include a compound area surrounded by some scenes,” Olympia Associate Planner Lydia Moorehead said, “it will also have the tower and sound communications equipment as well as a generator and two equipment cabinets.”

Moorehead stated the staff’s analysis of the application, saying that they had done a complete analysis of its compliance and would recommend its approval to the hearing examiner.

“Staff has reviewed the project proposal for compliance with the wireless communication facilities code and the applicable codes or standards listed. Staff recommends approval with 17 conditions as listed,” Moorehead shared.

The proposed conditions mentioned are standard conditions and code requirements meant to inform and assist the applicant of the city's requirements and the next steps in the process.

“I am going to approve the application simply because there is no substantive reason not to. It is well supported by the staff report, the applicant’s own narratives, and by making all efforts to minimize impacts to the neighborhood,” Scheibmeir said.

“I will go ahead and approve, but I am going to work a little bit on condition 12. Any noticeable disruptions or any other impacts, I'll tighten that just a little bit to make sure that it's an assurance,” Scheibmeir added.

The CUP application was approved orally, and Scheibmeir indicated that he still has to prepare findings and conclusions to formally render the decision in writing.