Kennett cell tower plan: height, antennas and review costs

Rise Up Towers requested a waiver of administrative application fees for its proposed cell tower on Kennett Township property at 549 Bayard Road. A November 2 staff memo says the company would still fund the escrow that pays outside technical reviewers.

The waiver appeared on the November 4 supervisors’ agenda. A decision on that request has not been verified. The available records also leave a separate design question: September minutes and drawings describe different tower heights.

What the tower drawings show

Supervisors approved the Bayard Road ground lease by two votes to none on September 9. The meeting minutes record a Rise Up representative describing a tower roughly 110 feet tall, north of the Yard Waste Center.

Yet the elevation drawing included in that packet, revised August 11, shows a 150 foot monopole with a five foot lightning rod. It labels proposed Verizon Wireless antennas near the top, space for future carriers below them and two proposed whip antennas farther down.

The accompanying site plan expressly says it should not be considered an approved site plan. These documents do not resolve the height difference or establish an operating Verizon service. A current approved plan would be needed to confirm the final design.

Public safety equipment has conditions

The September lease packet places the project in the woody debris area of the township’s Public Works yard. Township staff attributed the project to concerns about unreliable wireless service raised by emergency personnel, residents and businesses. That account is not a coverage test.

The equipment clause makes the public safety arrangement conditional. If the township supplies antennas, emergency repeaters or similar public use equipment during construction, Rise Up would install it and allow township use without charge. Installation and use require a separate lease.

That provision does not promise that Rise Up will buy the township’s radios or other equipment. The reviewed records do not establish what public safety hardware will actually be installed.

For the different roles of county radio, cellular data and dispatch software, see our Chester County emergency communications guide. The Kennett documents do not establish an integration with those county systems.

Which costs the waiver would cover

The November memo separates township administrative fees from the escrow for technical experts and other outside reviewers. It says fees must be paid, or a waiver approved, before the application is considered complete. Staff classifies the project as minor land development requiring final plan approval.

The memo recommends the waiver but does not give its dollar amount. Its conclusion that the waiver would have no significant financial impact is a staff assessment.

The ground lease separately sets township rent at 40 percent of defined sublease rental revenue. It excludes certain reimbursements and installation charges. That percentage is not a fixed annual payment.

Residents following the project can check the township’s meeting documents for the waiver decision, an updated plan and equipment agreements. Approval of a lease alone does not establish when a carrier will begin service or which homes will gain reception.

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Photo: Illustrative stock photograph, not the proposed Kennett Township tower or its location. Ulrick Trappschuh on Pexels, used under the Pexels License.