McKinney City Council voted to allow for the construction of a 115-foot telecommunications tower near Tournament Players Club Craig Ranch. The tower will be located on the south side of Collin McKinney Parkway, about 1,250-feet east of Piper Glen Road. Council unanimously approved a specific use permit for the project.
The stealth monopole-style structure will have a four-foot lightning rod at the top and will be surrounded by a six-foot masonry screening wall at its base, according to city documents.
The tower will be located on the southeast corner of a nearly two-acre property, about 230 feet from the closest residential property, according to a presentation at a Feb. 14 planning and zoning commission meeting. Locating the tower at the southeast corner along the property’s boundary will allow the rest of the property to develop as commercial uses, according to city staff.
The property is owned by the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, the host organization of the annual AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament. The development of the property is expected to create revenue to support the organization’s charitable efforts, Salesmanship Club of Dallas representative Jay Grogan said.
There are not any existing cell towers within one mile of the proposed tower, according to city documents. The tower will be located on the west side of the southern portion of the TPC Craig Ranch golf course, and will serve the Craig Ranch Corporate Center and surrounding residents, according to the presentation.
“I think this is a win-win for everybody, for the golf tournament, the Byron Nelson, our title sponsor, for the neighborhood and the black hole that exists over there, and a little extra revenue for the kids and families we serve at the Salesmanship Club [of Dallas],” Grogan said.
The telecommunications tower will be able to accommodate up to four cellular carriers, according to city documents. Grogan indicated the Byron Nelson’s title sponsor, AT&T, would be among those four carriers. The tower is expected to be installed prior to the Byron Nelson golf tournament in May, according to city staff.
Mark Walsh, managing partner of a law firm based out of the Craig Ranch Corporate Center, spoke in support of the project at the meeting.
“This has been a black hole of cell coverage that is frankly an embarrassment when you're driving around, having clients on [the] phone and people coming into your office,” Walsh said. “Certainly it's a matter of great importance to me and the people that I work with every day and live around.”
