The planning commission’s recommendation April 22 would allow cell towers to be up to 80 feet tall in non-residential zones, an increase from the current 35-foot limit.
City planner Jamie Baron told the commission the APC Towers company requested the change to improve cell coverage for Heber residents. With the community growing, service providers report they’re struggling with gaps in coverage.
“We’re being approached by cell tower owners, who are being approached by their clients – which would be the AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, those providers – and saying they’re having issues or gaps in their service,” he said. “They’re looking to remedy those gaps and provide additional service as there’s increased demand.”
Baron said at first, the tower company proposed a 120-foot limit, but after hearing from the public, city staff decided that would be too unpopular. Instead, they recommended a compromise of 100 feet.
Towns like Spanish Fork, Saratoga Springs and Herriman have height limits from 50 to 100 feet, and in unincorporated Wasatch County, the limit is 60 to 100 feet depending on the zone.
A 35-foot tower can only accommodate a single cell service provider. Each provider requires about 15 feet of vertical space, and staff say allowing taller towers will mean fewer poles overall in the valley.
Commissioner Darek Slagowski said he supported the goal of having a small number of cell towers in Heber.
“That’s my opinion, and not everyone agrees with it, but I’d rather see three or four tall towers than infilling all over the place with small towers,” he said.
Some locals attended the planning commission meeting to voice concerns about cell towers. At a previous meeting, some residents said they were worried the towers could affect people’s health.
Baron said according to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, there’s not enough evidence to show exposure to cell towers causes cancer.
Resident Jami Hewlett asked why the city was considering a code change, rather than taking each tower application individually.
Baron said it sets a clearer standard for the city to follow.
“It’s definitely more transparent to say: this is in the code, and it’s applicable to this zone,” he said. “We are saying, if this is something that the city feels is good for the public – which is what this whole conversation is about – if it’s good for the public and it’s good for this zone, then it should be allowed in the whole zone.”
Commissioner Robert McKinley asked if there was any way the city could require a public hearing for all cell tower applications.
“I would like an opportunity for anybody that feels like they’re affected by this thing to have an opportunity to come and speak against it and give the reasons for it,” he said. “I would certainly want that opportunity if one was being put in within 120 feet of my backyard.”
Baron said city staff can’t deny an application just because they or residents don’t like it – the denial has to be rooted in the law. He suggested instead adjusting other parts of the code, like the height or the distance from properties.
In the end, the commission did just that. It recommended lowering the new height limit from 100 feet to 80 feet, meaning any applications for towers over 80 feet will need to request a code exception.
Cell towers must be at least a mile apart. They also need to be a certain minimum distance from the closest home – 115% of the tower height. For an 80-foot tower, that would be over 90 feet from the nearest residential lot line.
The planning commission didn’t recommend any changes to residential zones, where the height limit will remain 35 feet.
No cell towers will be allowed in downtown Heber, from 500 North to 600 South and 600 West to 600 East.
The commission’s recommendation now goes to the city council for a vote.
The discussion April 22 did not touch on a separate cell tower application the city received for the Valley Hills area, which is north of downtown and east of U.S. 40. According to a staff report, there is “considerable public opposition” to allowing the tower. City staff said at the planning commission meeting the application likely won’t be discussed until May or June.
