Nicor Gas seeks Sycamore city approval for 160-foot radio communications tower

SYCAMORE – A northern Illinois natural gas provider is seeking Sycamore city approval to build and operate a 160-foot radio communications tower on Dosen Drive on the city’s south side.

The proposal appeared before the city of Sycamore’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, and the committee backed the proposal with a 10-0 vote. The request now heads to the Sycamore City Council, which next meets July 18.

According to city documents, Nicor Gas wants to build a monopole radio communications tower at 2820 Dosen Drive. The tower would be used for Nicor to monitor the flow of gas to area residence and businesses within and around Sycamore.

The gas monitoring is meant to keep safe and constant readings of natural gas flow to surrounding users which allows for more efficient distribution of gas, according to the development proposal.

Sycamore’s Director of Building and Engineering, John Sauter, asked whether the communication tower would be equipped with collocating, or radio frequency, antennas, documents show.

“The monopole is not used for cellular communications, and co-location is not contemplated,” Nicor stated in a published response to the city. “Rather, the monopole is used by Nicor as part of its advanced monitoring system.“

Nicor also stated its willingness to consider other uses for the tower with surrounding municipalities.

The tower would be made of galvanized steel with a 46-inch diameter at the base and 22 inches at the top, according to development plans. City staff said the proposal is compliant with existing code related to zoning, site, engineering and geotechnical plans.

The proposed Nicor tower would sit about halfway between DeKalb to Sycamore on Dosen Drive. Nicor has received approval by the Federal Aviation Administration to build due to its proximity to DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport.

“It did get approved by that so there is no need to be worried about that,” Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall said. “They were worried about their airport over there, so that‘s been taken care of.”

Nicor Gas is an Illinois-based natural gas utility. The company is the largest natural gas distributor in Illinois, serving more than 2.2 million residential, public sector and business customers in more than 650 communities throughout the northern portion on the state.