10-08-1990 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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/ ; /■/ 1 Orono Planning Commission, 9 Februar}’ 1990 Page 2 y Cellular Grid System Cellular service provides subscribers with office quality phone serv'ice by developing a grid of antennas arranged in a geographically hexagonal pattern. Each hexagon is a "cell" created by an antenna and serves as the link between the customer and the system while the customer is within that particular cell. Each cell can only handle a certain number of calls simultaneously. As the number of customers increase, the grid must be chanced to handle the appropriate number of simultaneous calls. This usually means that more cells need to be created within the same area resulting in a new ^id pattern of smaller cells. A new antenna must be constructed each time a new cell is created. .As the grid matures and more cells are added, antennas are made shorter because of each cell’s smaller coverage area. Antennas are also constructed to expand the grid of coverage into new areas. The antenna in Orono is being proposed to expand cellular phone coverage in an 3-mile radius area. The cellular mobile phone system operates on a specific set of channels set aside by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The filtering ot spurious signals is ver\' ightly controlled. Cellular telephones operate within a very' strictly controlled set of allotted frequency between 835 to 897 megahertz. US West New Vector Group is currently operating over 160 cellular antennas around the country with no case of television or radio interference reported. Search .Area Criteria We have been working for several months to locate an antenna site in the Orono area to solve cellular phone service coverage needs. Many factors go into the selection ot a location for an antenna site. These include market factors, technical considerations, cellular grid, zoning and land use compatibuity. landowner willingness to sell or lea.se. land forms of the surrounding area, and accessibility to roads. All of these factors taken together create a narrow site search area for location of the antenna The technical aspects of fitting a new cell site into the grid pattern dictates a small search area for new antenna sites. The search area is further refined by topographical features and a sophisticated computer modeling that takes into account existing antenna sites, predicted coverage of the new cell and FCC service area requirements. Federal Aviation Administration regulations must also be followed in locating and constructing antennas. The search area in Orono that resulted from this type of analysis, is illustrated c^xhibit B. It is an area 1.2 miles in diameter and generally centered on the Luce Line crossing of Highway 12. Once the search area has been defined by these technical constraints, zoning and land use factors can be addressed. We have been in contact with the City s Planning and Zoning Staff from very' early in the proce.ss to identify the most appropriate location. Our search was narrowed to the area around the Luce Line ; c vcllular telephone system does not have the power of eminent domain and we must deal w ith willing property owners. In this instance Vineyard ot the Lake has agreed to lease a portion of their property for use (see attached letter).