BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT BOCC Hearing Date: October 24, 2019 To: Park County Board of County Commissioners Date: October 17, 2019 Prepared by: Jennifer Gannon, Planning Technician Subject: Special Use Permit Request: Special Use Permit for a New Telecommunication Facility Application Summary: Applicant: New Cingular Wireless (AT&T Wireless) Owner: United States Forest Service Location: An area within Section 35, Township 11, Range 73 (i.e. the summit of Badger Mountain), addressed as 4150 Forest Service Road 228. Zone District: Conservation/Recreation. A zoning map is included as Attachment 1. Surrounding Zoning: Conservation/Recreation in all directions. Existing Use: Antenna farm. Proposed Use: Existing, failed AT&T tower to be replaced. Background: AT&T has had a lease with the Forest Service and an 81-ft. lattice tower on Badger Mountain since 1994. The tower recently broke and is now less than 40 ft. tall, with one microwave dish antenna still attached and working. AT&T is requesting a Special Use Permit to construct a new 80-ft. lattice tower which will include upgraded equipment for commercial communication, as well as for the FirstNet program, which will operate a nationwide public safety broadband network. The new tower will be built approximately 20 feet from the old one. Once the new tower has been installed the old, failed tower will be removed. An aerial vicinity map, aerial view of the site, and site plan are included as Attachments 2, 3 and 4. Land Use Regulations: The applicant has met all applicable requirements of Article V Division 9 of the Land Use Regulations, the Conservation-Recreation zone district, and the Park County Land Use Regulations. Land Use Regulations Section 5-905 B 7 states that the siting of Telecommunications Facilities in certain areas of the County deemed to have high visual priority is only allowed if the BOCC Staff Report AT&T Wireless Special Use Permit Page 1 of 2 October 24, 2019 Hearing Telecommunication Facilities are “camouflaged, hidden, or disguised.” The summit of Badger Mountain is such an area. However, the requirement seems inapplicable in this instance, since several towers have existed there for many years. Impact Analysis: The tower will be visible from Highway 24 and the vicinity of Wilkerson Pass. Impact to wildlife should be minimal, as this is a replacement for a tower that is already in an area with several other towers. No tower lighting is proposed. There is no anticipated impact to schools, parks, storm drainage facilities, utilities, or traffic and roadways. Public Comment: No comments have been received at this time. Recommendation: Based on the foregoing, staff recommends that this Special Use Permit be approved with the following conditions. 1. If deemed necessary by Park County, prior to operation of communications equipment, the applicant shall conduct testing in cooperation with the Park County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services, the Hartsel Fire Protection District, and the Lake George Fire Protection District, to verify that there is no interference with communications operated by Park County government and other emergency service agencies. Park County Government may require additional testing periodically to verify lack of interference. 2. If necessary and feasible, the applicant shall provide room on the cell tower for Park County Emergency equipment. BOCC Action: The BOCC’s options for action regarding this application are to either: • Approve the application with the above conditions, • Approve the application with revised conditions, • Continue the case pending the provision of additional information, or • Deny the application. BOCC Staff Report AT&T Wireless Special Use Permit Page 2 of 3 October 24, 2019 Hearing Attachment 1 Zoning Map Tower Site %% %%%%% HIGH CHAPARRAL RANCH MS-18642 MS-19424 MS-14466 HIGHWAY 24 P U L V E C Zoning Maintenance R O R U Zone Districts D N T Y Agricultural CIR R GER D AD Agricultural Small Lot B 90 Conservation/Recreation WILKERSON PASS ESTATES Mining Residential ´ Attachment 2 Vicinity Map P R O W E R S S T T U R ROUTT RD N E R G U L C H R D Tower Site IMBODEN RD HIGHWAY 24 MIELKE WAY Kenosha Pass Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, ´ IGN, and the GIS User Community Attachment 3 Site Map Attachment 4 Site Plan PLANS PREPARED FOR: PLANS PREPARED BY: INFINIGY ENGINEERING, PLLC 1490 W. 121ST AVENUE, SUITE 101 WESTMINSTER, COLORADO 80234 PROJECT MANAGER: ENGINEERING LICENSE: DRAWING NOTICE: d,^KhDEd^ZKE&/Ed/>E Zd,^K>WZKWZdzK&dΘdEDz EKdZWZKh͕/^^D/EdKZ Z/^dZ/hdt/d,Khdd,yWZ^^ tZ/ddEKE^EdK&dΘd͘ REVISIONS: AT&T SITE NAME: AT&T SITE NUMBER: AT&T FA NUMBER: SITE ADDRESS: SHEET DESCRIPTION: SHEET NUMBER: .