Politics & Government

City Puts Four Conditions on 180-Foot Tower Permit Approval

The Municipal Services Committee recommended that City Council approve the tower permits at its next meeting, pending the property owner's written commitment to meet the conditions.

The three-member Municipal Services Committee unanimously agreed Monday before an audience of concerned residents to recommend that City Council approve special permits for a 180-foot microwave tower at 8245 Lemont Road.

Its endorsement, however, came with the caveat that property owner and president of Chicago Tower Leasing Stanley Stann agree in writing to four conditions by the next City Council meeting.

Director Dan Gombac asked that Stann commit to:

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  1. Affix a city-operated tornado siren to the tower, if the city establishes a need for one in that location;
  2. Landscape the area surrounding the tower with trees and install an asphalt driveway roughly 14-feet wide and 150-feet long to replace the gravel driveway now on the property;
  3. Commit to remove and dismantle the tower at the point it becomes obsolete; and
  4. Provide the city and Woodmere Condo Association with copies of the annual inspection, as well as yearly certificates of insurance.

Stann verbally agreed to the conditions at the meeting.

The tower would join two other telecommunication towers behind the Woodmere condominiums. It would facilitate transmissions for four clients, Stann’s attorney Michael McCrery said. While the structure was described on the agenda as a 200-foot tower, it will actually be a 180-foot tower with a 20-foot antenna on top of it.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Condo Association President Jill Petranek said she didn’t think Stann had adequately proven the need for the new tower. Attorney Jacqueline Hildebrand, representing the association, said the burden was on Stann to prove the tower wouldn’t impact property values.

More than 120 Woodmere residents signed a petition opposing the tower for its potential impact on property values, residents’ health and the overall look of the neighborhood, Petranek said.

The city has a narrow jurisdiction over what it may regulate when it comes to telecommunications towers. Issues such as the potential impact on public health and safety, including microwave transmission and the stability of the tower, fall under federal regulations.

If the city were to deny the variations, Ward 5 Alderman Joe Marchese said it would need to provide substantial evidence that the tower would negatively impact property values, which would be hard to prove. Stann could sue, Marchese said, and there’s a good chance he would win.

“Then we’d have to pay the legal damages and the tower would still go up,” he said.

He said that he doubted, however, that any of the committee members would want the tower in their neighborhood either.

"I'm empathetic with the people who do live there," he said.

Stann said a development north of Lake Zurich with homes that sell for between $300,000 and $400,000 features three towers, one of which is 480-feet tall.

“That would take the air out of any argument (the tower) is going to reduce property values,” he said.

Addressing the safety concerns, McCrery said if the tower were to fall, it’s designed so it would collapse upon itself rather than fall lengthwise onto surrounding homes. Stann added it would take a catastrophic tornado to dismantle the tower.

By the end of the meeting, Petranek appeared resigned to the committee’s recommendation. She asked that Stann consider doing what he could to improve the look of the tower and its surrounding area.

“As much as we could have Mr. Stann agree to some of those conditions, we’d like to do that,” she said.

Normally an item unanimously approved at the committee level would go on the City Council’s consent agenda. The Municipal Services Committee, however, agreed that the council would likely want to discuss the tower permits at the next council meeting before voting.

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 7 at . A work session will start 30 minutes prior to the televised meeting.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here