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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.0 BOCC Staff Report 07.02.2007Exhibits 7/9/2007 continued from 7/2/2007 Exhibit Letter (A to Z) Exhibit A Proof of Mail Receipts B Proof of Publication C Garfield County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended D Staff Memorandum E Application F Letter from Cedar Rose Guelberth, dated June 2nd, 2007 BOCC 07/02/2007 CR Sprint/Woodward-Collison Communication Facility Special Use Permit APPLICANT / OWNER Darlyne Woodward Martha Collison REPRESENTIATIVE Perry Carroll, WFI LOCATION East of Town of Carbondale, CO SITE DATA 10 acres EXISTING ZONING Agricultural Residential Rural Density ADJACENT ZONING Residential General Urban Density, City/Town STAFF RECOMMENDATION Approval PARCEL NO. 239334400018 Carbondale, Colorado BOCC 07/02/2007 CR I REQUEST The Applicant is requesting approval for a Special Use Permit to modify an existing Sprint/Nextel communication facility that has not been approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The Applicant wishes to add three (3) antennas to the existing twenty- five (25) foot wood pole and expanding the existing compound 135 square feet to add equipment cabinets. II BACKGROUND It appears that the existing communication facility was not approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The Sprint/Nextel facility consists of one (1) equipment building and one (1) wooden tower. (Other communication facility exist on-site) Site Plan LS2 -2 BOCC 07/02/2007 CR Modification to the existing facility circled (profile view) EXIST T-MOSILE PANEI. mottitikt 2/A4 PROPOSED 44EXTEL COMPOUAZ—.----..� qkEt off L III REFERRALS Town of Carbondale: No Comments Received Garfield Chief Building Official: If a new structure is added a building permit will be required. State Electrical Permit will be required. IV § 5.03 Review Standards Utilities adequate to provide water and sanitation service based on accepted engineering standards and approved by the Board of County Commissioners shall either be in place or shall be constructed in conjunction with the proposed use; - 3 - BOCC 07/02/2007 CR Staff Finding The proposed use will not require water or sanitation services. Street Improvements adequate to accommodate traffic volume generated by the proposed use and to provide safe, convenient access to the use shall either be in place or shall be constructed in conjunction with the proposed use; Staff Finding The proposed modification to the existing facility will generate an additional one (1) trip a month by a Sprint/Nextel site technician. Additional street improvement will not be required. Design of the proposed use is organized to minimize impact 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; Staff Finding The existing facility is has numerous buildings and towers located on-site. Staff suggests as a condition of approval the Board require the Applicant to paint the existing Sprint/Nextel antennas and proposed modifications a darker matte earth tone color to reduce the visual impacts. V §5.03.13 Broad Casting Studio and/or Communication Facility (1) All facilities shall comply with the radio frequency emission requirements of the Federal Communication Commission and any facility in compliance cannot be denied. Staff Finding Staff suggests the Board require compliance with all Federal, State, and Local Regulations governing the operation of this type of facility. (2) The co -location of telecommunication facilities on one site is encouraged and the denial of a landowner/lessor of the co -location of a site shall be based on technical reasons, not on competitive interests. It is the County's policy to minimize the number of communication facilities by the encouragement of co - locating such facilities. Staff Finding The request will allow co -location on an existing facility that has not been approved by the Board. Future co -locations will be allowed. 4 BOCC 07/02/2007 CR (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, materials 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. (c) It is consistent with existing communication facilities on the same site. Staff Finding The existing towers conform to ARRD height requirements identified in the Garfield County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended (25'). Staff suggests that the requested and all future additions to the communication facility be required to paint the new equipment a darker matte earth tone to better camouflage the facility reducing visual impacts the facility has on adjacent properties. V. 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 and that all interested parties were heard at that meeting; 3.) The Application is in conformance with Garfield County Zoning Resolution of 1978, as amended; 4.) That for the above stated and other reason, the proposed Special Use Permit is in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Garfield County; VI. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of the proposed Special Use Permit allowing a "Communication Facility" on a property owned by Darlyne Woodward and Martha Collison with the following conditions: 1) That all representations made by the Applicant in the application and as testimony in the public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners shall be conditions of approval, unless specifically altered by the Board of County Commissioners; 2) The Applicant shall meet all Garfield County Building Code Requirements; -5- BOCC 07/02/2007 CR 3) The operation of this facility shall be done in accordance with all applicable Federal, State and Local regulations governing the operation of this type of facility; 4) The communication facility shall be available for future co -location and the denial of a requested co -location shall be based on technical reasons, not on competitive interests; 5) The proposed modifications and all future modifications shall be painted a darker matte earth tone to reduce visual impacts; 6 CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 7/2/07 Dear County Commissioners — EXHIBIT 1 1 live and work in the town of Carbondale. My office property is within a few 100 feet of the cellular tower array being discussed. In addition to my own concerns, several concerned Carbondale residents have asked me to provide you with information regarding Cellular antenna installations. Numerous Carbondale private citizens as well as the Carbondale Environmental Board request that you extend your public hearing so they may have the time to evaluate and assess community concerns regarding this issue. This is a broad and controversial issue that directly affects the citizens of Carbondale. While the array may reside just outside of the Carbondale city limits it is located within close proximity to thousands of residents, homes, schools, churches, and businesses. The antenna being considered is additional to an existing large array of cellular tower transmitters. It is important to consider not only the impact of the proposed transmitter but also the addition of the transmitter to the already larger array and the additional impact that may have. I have included in this package information regarding the health, and property value concerns related to the installations of telecommunications systems. I am available to provide more extensive information and answer your questions to the best of my abilities. Thank you for taking the time to review this information. Cedar Rose Guelberth CRG Design — Designs For Living Understanding Radiofrequency, Microwave, and Electromagnetic Fields World Health Organization 2005 "Electromagnetic fields are present everywhere in our environment but are invisible to the human eye. Electric fields are produced by the local build-up of electric charges in the atmosphere associated with thunderstorms. The earth's magnetic field causes a compass needle to orient in a North-South direction and is used by birds and fish for navigation." "Besides natural sources the electromagnetic spectrum also includes fields generated by human -made sources: X-rays are employed to diagnose a broken limb after a sport accident. The electricity that comes out of every power socket has associated low frequency electromagnetic fields. And various kinds of higher frequency radiowaves are used to transmit information — whether via TV antennas, radio stations or mobile phone base stations." "One of the main characteristics which defines an electromagnetic field (EMF) is its frequency or its corresponding wavelength. Fields of different frequencies interact with the body in different ways. One can imagine electromagnetic waves as series of very regular waves that travel at an enormous speed, the speed of light. The frequency simply describes the number of oscillations or cycles per second, while the term wavelength describes the distance between one wave and the next. Hence wavelength and frequency are inseparably intertwined: the higher the frequency the shorter the wavelength." "Wavelength and frequency determine another important characteristic of electromagnetic fields: Electromagnetic waves are carried by particles called quanta. Quanta of higher frequency (shorter wavelength) waves carry more energy than lower frequency (longer wavelength) fields. Some electromagnetic waves carry so much energy per quantum that they have the ability to break bonds between molecules. In the electromagnetic spectrum, gamma rays given off by radioactive materials, cosmic rays and X-rays carry this property and are called 'ionizing radiation'. Fields whose quanta are insufficient to break molecular bonds are called 'non -ionizing radiation'." Also referred to as "thermal" and "non -thermal" radiation. U.S. Department of Labor - Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA') Safety and Health Topics: Radiation "Non -ionizing radiation is described as a series of energy waves composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields traveling at the speed of light. Non -ionizing radiation includes the spectrum of ultraviolet (UV), visible light, infrared (IR), microwave (MW), radio frequency (RF), and extremely low frequency (ELF). Lasers commonly operate in the UV, visible, and IR frequencies. " "Extremely Low Frequency Radiation (ELF) CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth ELF radiation at 60 HZ is produced by power lines, electrical wiring, and electrical equipment. Common sources of intense exposure include ELF induction furnaces and high-voltage power lines. Radiofrequency (RF)/Microwave Radiation (MW) Microwave radiation is absorbed near the skin, while RF radiation may be absorbed throughout the body. At high enough intensities both will damage tissue through heating. Sources of RF and MW radiation include radio emitters and cell phones." "RF energy includes frequencies ranging from about 3000 cycles per second (3 kHz) to 300 billion cycles per second (300 GHz). Microwaves are a subset of radio waves and includes frequencies ranging from around 300 million cycles per second (300 MHz) to 3 GHz. RF exposures are directly linked to absorption and distribution of RF energy in the body, and the absorption and distribution are strongly dependent on body size and orientation and on frequency and polarization of the incident radiation. A common measure of exposure is the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), the rate of energy absorption in tissue, measured in watts per kilogram of tissue." Related policies and health standards Many people react to and exhibit symptoms resulting from the exposures of electromagnetic fields including radio and microwave frequencies. This is still a little studied medical condition and often misdiagnosed as other illnesses. Minimizing exposure is critical for the patient suffering from this condition. Studies and research have shown adverse health effects from exposure to non -thermal radiofrequencies and electromagnetic fields. Some of these studies have shown significant cause for concern. Numbers of research reports suggest that health effects from Non -thermal exposure to RFR (Radio Frequency Radiation) can result in increased risks of cancer, ocular damage, neurological effects, and many other minor to more serious health problems. Many government agencies, which have been consulted by the FCC to establish the FCC guidelines, all agree that further research must be done to determine the safety of exposure to RFR. In addition to our government, many international governments, and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, have called for more testing and further research. Most research on the effects of RFR exposure has been preformed using "thermal" ("ionizing") consistent frequencies. These organizations and agencies agree that more research must be done in the areas of "non - thermal" ("non -ionizing") radio frequencies and pulsating radio frequencies. The FCC benchmark for CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth exposure limits are based on the thermal effects of radio frequencies. These limits do not account for the potential effects of non -thermal radio frequencies. While the FCC receives guidance and guidelines from other government agencies those agencies have not set standards for exposure limits to RFR. On the contrary those agencies have clearly stated the importance of expanding the research and studies needed to determine the safety of the current guidelines. Nor has there been any federally mandated radio frequency exposure standard set. Other countries have set much more restrictive guidelines and standards in place to protect the health and wellbeing of their communities. The following are some important excerpts from a few of these agencies: Nominations from FDA's Center from Device and Radiological Health Radio Frequency Radiation, Emissions of Wireless Communication devices (CDRH) Executive Summary "Over 80 million Americans currently use wireless communications devices (e.g., cellular phones) with about 25 thousand new users daily. This translates into a potentially significant public health problem should the use of these devices even slightly increase the risk of adverse health effects. Currently cellular phones and other wireless communication devices are required to meet the radio frequency radiation (RFR) exposure guidelines of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which were most recently revised in August 1996. The existing exposure guidelines are based on protection from acute injury from thermal effects of RFR exposure, and may not be protective against any non -thermal effects of chronic exposures." "FDA concluded over five years ago that little was known about the possible health effects of repeated or long-term exposure to low levels of RFR of the types emitted by such devices. However, some scientific articles suggest a potential cancer risk may exist. While some other studies did not find evidence of carcinogenicity for RFR, data from long-term animal studies with a multi -dose exposure paradigm are unavailable. Properly conducted scientific research is needed to address these issues and fill in the gaps of our understanding of the biological effects of exposure to RFR" " Micro wave radiation absorption occurs at the molecular, cellular, tissue and whole-body levels. The dominant factor for net energy absorption by an entire organism is related to the dielectric properties of bulk water, which ultimately causes transduction of electromagnetic energy into heat. For laboratory experiments, exposure conditions can be classified as thermal or non -thermal. There are no strict boundaries for these different exposure regimes because a number of factors may influence the characteristics of exposure. Thermal effects are well established and form the biological basis for restricting exposure to RF fields. In contrast, non -thermal effects are not well established and, currently, do not form a scientifically acceptable basis for restricting human exposures to microwave radiation at those frequencies used by hand CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963.0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth held cellular telephones. A large number of biological effects have been reported in cell cultures and in animals, often in response to exposure to relatively low-level fields, which are not well established but which may have health implications and are, hence, the subject of on-going research. It is not scientifically possible to guarantee those non -thermal levels of microwave radiation, which do not cause deleterious effects for relatively short exposures, will not cause long-term adverse health effects" "Currently cellular phones and other wireless communication devices are required to meet the RFR exposure guidelines of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which were most recently revised in August 1996. Since the FCC is not a health agency, it sought and received guidance from the federal health agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, the Occupational Safety and Health administration, and the FDA. The exposure guidelines incorporated the most recent exposure standard of the National Commission for Radiation Protection and the American National Standards Institute, and are subject to continuing review and revision as new scientific information, which could define a better basis for such exposure guidelines becomes available. As noted above, the existing exposure guidelines are based entirely on protection from acute injury from thermal effects of RF exposure, and may not be protective against any non -thermal effects of chronic exposures." "There is wide agreement within the international scientific community regarding the types of research needed to assess whether RFR from wireless communications poses a health risk to users. Research needs have been articulated by a number of groups, including the European Commission and the World Health Organization International EMF Project. Animal experiments are crucial because meaningful data will not be available from epidemiological studies for many years due to the long latency period between exposure to a carcinogen and the diagnosis of a tumor." "There is currently insufficient scientific basis for concluding either that wireless communication technologies are safe or that they pose a risk to millions of users." FCC OET Bulletin 56 "...scientific laboratories in North America, Europe and elsewhere have reported certain biological effects after exposure of animals ("in vivo") and animals tissue ("in vitro") to relatively low levels of RF radiation. These reported effects have included certain changes in the immune system, neurological effects, behavioral effects, evidence for a link between microwave exposure and the action of certain drugs and compounds, a "calcium efflux' effect in brain tissue (exposed under very specific conditions), and effects on DNA." CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth "In general, while the possibility of "non -thermal" biological effects may exist, whether or not such effects might indicated a human health hazard is not presently know. Further research is needed to determine the generality of such effects and their possible relevance, if any, to human health." NIOSH/CDC Bulletin "At this point in time, much remains unknown about the health effects of non -ionizing radiation, including the type (RF) emitted by cellular phones. Currently, there is not a conclusive answer to this question. Only a small number of studies done on the effects of these frequencies of radiation have investigated cancer as an end point. These studies are not conclusive in substantiating or rejecting the validity of this health concern." OSHA Radiofrequency and Microwave Radiation/Health Effects "In recent years there has been considerable discussion and concern about the possible hazards of RF/MW radiation. Extensive research on this topic is underway in many countries. Natural low -frequency EM fields come from two main sources: the sun, and thunderstorm activity, but man-made fields at much higher frequencies have altered this natural EMF. At sufficiently high power densities, RF/MW energy can cause thermal effects that can cause blindness, and sterility. Non -thermal effects, such as alteration of the human body's circadian rhythms, immune system and the nature of the electrical and chemical signals communicated through the cell membrane have been demonstrated. However, none of the research has conclusively proven that low-level RF/MW radiation causes adverse health effects." "Electric and magnetic fields are complex physical agents whose potential health effects are the subject of much research. Particularly controversial are the biophysical mechanisms by which these RF fields may affect biological systems. General health effects reviews explore possible carcinogenic, reproductive and neurological effects. Health effects by exposure source are noted in radar traffic devices, wireless communications with cellular phones, radio transmission, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)." The NCRP Releases Commentary No. 18, Biological Effects of Modulated Radiofrequency Fields "The literature related to modulation -dependent effects of RF energy is a small part of the total scientific literature with relatively few experimental studies of animals that were designed to examine biological effects of electromagnetic fields as a function of modulation. "The results are mixed, but suggest that pulsed RF energy can be more effective in producing biological effects under some circumstances than continuous wave energy of the same average incident power density. Some questions concerning extremely low frequency amplitude modulation also remain unanswered." CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth World Health Organization 2005 "Exposure to electromagnetic fields is not a new phenomenon. However, during the 20th century, environmental exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields has been steadily increasing as growing electricity demand, ever -advancing technologies and changes in social behaviour have created more and more artificial sources. Everyone is exposed to a complex mix of weak electric and magnetic fields, both at home and at work, from the generation and transmission of electricity, domestic appliances and industrial equipment, to telecommunications and broadcasting." "Human health studies are very good at identifying large effects, such as a connection between smoking and cancer. Unfortunately, they are less able to distinguish a small effect from no effect at all. If electromagnetic fields at typical environmental levels were strong carcinogens, then it would have been easy to have shown that by now. By contrast, if low level electromagnetic fields are a weak carcinogen, or even a strong carcinogen to a small group of people in the larger population, that would be far more difficult to demonstrate. In fact, even if a large study shows no association we can never be entirely sure that there is no relationship. The absence of an effect could mean that there really is none. But just as well it could mean that the effect is simply undetectable with our method of measurement. Therefore, negative results are generally less convincing than strong positive ones." "The most difficult situation of all, which unfortunately has developed with epidemiology studies involving electromagnetic fields, is a collection of studies with weak positive results, which however are inconsistent among each other. In that situation, scientists themselves are likely to be divided about the significance of the data." Most often citizens are not aware of RFR emitted in and throughout their communities. Symptoms of exposure go undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed as other illnesses. Studies of Non -thermal RFR have found to cause a full range of symptoms from headaches, sleeplessness, to more serious illnesses of cancer, lymphoma, and neurological diseases. RFR has also been found to affect the performance of electronic medical devices, pacemakers, etc. Clearly this reflects the need for continued research to determine the direct effects from exposure to non - thermal fields. Many healthy people can be affected by RFR. People with pre existing conditions can be even more vulnerable to the effects of these exposures. These exposures have been found to add stress to the body and can aggravate pre -disposed conditions.• Several issues come into play regarding the installation of this type of array. The proposed array will be added to an existing installation of transmitting towers. Unfortunately there are no plans proposed to monitor this facility to determine that they are incompliance nor testing to determine if this facility as a CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth whole exceeds exposure limits for the citizens of Carbondale. The FCC is the independent agency that should be monitoring these sites. Unfortunately according to OSHA "The FCC does not have the resources or the personnel to routinely monitor the emissions for all the thousands of transmitter that are subject to FCC jurisdiction." The concept that the antennas are aimed to only direct emission in one direction is misleading. "Spill-over" and Stray emissions are common in these arrays. The concept of "shielding" fields is very misleading and there are circumstances that could actually create more serious problems. The Sprint proposal of this installation provides very minimal information. Often these proposals include statements such as "the anticipated levels of emissions will be very minimal and well below the required maximum limits deemed safe for public exposure." Keep in mind that the FCC standards are based on dangers of "thermal" exposure not "non -thermal" exposure. While there are still many unanswered questions about the safety of these systems, we feel it is of greatest importance that our local leaders provide a safe environment for our communities. While we understand that you can not deny this application based on radio frequency emissions, we ask that you take this into consideration and err on the side of caution and safety. The Neighborhood The community surrounding this project is very diverse. The area is made up of private residences, businesses, schools, and a high concentration of the Carbondale population. Property Values In addition to the above concerns, the antenna structures proposed for the Carbondale ridge -line add to an already existing eye sore for the town of Carbondale. Additional towers will continue to industrialize and add to an already compromised view in Carbondale. While the national debate over the related health issues is still ongoing and the visibility of this issue is in the media, potential homeowners and renters may steer clear of this community because of the questions and concerns about RFR as well as the eye sore this presents to our community. Conclusion The owners of this property stand to make a significant amount of money from this deal. While the residents located throughout the community will be forced to live with medical conditions related to RFR exposure, potential future health related conditions, potential losses in property values, and a compromise in the appeal of Carbondale as a healthy, friendly, mountain community. CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth Sprint has other opportunities to install a transmitter in less populated and impacting locations. The addition of cellular tower transmitters within Carbondale may in fact compromise the quality of life for the community, and diminishes the visual appeal of a healthy mountain community. We respectfully request that the petition of approval be denied. CRG Design -Designs for Living P.O. Box 113 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • (970) 963-0437 Do Not Reproduce or Copy This Report Without Written Permission From Cedar Rose Guelberth