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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.0 PC Staff Report 08.09.2000REQUEST: APPLICANT: LOCATION: SITE DAT,A: WATER: SEWER: EKSTINCI ZONING: ADJACENTZONING: Plaruring Commission - August 9e, 2000 PROJECT INFORMATION A}ID STAFF COMMENTS Special Use Permit for a Telecommunication FacilitY NTCH Colorado, Inc. ClearTalk PCS Approximately one mile east of CR 246 atop Webster llill A cellular phone repeater station consisting of an 80-foot lattice tower , a 7 5' X'7 5' enclosed equipment area at the base of the tower, and a concrete pad to support the base transmitting station equipment. Unmanned facilitY. Unmanned facility. A/R/RD A/R/RD T. RELATIONSHIP TO TIIE COMPRE}MNSIVE PLAN This proposal is located in Study Area III of the Comprehensive Plan. While this part of Garneld-County is not considerid a Visual Corridor the size and proposed location coupled with the County's encouragement of coJocation, this site as proposed could very easily become a visual eyesore. INTRODUCTION / DESCRIPTION OF TI{E PROPOSAL Cleartalk PCS has approached the plaruring department for permission to construct at#- *-fioot lattice tower atop theapproximately 350 foot high Webster Hill This site was chosen because it allows a commanding and obstruction-less view of the valley for some ffieen rniles east and west of this site. TheproposalconsistsofMnwhichtherequiredthree-sectorpanel antennas will be mounted. At the base of the tower and surrounded by a six foot mesh- screen fence will be a15-by-75 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 (blieprints and narrative are attached). The size of the tower ald the area enclosedbV ttre fence will allow for collocation ofadditional carriers as they enter the valley. Access to this unmanned site will be from a private access easement from US 6 &.24. tnitiatty 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' 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' m. IV. Seciion 5.03, number 3 of the Garfield County ZontngResolution dealing with Conditional and Special Uses states: Design of the use is organized to minimize impacts on andfrom adjaient uses ofland through installation ofscreenfences or landscape materiils on the periphery of the lot and by location of intensively utilized areas, dccess points, lighting ind signs in such a rndnner as to protect established neighborhood character. The proposed tower, as presented to the planning department, cannot be adequately screened to minimize its visual impacts on the surrounding area. 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 comunica|tion facility: I . Alt faiiiities shall comply with frequency emission requirements of the FCC and anyfacility in compliance cannot be denied. 2. The co-location of telecommunication facilities an one site is encouraged and the denial ofa landowner/lessor ofthe 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 mmimum structure height in the applicable zone district unless an exception is approved by the Board based on the applicant demon str atin g the fo llow i ng : (a)Useofexistinglandforms,vegetationandstructurestoaidin 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- O, ,!#.consistent with existing communication facilities on the same 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 structure height in the A,/R/RD district is limited to twenry- five feet. The applicant is requesting an S0-foot tower height so this facility has an unobstructed view of the I-70 corridor. This tower will be part of a system that stretches from the Garfield lEagle 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 their support structures shall be compatible with the surrounding environment, and monopole support structures shall taper from the base to the tip' Tfrr'applicant is proposing a lattice tower' Io&a monopole, and to leave the equipment in standard out-of-the box "gtays." Item "c" is*rot applicable to this review. REFERRAL AGENCY COMMENTS The following agencies have been contacted for their concerns and comments: l. Garfield County Airport, Kenneth Maenpa 2. FederalAviationAdministration *Sarfiela County Airport has noted that a tower 100' - 130' in height would not be -Cempatible with Garfield County Airport and Federal Aviation Regulations Pafil1 (Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace). The tower proposed by ClearTalk is 80' tugh. The FAA has issued a report stating that if this tower is under 100' in height there is no hazard to air navigation. There was no mention by either agency that ClearTalk's radio frequenry of 1.895 GHz to 1.990 GHz could affect aircraft communications. V. SUGGESTED FINDINGS1. The applicant has complied with all public noticing and certified rehrrn-receipt mailing requirements. ,&2,. The applicant is requesting a height variance of fifty-five feet for this zone district.3. ' The applicant is requesting to use a lattice tower design as opposed to the monopole design stated in the Zoning Regulations.4. The additional height and location make screening this site dubious at best.5. The Planning Commission has the power to request an outside radio frequenry firm review the technical data submitted by the applicant to determine if the information is correct, or the site and system could be re-designed to fit Garfield County Zontng Codes. VI. RECOMMENDATION There are three options available to the Planning Commission at this time; approval, denial or a request for an outside agency to review the radio frequency study submitted by HTCH Colorado, Inc (ClearTalk). Stafffeels that the Plaruring Commission could Approve this proposal based on the above findings and following conditions and pass this item along to the Board of County Commissioners at their regularly scheduled meeting on September 4, 2000 at 2PM:l. The argument made by the applicant's engineer is significant and warrants the additional height.2. The area this communication facility is to be located is remote enough to justify the height and the possible visual nuisance Conditions of Approval:. The applicant will allow future co-locations.o The facility will be painted to blend in with the background, approved by the planning department.o If the tower becomes dormant for more than six months either the tower owner or the landowner is required to remove the tower at tleir expense. Stafffeels that the Plaming Commission could Deny, based on the following:1. The proposal does not conform to Garfield County ZorungRegulations.2. In reading the applicant's proposal, no attempt is being made to comply with Garfield County's Zorung Codes.3. In the years to come, with encouraged collocation, this telecommunication site could very easily become a yisual blight in and on the area.