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Home My WebLink About4.0 DD Staff Report 06.20.2011Directors Determination August 1, 2012 Edited 8/14/12 LPAA-6975/GH PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS TYPE OF REVIEW APPLICANT (OWNER) OPERATOR LOCATION LEGAL DESCRIPTION ACRES ZONING Non -Substantial Amendment Request Regarding a Limited Impact Review — Land Use Change Permit for a Communication Facility #11 Enterprises LTD Union Telephone Company Approximately 30 miles north of Loma, Colorado and 4 miles south of the Rio Blanco County Line, at Douglas Pass, located off of State Highway 139 and County Road 256. A Parcel of Land Situated in the E1/2NW1/4, Section 25, T5S, R102 W also known as Assessor's Parcel No. 2147-361-00-408. The facility is located on less than one acre of a 594 acre parcel Resource Lands - Plateau I. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT #11 Enterprises LTD has formalized a "First Amendment to Communication Site Lease" to allow an increase in tower height to 120 ft. along with related support structures and infrastructure for co -location of telecommunication facilities with the Rio Blanco Sheriff Department. The proposal includes in addition to the tower, a utility shed with a propane tank to provide fuel for the backup generator located inside the County Building. As previously approved the proposal included a 45 — 53 ft. tall communications tower, Union Telephone's support buildings, related infrastructure for electric power, and a propane tank for generator operation in the event of a power outage. The site is served by an existing private access road on #11 Enterprises LTD property off of County Rd. 256. The location is on the east side of the summit of Douglas Pass in the very western part of Garfield County. The facility will be fenced for security purposes and will be unmanned with maintenance on a monthly basis or more often as needed. The tower and foundation will be designed by structural engineers and will be free standing and not anticipated to require any wire supports. Construction of the tower is projected to take approximately 3 weeks. The support structures will require building permits and the applicant has represented that detailed soils analyses and engineered foundations will be completed for all structures. VICINITY MAP State of Utah Rio Blanco County Future Amendment At the time of the original approvals the Applicant advised the County and submitted documentation reflecting their plans to work with Rio Blanco County and the Rio Blanco Sheriff's Office to facilitate co -location of county communication equipment on the proposed tower. Conditions of approval #3, #9, and #10 in the original Resolution of Approval No. 2011-36 included provisions in anticipation of the current non -substantial amendment request. Information on the amendment request was included in the application materials sent out to the referral agencies. 2 II. SITE DESCRIPTION — ADJACENT USES The proposed site is a fairly level location surrounded by steeper slopes associated with its Douglas Pass location. It has excellent exposure for communication connections with other facilities north and south of the proposed facility. The site and neighboring terrain has native vegetation typical of its rural and remote ranching location. Proposed \ 1,,- Begin Proposed Pwr Cell Parcel \-- --.r- ..:' 9 e .ilLEA-)XFormer Box No.UG0067 Fa'4s1 '- ryr�n ca.*,��e Powe- Sym'' The proposed tower is located adjacent to two other active communication towers and evidence of several other abandoned facilities are also found in the general vicinity. The two existing towers are 80 ft. and approximately 30 ft. in height. Each tower also has small existing support structures and power. The proposed tower will be located just north and west of the primary existing tower. 3 III. AUTHORITY — STAFF ANALYSIS A. Pursuant to Section 4-107(A)(5)(a) of the Garfield County Unified Land Use Resolution of 2008, as amended (ULUR) the Director of the Building and Planning Department has the authority to make decisions regarding whether an amendment request constitutes a non -substantial modification to an existing Land Use Change Permit/Approval. The ULUR also contains relevant procedures (Section 4-107), the definition and criteria for making a non -substantial change determination (Section 16-101 - see excerpt below), authorization for the Director to administratively approve an amendment Application and notice procedures and a call-up period for the Board of County Commissioners (Section 4-107(A)(6)). SECTION 16-101 Non -substantial Change. A non substantial amendment may be made to an approved Land Use Change Permit if it meets all of the following criteria as determined by the Director: Is consistent with action(s) taken during previous Land Use Change Permit approval; Does not change the use category of the proposed development between residential, commercial and industrial uses; Does not change the basic character of the approved use of land on which the activity occurs, including basic visual appearance and method of operation; Does not constitute a new land development activity; Does not violate any Land Use Code standard; Does not substantially increase off-site impacts (including but not limited to increased traffic, water use, wastewatergeneration, etc.) in the surrounding neighborhood; Does not substantially increase the need for on-site parking or utilities; Does not increase the floor area of the use by more than five (5) percent or decrease the open space on the site by more than five (5) percent; and Does not endanger the public health, safety or welfare. (Resolution 2010-30) B. The Application has been found to be complete and has been reviewed by Planning Staff and the County Attorney's Office has reviewed the amended lease and related documentation. C. Staff review of the criteria for a non -substantial change supports an affirmative finding that the Application meets the criteria subject to compliance with conditions of approval. No additional off-site impacts are anticipated including traffic, water use and parking demand. While the proposed tower will be taller than the existing towers on the site, impacts including visual are not considered significant given the location of the tower. D. The Applicant shall be required to comply with building code requirements and zoning provisions, drainage and storm water requirements, and site reclamation. 4 E. Condition #3 of Resolution 2011-36 established size limitations on the overall square footage of communication buildings on the site, addressing the need for Sheriff's Department structures associated with the co -location. Compliance with the total limitation of 464 sq.ft. of communication buildings will be required. The 464 sq.ft. limitation was calculated not including generator enclosures and propane storage and the current proposal is consistent with the Applicant's past representations. IV. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Planning Staff supports a Director determination that the amendment request be considered a non -substantial change and supports Director approval of the proposed amendment to the Land Use Change Permit - Approvals, to allow construction of the additional tower height and related improvements subject to the following conditions: 1. Compliance with all prior approvals including but not limited to Resolution No. 2011- 36 and conditions of approval contained therein shall remain in effect. 2. The approval is for a leased area 60 ft. by 60 ft. containing the proposed tower and support structures consistent with the First Amendment to Communication Site Lease (dated June 9, 2012). 3. The Applicant shall provide confirmation in writing that all authorizations to represent in regard to the Application are current and that the list of property owners within 200 ft. is still current. 4. The Applicant shall provide a copy of Exhibit "C" outlining an updated list of equipment and the size of all proposed support structures. 5. The Applicant shall provide an update from your telecommunications engineer confirming the FAA compliance findings contained in his June 8, 2011 memo are still current and applicable to the new taller tower proposed for the co -location facility. 6. The Applicant shall provide an updated site plan which shall be attached as an exhibit to the Amended Land Use Change Permit issued for the non -substantial Amendment request and shall demonstrate compliance with all conditions of approval including the limitations on communication building square footage. 5