Cell tower proposed on light pole at baseball field

A plan to use an 80-foot light pole at Memorial Park in Whitefish as a cell tower will be considered during a public hearing tonight at the Whitefish Planning Board meeting.

The idea is to put a cellular wireless panel antenna on the light pole at the baseball field, which requires a conditional-use permit. A 1,375-square-foot fenced area enclosing an equipment building about 200 feet east of the light pole on Fir Avenue is part of the proposal.

Kevin Howell of Digital Skylines Inc./Verizon Wireless in Scottsdale, Ariz., is the applicant. The cell tower is needed to accommodate an “explosion” in the use of smartphones that has slowed down data download speeds, according to Whitefish Planning Director Dave Taylor’s staff report.

“To counter this, Verizon has been doubling its cellphone coverage nationwide to keep up with bandwidth demand,” Taylor said.

Adding the cell tower to the existing light pole won’t add any significant visual impacts to the neighborhood, the applicant maintains.

The facility lease money will support capital improvements for the Glacier Twins baseball program and Memorial Park.

Taylor noted that city staff members have worked with Verizon consultants for several months to find a suitable location for a cell tower to serve the downtown area. Other sites such as Depot Park, the city’s snow lot near the train depot and the roof of Whitefish Middle School were investigated and found unsuitable.

Two other public hearings are on tonight’s agenda.

One is a conditional-use permit request by Hurraw! Balm for an expanded home occupation permit at 625 Park Avenue, where Whitefish Independent High School now is located.

Hurraw! owners Neil Stuber and Corrie Colbert would produce their vegan lip balms at the existing building, and said it will serve their needs over the long term. They currently have three part-time employees and are operating the business in their home on Dakota Avenue. They anticipate hiring up to 12 full-time-equivalent employees.

The Independent High School will move to Whitefish High School once the reconstruction of the school is completed.

The other hearing is a request by Nick Fullerton Architects on behalf of 3013 Iron Horse Drive for a conditional-use permit to build a guest house at that address.

A work session to review a draft of a potential new zoning district — Whitefish planned resort development — will be held at the end of the meeting. The new zone was recommended in the 2007 Whitefish growth policy.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.