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Home My WebLink About3.0 CorrespondenceHo L*o*dr,,, To:Ed Green, County Administrator Mark Bean, Director of Planning Marty Jimmersorq VP American Tower Thomas Samms, Clear Talk Cellular Craig Hotr, Clear Talk Cellular From: Greg Butler. StaffPlanner Date:09l12/2000 Clear Talk Telecommunications - West Rifle Hatchet SiteRe: Ifve,.gon€ back through the correspondence both sent to and received from Clear Talk Cellular (IIICH Cotorado) hoping to shed some light on the conflict of interest charge. Cleai,Talli,:zubmitted their application on or about l2l0l/1999 and shortly thereafter the question of to*er,height came into being. Handwritten notes by the origin planner questions whether the tower witrl:be,,25.feet or 100-feet. Additional submittals over the months show tower heights at, no height, 25;feet,i8O-feet, 100-feet, 130-feet (verbal), 150-feet (photosimulation) and a sarcastic 800-foot height:. ,One narrative states that the tower height cannot be one foot less than 150 feet and yet the RF:En$ineer for this site says that an SO-foot tower will suffice. In addition to the confusion on tbwei heights there has been the same question of fenced land to house and secure the BTS units. The narrative states 100-feet by 1OO-feet, the blueprints show the same area to be 75-feet by 75-feet. Again. which is correct? Even Clear Talk Cellular seems uncommitted to answering these questions. Apart from the actual tower height and fenced area is the questions of visual impacts to the surrounding area. The Garfield County Zonitg Resolution is very clear that these facilities will be developed and screened to minimize their effects on the surrounding communiff. A tower much over Z5-feet high sitting atop a 350-foot hill will very hard to screen. This has been mentioned to the applicant not less than six times, including in rny staff report to the Planning Commission that the applicant has seen. Also mentioned to the applicant has been the fact that Garfield Codes clearly state a monopole will be used, and renditions ofwhat a monopole is has been given to the applicant on several occasions. The applicant has been proposing a lattice tower at a yet defined height since the time of their original submittal. I realize the frustration Clear Talk must be feeling at this time, SBA came into the planning office in late-June or early July, did their research and now have their towers fully approved. Clear Talk has yet to make the first hurdle. But because their proposal is so contrary to the standards set forth by o September 12, 2000 ZorungResolution approval by the Planning Commission is higtrly unlikely. And, the applicant has been told this! As for the specific conflict of interest charge levelled by the applicant, I handed them and many other applicants' business cards with my cell phone number and personal e-mail address and the instructions to use if necessary. On those business cards is what I used to do for a living that includes wireless telecommunications. At no point of time did n intend for those cards to be anlthing but a convenience to the applicant in reaching me with their concerns as they relate to Garfreld County. My responsibility, as I see it, is to the Planning Departrnent of Garfield Counry not to the applicant and not to be bullied by the applicant. I am pretty sure that the applicant has conveniently forgot to mention all the work that staff has put into their application. Indeed. if anything charge is to be levelled against myself concerning Clear Talk is that I've spent far too much time on their application. To: GC: Mr. Craig Hoff From: Greg Butler, Sr. Planner Date: 0612212000 Re: West fufle Tower COl203 -Hatchet Attached is the most recent submittal by your RF engineer stating the tower height could now be 80 feet. Also. he mentioned that the site was originally submitted to the County at 100 feet. That's not quite accurate, a letter dated l2l0ll99 indicated the tower height would be 25 feet. In a subsequent letter dated. L2/l6l99,the tower height'Jumped " to 100 feet. Just recently, 6105100, the tower height has been lorver to 80 f,eef I'have:in:my file: photo-simulations of a tower 150 feet talt, a blueprint stating the tower at 100 feet and ttree,wriUen heights of 25, 80, and 100 feet, respectively. I also have a bluepnnt showing a leased parcel of land,measrring 75' by 75' and two narratives sayng the same parcel mqNures 100'bv 100'. My,CUestiOns arc very logic: Exadly what zre your intentions on this parcel of land and when will I receive a,narrative, photo-simulation and blueprint all supprorting one another? To: Garfield Cotmty Re: ClearTalk West Rifle Site (COl203) From: ThmasBozzo RF Design Engineer Cleartalk and Lucent Technologies Date: June 5, 2000 The purpose of this merno is to outline Cleartalk's technical reasons for the height required for West Rifle PCS (Personal Communications System) site (site number CO1203). This site was orieinallv srhrnined ro the countyas_a l(X)' tower in order to allorr fs1 p2;{arrm collocatability in the futtrre, thereby prwenting --a--r---@unication towers as wireless applications expand. Howwer, to reduce impact an 80' frcility will meet all Cleartalk technical needs and still provide collocation for up to three other service providers. Third gureration wireless communications (which includes high sptrd digital data transnissions) and PCS telephony require tow€rs spaced closer together than those that currently eldst for analog cellular telephone networks. As the first sudr company in the area, Cleartalk seeks to hrild towers in a responsible mannerwtrictr necessitates desigrring for sufficient height and structural integrity to accommodate firture wteless carriers (service providers). Depending on the specific protocol and technology deployed by the various carriers, the indusfy rule of thumb to prevent interference between the q/stems requires a vertical spacing of l0' 'tip to toe" (top of one anl.enna to the bottom of the next). With an average ant€nna height of 5', this means that the mounts of the collocated service providers will be 15' apart. The lowest antennas cannot be mounted below 30' because of the potential shadowing from the surrounding trees and hillside. (PCS communications at a frequency of 1900 MtIz require clearance of the antenna 3 dB point and Fresnel zone over any obstructions for prop€r performance). Thus service providers can be located at 30', 45' ,60' , and 75'. An 80' tower (in 20' sectiuls) will meet this collocatability requirement. A second reason that at least an 80' frcility is needed is directly related to the Cleartalk desigrr. The desip of a PCS network includes a grid of sites that will hand-offt,o eadr other and work together. The West Rifle site has been desiped as a'tepeater" site that receives signal frm the Paradtute site, amplifies it, and retransmits it for additional coverage. Line-of-site to the Parachute site necessitates a 25' height for the "donor" antenna (must be above all trees). A second transmitting "subscrib€r" antenna must be separated by at leas 40' to prevent a positive Ibedback situation and to allow for proper technical performance ofthe repeater. Thus a Cleartalk ftcility alone, withorrt collocatim, requires significant height. Please feel free to contact meat(970)261-5546 or tboz-zolialhicerrl.corn witlt any questions. 4" *"/>, /- -.2&'o+ t\'ox- ,*lrl U/ $,"r-l )"hJ./ l. 2s ' ft..,.J, -/*;,- )1 rc/.'/n) Oa lz/"fn rt-L h,,at ryo t,r*/l o ,+'/U:-1 I t\ r i l! NTGH Golorado, lnc. W. F. Clough Property -Garfield County, Colorado 84.250 I-70 Frontage Road 'Vest Rifle Hatchet" APN# 2775-227-N-140 - +-,-. NTCH Colorado Inc., (CLEARTALK) is a new telecommunications company that will be a provider of wireless PCS (Personal Communications System) telephone service. This brand of service is state of the art, 100 percent digital and offers dramatically improved call quality and reliability over today's cellular service. Calls will be crisper, cleaner and more secure. CLEARTLK has located its corporate headquarters io the City of Grand Junction, Colorado. In order to provide continuous, quality coverage to Garfield County, construction of telecommunication towers is necessary. Tower placement and arrangement are key to making this service run at its optimum performance. 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 also keep tower placement to a minimum, while still meetirg the engineering needs when additional wireless providers are preseor in the community. The site referred to i" thi.t "ppli."rio" ir " p lighted, self-support, co-locatable tower. - It will contain a lattice tower, ofle microwave dish (when applicable), a three-sector antenna ^rtay a.t its top level with future placemeot of up to three additronal carriers; 10 feet below each additional array. The base level of the tower will contain the Base Transmitting Station (BTS), the radio transceiver equipment, on a concrete pad. The "!7est Rifle Hatchet" site on Mr. Clough's land 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 leased section of land, on a flon-production part of a hill right off of the Interstate-70 in an ARRD zoned area. This lor:ation will be our first proposed, of approximately 8 total sites that will be necessary to provide wireless coverage to Garfield County. It is completely accessible from the I-70 frontage road west of GARFIELD COUNTY FlAtr.ur*a DEPARTMENT ios arH sr. - st lrE 3og dielrwooD sPRINGS, co 81601 ,-? r< Wireless made simple. NTCH Golorador lnc.i-1 1".,- ,. ^.,.". .,-r'-;);ar\J,5'1:l \(r. F. Clough Propefly -Garfield Co.-ty, Colorado 84.250 I-70 Frontage Road "'!flest Ri{Ie Flatchet" APN# 2t75-221-00-140 NTCH Colorado Inc., (CLEARTALK) is a new telecommunications company that will be a provider of wireless PCS (Personal Communications Sysrem) telephone service. This brand of service is state of the art, 100 percent digital and offers dramatically improved call quality and reliability over today's cellular service. Calls will be crisper, cleaner and more secure. CLEARTLK has located its corporate headquarters in the City of Grand Junction, Colorado. In order to provide continuous, quality coverage to Garfield County, construction of telecommunication tos/ers is necessary. Tower placement and arrangement are key to making this service run at its optimum performance. 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. f o in this applicationj lighted, self-support tower with a non-glaring metallic finish. Since there is currently no existing towers on this parcel, the 100' will enable this location to be co-locatable. It will contain a steel lattice tower, one microqrave dish (when applicable), a three-sector antenna array at its top level with future placement of up to three additional carriers; 10 feet below each additional array. The base level of the tower will contain the Base Transmitting Station (BTS), the radio transceiver equipment, on a concrete pad. The "\0flest Rifle llatchet" site on Mr. Clough's land 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. \fle will be using a 100 by 100 foot leased section of land, on a non-production part of a hill right off of the Interstate-7Q in an ARRD zoned area. This location will be our first proposed, of Wireless made REC I .....1:...r-.! ,t- .,'""' /5536.? /'/ ( l I l I,'' -'17 ( I I 1^ ':r:;.0 t x 5538.4 pr. or rrihtus ACCESS [S,VT, \\ .\\\ \\.\\ -\ '\ I l .\ \\ \\\ ..X, *B53s:r-- COI'ISUL I a 1 600 UTE GRAND JUI' ROJECT i CUiIRT NI I ISSUID FO L-V.:=DAIE \ IH . 5539 4"55 .-i' \\ -/<..z\-/ ".t^ NTCH, t-- \ ''.\a\ 4-IIOI'IS FACILITY '/ M CU I'I TID A I i-tcr r0//[F GR OU I'i D LI WL G.4.iIII:LD COUNTYF, i.^,,\lG DEPARTMENT . 1C ; ,;-r'H ST. - SUTTE 309 \ GL,i;^j)".liooD SPR|NGS, co glgol RECEIVEDBTOO l?9gg -"r'< 'a c-4.);L '\-1..- .-Lt- ll i E E r/,'-'i/ \Y 13/ \" -4+- l] .1 I . 0. . tbt^t\AI', \'./l(EW 100' ritGlr CO - LO(lr\iAl_lri, L-Afl lCI iC$/i R I'JS TCP O. l.iEW rViCll (lOi_Oi.lr\a),), ii..tC.LAiltcf l-cv,ri i:ir 100'-0"