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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.0 BOCC Staff Report 03.12.2001iVlemorandum To: Board of County Commissioners CC: From: Garfield County Planning Department Date: 05/15/2001 Re: Stewart Site - Proposed Telecommunication Site Located at Lot 8 Grass Mesa When the Stewart Site request first came before the Board on January 22nd, 2001 it was continued until March 12th, 2001 and subsequently April 16th, 2001 each time to allow the applicant to obtain permission from the Grass Mesa HOA to place the tower and access to the site. Speaking to the representative for Clear Talk, they have continued their efforts but progress has been slow, at this time neither approval from the HOA or access to the site has been obtained. At this time the Board of County Commissioners could deny the application or continue until a date certain. o< — 1 B of CC — 03/12/01 PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS REQUEST: Special Use Permit for a Telecommunication Facility APPLICANT: NTCH Colorado, Inc. ClearTalk PCS LOCATION: Between County Roads 315 and 331 and approximately one mile south of Silt. SITE DATA: A cellular phone repeater station consisting of an 80 -foot lattice tower, a 100' X 100' enclosed equipment area at the base of the tower, and a concrete pad to support the base transmitting station equipment. WATER: Unmanned facility. SEWER: Unmanned facility. EXISTING ZONING: A/R/RD ADJACENT ZONING: A/R/RD I. RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN This proposal is located in Study Area III of the Comprehensive Plan. H. INTRODUCTION / DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSAL NTCH Colorado, Inc. (Clear Talk) has approached the planning department for permission to construct an 80 -foot self-supporting tower lattice tower near the Mamm Creek drainage basin. This site was chosen because it allows an obstruction -less view of that part of the I-70 corridor and the self-supporting lattice tower will blend in with the existing high voltage power lines in the background. The proposal consists of an 80 -foot lattice tower on which the required three -sector panel antennas will be flush mounted. At the base of the tower and surrounded by a six foot mesh -screen fence will be a 100 -by -100 foot area to house the tower and support facilities. Support facilities being a base transmitting station (BTS), radio -receiving equipment set on a concrete pad (blueprints and narrative are attached). The size of the tower and the area enclosed by the fence will allow for collocation of additional carriers as they enter the valley. Access to this unmanned site will be from a twenty- foot private access easement off Mustang Mesa Road. Initially there will be construction activity on this site mostly consisting of medium duty trucks and possibly a heavy crane truck, after construction site activity is generally limited to one maintenance visit a month per carrier. III. GARFIELD COUNTY ZONING RESOLUTION There are two section of the Zoning Code that this proposal must be weighed against before the recommendation of approval or denial can be made. Section 5.03, number 3 of the Garfield County Zoning Resolution dealing with Conditional and Special Uses states: Design of the use is organized to minimize impacts on and from adjacent uses of land through installation of screen fences or landscape materials on the periphery of the lot and by location of intensively utilized areas, access points, lighting and signs in such a manner as to protect established neighborhood character. In any location an 80 ft tower is hard to screen, but the applicant is trying to minimize the visual impacts by locating their unlighted, lattice tower next to existing high voltage lattice towers. Screening of the ground facility becomes somewhat more problematic, the proposal is isolated enough that very few people will travel past this site. Planting shrubbery to screen this site could become self-defeating. If the shrubbery isn't attended to it could die creating a fire hazard. Further in the same Section, 5.03.13 Broadcasting Studio and/or Communication Facility: Such broadcasting studios and/or communication facilities shall be approved by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where appropriate (A84-78; 97-60). In addition, the following standards will be used in the review application for a communications facility: 1. All facilities shall comply with frequency emission requirements of the FCC and any facility in compliance cannot be denied. 2. The co -location of telecommunication facilities on one site is encouraged and the denial ofa landowner/lessor of the co -location ofa site shall be based on technical reasons, not competitive interests. It is the County's policy to minimize the number of communication facilities by the encouragement of co -locating such facilities. 3. A freestanding telecommunication facility, including antennas, shall not exceed the maximum structure height in the applicable zone district unless an exception is approved by the Board based on the applicant demonstrating the following: (a) Use of existing land forms, vegetation and structures to aid in screening the facility from view or blending in with the surrounding built natural environment (b) Design, material and colors of antenna and their support structures shall be compatible with the surrounding environment, and monopole support structures shall taper from the base to the tip. (c) It is consistent with existing communication facilities on the same site. Cleartalk PCS gets its right to operate from licenses purchased for this area from the FCC. There is no other communication tower in this area that Cleartalk can collocate on. The tower, as presented to the planning department, exceeds the zone district height limitation by fifty-five feet. Building or stmchwe height in the A/R/RD district is limited to twenty- five feet. The applicant is requesting an 80 -foot tower height so this facility has an unobstructed view of the I-70 corridor. This tower will be part ofa system that stretches from the Garfield / Eagle county line in the east to the Garfield / Mesa county line and then down the State 82 corridor. Design material and colors of antennas and antennas will be non -reflective metallic "gray" which should be compatible with the surrounding environment. The applicant is proposing a lattice tower, not a monopole, because of the existing lattice towers in the background. And lastly, to paint the ground equipment to snatch background colors. Item "c" is not applicable to this review. IV. REFERRAL AGENCY COMMENTS The following agencies have been contacted for their concerns and comments: 1. Garfield County Airport, Kenneth Maenpa (copy attached) 2. Town of Silt 3. City of Rifle Kenneth Maenpa of the Garfield County Airport had these comments. 1. Submit to the FAA a Form 7460-1 "Notice of Proposed Construction" to the Northwest Regional Office for review. 2. The detail of the tower should include globe instruction lights per FAA and FCC specification. 3. The plans should include the site elevation as well as the overall height of the structure above mean sea level. 4. If the structure is less than 10,000 feet from the nearest runway the elevation should not exceed the horizontal surface of 5696' MSL. There was no mention by either agency that ClearTalk's radio frequency of 1.895 GHz to 1.990 GHz could affect aircraft communications. V. STAFF COMMENTS Staff received telephone calls from two very concerned parties, the Grass Mesa HOA and the owner of the twenty -foot access easement to this site. During the telephone conversation with the HOA they stated that the applicant had not, at that time, applied through them for the locating of this communication tower on Lot of Grass Mesa, which is required by HOA Covenants. The owner of the access easement also stated that the applicant had not contacted them as to use the their road. VL SUGGESTED FINDINGS 1. That proper public notice was provided as required for the hearing before the Board of County Commissioners. 2. That the hearing before the Board of County Commissioners was extensive and complete, that all pertinent facts, matters and issues were submitted and that all interested parties were heard at the that meeting. 3. That the application is in conformance with the Garfield County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended. 4. The applicant has not shown that the concerns, as addressed by the Grass Mesa HOA, have been properly addressed. 5. The applicant has not shown adequate and legal access to this site V. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends Denial based on the concerns raised by the Grass Mesa HOA and lack of proper and legal access to this site. TALK Wireless made simple. November 8, 2000 STEWART-Garfield County Colorado Lot 8, Grass Mesa Ranch APN# 2177-21-4-00-443 NTCH Colorado Inc., (CLEARTALK) is a new, local wireless telecommunications company who has made a large investment to acquire the FCC license and the equipment necessary to build and operate a wireless system in the local area. CLEARTALK will be using state of the art CDMA (code division multiple access) PCS (personal communication services) technology. This brand of service is 100 percent digital and offers dramatically improved call quality and reliability over today's cellular service. Calls will be crisper, cleaner and more secure. CLEARTALK has located its corporate headquarters in the City of Grand Junction, Colorado. In order to provide continuous, quality coverage to Garfield County, construction of multiple telecommunication towers is necessary. Tower placement and arrangement are key to making this service run at its optimum performance. Cellular networks operate in the 800 MHz frequency band. PCS networks operate in the 1900 MHz band. Since radio waves propagate better at lower frequencies, PCS sites need to be spaced closer together for improved network coverage and over-all attainment of the signal. Co -locatable towers keep tower placement to a minimum, while still meeting the engineering needs when additional wireless providers are present in the community. The site referred to in this application is for one (1) 80' self-support lattice tower with a non -glaring metallic finish. The 80' tower will enable this location to be co -locatable for four carriers. The site will contain a lattice tower, microwave dish, a three -sector antenna array at the top of the tower with future placement of up to three additional carriers. The base level of the tower will contain the Base Transmitting Station (BTS), the radio transceiver and equipment shelters on a concrete pad. The "Stewart" site is an integral link in a chain to provide service throughout Garfield County. The network is designed to handle a large capacity of channels and calls. We will be using a 100 by 100 foot parcel of land on an undeveloped lot in an ARRD zoned area. Access to the site is via Mustang Mesa Road. Land disturbance will be minimal. Site preparations include, placing weed barrier prior to the graveling of the area. The surrounding land uses include a natural gas production location to the East and South. P 970.256.7600 F 970.241.0437 www.cleartalk.net 1600 Ute Avenue, Suite 10 Grand Junction, CO 81501 TALK Wireless made simple. The "Stewart" site is "key" in that it will connect to our West Rifle and Doghead site to the West and our Newcastle site to the East. This will be an unmanned facility running 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and will be routinely maintained by CLEARTALK technicians (approximately once a month). It requires only telephone and power to operate correctly and will have no unusual demands on these or any public utilities. Safety is also a key issue with us and accompanying a six-foot, gated chain-link fence, the proper signs for the safety of the general public will be prominently displayed. Wireless technology has vastly improved in the last few years, and with the introduction of digital service and wireless Internet we are excited to be able to bring these services to you. With the increasing use of wireless telephones, CLEARTALK's goal is to provide the highest quality PCS network to its customers and to be a good "fit" within the community. Not only will CLEARTALK be providing digital telephony, we are providing jobs for the local workforce. This spring Mesa State College graduated its first class in the Telecommunication Engineering program. Of the eight graduates four are employed by CLEARTALK, and as we grow and additional carriers are added to our towers even more jobs will become available to the future graduates and the areas workforce. We have included photo simulations of a monopole tower and the existing power line pylons at our proposed site on Grass Mesa. The purpose of this simulation is to show that a lattice tower may be more applicable for this site. We think a lattice type tower would be less noticeable and blend with the existing structures. We are willing to construct a monopole if that is preferable to Garfield County. Hopefully this summary will allow you to have a better overall picture of our need for site development on the Stewart site in Garfield County and our goal of bringing PCS service to the area. For more information, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me any time. Thank you. Sincerely, Craig Hoff Site Development (970) 234-1358 P 970.256.7600 F 970.241.0437 www.c1earta1k.net 1600 Ute Avenue, Suite 10 Grand Junction, CO 81501 NTCH- COLORADO, INC. TALK Wireless made simple. LETTER OF INTENT Date —fps Site No. err���(��"I�� Landlord Gcart, p ry Address 3 r� to rce/ j oc d a/cv Landlord Address This letter is to show that NTCH Colorado, Incorporated and b Berg (Landlord) are currently negotiating a lease on Landlord's property to facilitate the placement of a telecommunications site. This letter verifies the terms agreed to by the Landlord and an NTCH-Colorado, Inc., Site Acquisition Specialist. Landlord agrees to allow NTCH the exclusive right for a period of sixty (60) days form the date of this letter to evaluate the Property and to determine that the Property can be used for its intended purpose. You specifically agree to permit us and our agents and contractors access to the Property in order to conduct such surveys, structural strength analysis, subsurface boring tests, and other activities of similar nature as NTCH may deem necessary at the sole cost of NTCH-Colorado, Inc. Due to long lead times, the Landlord also allows NTCH- Colorado, Inc. to enter into the process with the local municipalities and regulatory agencies in order to obtain the appropriate approvals for the construction of a telecommunications site. You also represent to us that you have no knowledge of any substange, chemical or waste (collectively, "substance") on the Property that is identified as hazardous, toxic or dangerous except as set out in writing by an attachment to this letter (write "yes" if there is an attachment If NTCH determines the Property meets its criteria, you agree to enter into negotiations of a final PCS Site Agreement or Option Agreement. Please sign in the space provided showing your agreement with the stipulations. If the site can not be used for it'S intended purpose NTCH- Colorado, Incorporated agrees to repair any damage to the Property caused by our activities as is reasonable. I (we) agree to the terms of this letter. S' XS -Elf% Site Acquisition Specialist Date Landowner/ a- dlord Date Tax ID No. or Social Security No. Landowner/Landlord Date Tax ID No. or Social Security No. Jun -08-00 11=50A RECEIVED QV o 9 SA APPLICATION Special Use Permit P .01 GARFIELD COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT 109 Eighth Street, Suite 303 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 / Telephone: 970.945.8212 Facsimile. 970. 384-5004 Submittal Date: // ' % �Base Fee: S400 Applicant lI / � // (fez)/' -ZA Address of Applicant: /6. r��) / (� ?/ r ii- Telephone. 920 ), 2-3 t/ o n Special Use Being Requested: / 77 (( pi-fit/0/II / Zone District: T%C Size of Property: /n/) V / C Application Requirements: These items 'lust be submitted with the application 1] Plans and specifications for the proposed use including the hours of operation, the amount of vehicles accessing the site on a daily, weeldy and/or monthly basis, and the size of any existing or proposed structures that will be utilized in conjunction with the proposed use. Please submit this information in narrative form and be specific. 2] If you will be using water or will be treating wastewater in conjunction with the proposed use, please detail the amount of water that would be used and the type of wastewater treatment. If you will be utilizing well water, please attach a copy of the appropriate well permit and any other legal water supply information, including a water allotment contract or an approved water augmentation plan. 3] A map drawn to scale portraying your property, all structiues on the property, and the County or State roadways within one (1) mile of your property. If you are proposing a new or expanded access onto a County or State roadway, submit a driveway or highway access permit. 4] A vicinity map, showing slope of your property, for which a U.S.G.S. 1:24,000 scale quadrangle map will suffice. 5] A copy of the appropriate portion of a Garfield County Assessor's Map showing all public and private landowners adjacent to your property, Include a list of all property owners and their addresses. 6] Attach a copy of the deed and a legal description of the property. if you are acting as an agent for the property owner, you must attach an acknowledgment from the property owner that you may act in his/her behalf. 7] For all applications pertaining to airports, the oil and gas industry, power generation and/or transmission industry, or any other classified industrial operation, you must submit an impact statement consistent with the requirements of Sections 103, paragraphs 1 thru 3; 5.03.07, inclusive; and 5.03.08, inclusive. The consideration of this proposed Special Use will require at Irast one (1) public hearing, for which public notice must be provided, The Planning Department will mail you information concerning this hearing(s), approximately 30 days prior to the scheduled hearing. You will then be required to notify, by certified return receipt mail, all adjacent landowners and publish the notice provided by the Nanning Department, in a newspaper of general circulation, Both these notices must be mailed/published at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. The applicant shall bear the cost of mailing and publication and proof of mailing and publication must be submitted at the time of the public hearing, The information contained within this application is complete and correct, to the best of my knowledge: Date: OVERALL SITE PLAN Beginning of the Southeast corner of the West 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 of the Southeast 1/4 of Section 21, Township 6 South, Range 93 West of the 6th P.M., Thence NO0100'10"E a distance of 1317.52 feet; Thence N00'13'391W a distance of 597.84 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING; Thence 589'46'21"W, Thence N00'13139"W, Thence N89.46'21"E, Thence 300'13'39'E, to the POINT OF BE Containing 10000.00 a distance of 100.00 feet; a distance of 100.00 feet; a distance of 100.00 feet; a distance of 100.00 feet GINNING. square feet, more or less. PROJECT AREA LEGAL DESCRIPTION Township 6 South, Range 93 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian, Section 21: W1/2 SE1/4 NE1/4, W1/2 NE1/4 SE1/4, Also known os: Lot 6, Grass Mesa Ranch, County of Garfield, State of Colorado. Nov 28 00 12:48p GARCO AIRPORT (RIL] KENNETH E. MAENPA Airport Manager November 28, 2000 970-625-8501 p.2 Mr. Greg Butler, Planner Garfield County Building & Planning 109 8a' Ave. Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 RE: ClearTalk Wireless Communications Tower Dear Mr, Butler: This Ietter is regarding the proposed CLEARTALK communication tower on Grass Mesa. Upon review of the plans , the location of the structure appears to be less than 10,000 feet from the nearest runway at Garfield County Airport. I would recommend the following: 1. Submit to the FAA a Form 7460-1 "Notice of Proposed Construction" to the Northwest Regional Office for review. 2. The detail of the tower should include globe obstruction lights per FAA and FCC specifications. 3. The plans should include the site elevation as well as the overall height of the structure above mean sea level. 4. If the structure is less than 10,000 feet from the nearest runway the elevation should not exceed the horizontal surface of 5696' MSL. If you required any additional information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact me at 625-1091. Sincerely, Kenneth E. Maenpa Airport Manager ?axed 71/28/00 0375 County Road 352, #A1070 orccfl 1U11G, UUIVI WUU O1U.1L 107111 41S_tnot �l1Vf V4✓-IV/1 December 5'h, 2000 Tom Sams Clear Talk Communications 1600 Ute Avenue, Suite 10 Grand Junction, CO. 81501 Building & Planning Department RE: Proposed Communication Tower in Grass Mesa — Stewart Site To Whom It May Concern: Two recent telephone calls have been received by this office that have cast doubt on whether this item should go before the Garfield County Planning Commission on 12/13/2000. The first call was concerning Grass Mesa Homeowners Association with regard to their controlling covenants which was followed by a letter from their legal council (copy attached). The second telephone call stated that the access road to this site was private and that no one had contacted the owner for permission to use this road. While opposition to use of the road wasn't mentioned, increased used and increased maintenance was. The question of access is significant enough in this County to warrant modifications to the Staff Report and Comment. This modification would be one of denial based on lack of access. Since this item is scheduled for the 13'h of this month your timely attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Cordially, GARFIELD COUNTY PL ING DEPARTMENT 0 Gr=: Butler, F. 'fanner 109 8th Street, Suite 303 945-8212/285-7972 Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601 CALOIA & HOUPT, P.C. ATTORNEYS AT LAW SHERRY A. CALOIA JEFFERSON V. HOUPT BARBARA P. KOZELKA MARK E. HAMILTON 1204 GRAND AVENUE GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO 81601 (970) 945-6067 - VOICE (970) 945-6292 - FACSIMILE Please direct correspondence to this address December 1, 2000 Tom Sams Clear Talk Communications Grand Junction, CO RECEIVED DEC 0 5 2000 00 Y PARK AVENUE PROFESSIONAL BLDG. 121 NORTH PARK AVE., SUITE B MONTROSE, COLORADO 81402 (970) 252-0180 - VOICE/FACSIMILE Sender's email:caloia&houpt@sopris.net Via Facsimile (970) 241-0437 Re: Grass Mesa Homeowners' Association, Garfield County, Colorado Dear Mr.Sams: This law firm represents Grass Mesa Homeowners' Association. As I mentioned in our telephone conversation yesterday, I have been directed by the Board of Directors of the Association to provide your company with information about the Grass Mesa Homeowners' Association, as well as Grass Mesa Road, which runs through Grass Mesa Ranch outside of Rifle, Colorado. My understanding is that the owner of one of the lots within Grass Mesa Ranch may have leased to Clear Talk the right to erect a transmission tower on his lot. Furthermore, if I understand correctly, there is an upcoming hearing before the County regarding approval of a special use permit for such a tower. All of the lots within Grass Mesa Ranch are subject to a "Declaration of Easements, Restrictions and Covenants" first recorded with the County in 1983, and several subsequent amendments. The Covenants contain various restrictions, including a residential use restriction and an architectural review process as a condition precedent to construction of any structure. Additionally, Grass Mesa Road and all of its branches internal to Grass Mesa Ranch are private access roads, they have not been dedicated to the public to any extent. Grass Mesa Ranch has an agreement with the BLM for access across that portion of Grass Mesa Road that crosses BLM land. The erection of a transmission tower, and the right to access it across private roads, requires advance written authorization from my client. I am faxing with this letter a copy of the Declaration of Covenants, together with one of the amendments that contains additional language about the private access easement. You may GRASS MESA-ClearTalk-Ilr-1 • Tom Sams December 1, 2000 Page Two wish to have your legal counsel review these documents. Please be advised that if Clear Talk wishes to further discuss this matter, proper authorization of the Association and its members must be obtained. All communication to the Association in this regard should be directed to my attention, and arrangements must be made in advance for reimbursing the Association for all costs it may incur in connection with such discussions, including attorneys' fees. Sincerely, CALOIA & HOUPT, P. Barbara P. Kozelk BPK:fm Encl. _ cc: client (w/o encl.) Garfield County Planning Department (w/o encl.) STEWART/ C01204B From Switch: Leave switch and go east on I-70 business loop, get on 1-70 east. Approximately 64 miles will be Rifle, CO. Take exit 90 and turn right. The first stop sign will be South 7th street, turn left. Set your mileage ticker. Approximately 2.4 miles there will be a fork in the road, stay to the right. At 3.4 miles there will be a gravel road to your right, turn right, there will be a Grass Mesa Ranch sign, follow the hill up. At 5.7 miles there will be a fork in the road stay to the right, this will be Grass Mesa Road. At 6.2 miles there will be a fork in the road, stay to the right, this will be Cedar Breaks Road. At 7.6 miles the road will turn to the Left and become Mustang Mesa Road, the property will be on your right just at the 1st telephone pole on your right. Drive across the field to the north east point. Site sits on the edge of the mesa on the north east point. 43- °peep c'Do w N a 0 3 N 0 m i 10 m 0) 0 0 z To0T w �o ya®♦ lead oiydeJ6oao m 3 3 03 HOntl8N3HO0tl 0 Do r) Oa 1a0dal O z ' O ON P ,. tier ' F o , i • y t-ci- i \ni tl Atl Agri imam "- 11111. witi��7� N E Y 2 A 265 WAY a3 1 Th m N D D 000 II 5 C mai m 0 K r x_ x x a. w g ? m r 0 w - w m c) o 0 m z 0 0 N F a (o �' fn o N w' O a 3 to m n m 3) 0 a o D c it0 0 N N TEF D'Y Geek CR 3 Rat c P FON H HO 992130 WARD Y UNRO HITE H 1HOdU IM CR 293 reek Cif 0 i 0 4‘10Or- rt bo 0 7 Manua Creek • .601•4111 r -r c -V1: 0 co (c.,3,te7144) ./. se - re" 5 1 ' "rt • ..) • '27:1 • \.\\ ADJACENT LANDOWNERS STEWART C01204B Lot 9: Norman Mannon 0160 Mustang Mesa Trail Rifle, Co. 81650 Lot 7: Ballard Petroleum 845 12``' Street West Billings, MT. 59102 Lot 6A: Ryan May 1120 Cedar Breaks Rd. Rifle, CO. 81650 GARFIELD COUNTY Building & Planning Department Review Agency Form RECEIVED DEC 0 7 2000 Date Sent: November 14, 2000 Comments Due: Unknown Name of application: NTCH, Colorado Inc. Telecommunications Tower Sent to: Town of Silt Garfield County requests your comment in review of this project. Please notify Garfield County in the event you are unable to respond. This form may be used for your response, or you may attach your own additional sheets as necessary. Written comments may be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed to: Garfield County Building & Planning 109 8th Street, Suite 301 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 Fax: 970-384-5004 Phone: 970-945-8212 E-mail: "garcopin@rof.net General comments: The Town of Silt has no comment regarding a telecommunications tower to be erected near Rifle. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Sincerely, Vr 0r<"or Wei 4ti6C� Janet G. Steinbach Town Planner CITY of RIFLE 202 RAILROAD AVENUE • P.O. BOX 1908 • RIFLE, COLORADO 81650 • (970) 625-2121 • FAX (970) 625-3210 December 11, 2000 Mr. Greg Butler, Senior Planner Garfield County Building and Planning Department 109 8th Street, Suite 303 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 In re: NTCH, Colorado Inc. Tellecommunications Tower Dear Mr. Butler: The City has no comment on this item. Sincerely, \W� Selby Myers City Manager Cc: Mayor and Council, City of Rifle Rifle Planning and Development Department