ANTENNA TOWER - SPECIAL REPORT
Jefferson County Commissioners hearing July 22, 2003
9:30am-5:30pm Rezoning for Lake Cedar Group Supertower
(continued from page 1)
Lee Kunz of Wheat Ridge said, “My parents live in the Genesee-Riva Chase area and never had a problem with the safety issue” This is about complying with the law “standards” what is popular is not always right” We are the only one of the top 30 markets without this technology” As previous Chairman of the Jefferson Economic Council, I support this” economic diversity…”
Steve Hoppin of Lookout Mountain lives on Mountsfield in direct site of site from the antenna towers. “My neighborhood was established before the towers” and is now suffering from a high rate of cancer” I have attending hearings for a long time” based on testimony by highly qualified people, I believe health risks may exist, especially for those living south of the proposed tower at higher ridges such as my street” it also appears likely that the EMR exposure would increase from changing the antenna patterns to avoid the Quiet Zone. LCG has not addressed this issue. I want to know how they will lower EMR for all citizens” I also wonder if radiation will increase as the metro area continues to grow” More research of biological effects from EMR exposure is needed” LCG should pay for this and more research like other industries do” I want to see the results of CSU study” My wife and I and our three children have lived on Lookout Mountain since 1992. We asked the JeffCo Health Department before we purchase our home if it was safe. They clearly said there were no health risks” I called them again this summer and asked the same question. The answer was much more evasive, with an emphasis of concern” If the Health Department is taking this cautious conservative approach, then you need to also” We need to make sure this is safe before increasing EMR exposure.” Com. Sheehan asked him to finish up. Hoppin continued, “This problem has been deadlocked” if you approve this, I can see us having to come back here for another two to three years…”
Deborah Andrews of Lookout Mountain is a licensed architect and parent of two sons. “LCG has claimed that its proposed tower will have less visible impact” They do not show the 3-inch guy wires that will have considerable impact” The 12% tower height reduction is offset by increased width” it would loom over the landscape” like the Sutro Tower in San Francisco. It would produce perpetual pollution in the area” denying this proposal would give an opportunity to clean up the Mountain Backdrop” Com. Sheehan asked her to wrap up. Andrews continued “This proposal is not in the best interest of Jefferson County citizens…”
Jean Spendlove of Lakewood wants approval of the tower because the mountain would remain the same without it.
Kathy Troop of Clear Creek County Road 422 on Squaw Mountain wants approval of the proposed tower. “I have lived there for three years. One neighbor died of cancer and another neighbor moved off the mountain due to cancer” another neighbor currently has cancer. His dog just died and another dog was just diagnosed with cancer” My husband has a brain tumor” we are currently in marriage counseling because I want to sell the house” Isn’t there some kind of other alternative for people who have to have HDTV?”
Michelle Webber and her husband of Lakewood “have a contract for an Eagle Ridge home in Golden” If this tower is approved we would be afraid of the potential radiation exposure for our daughter and potential decline in property values? ”
Lynn Abram of Lookout Mountain said, “Com. Sheehan, you have asked several residents why they don’t move if they think the towers are a problem” my answer is” I don’t just pack up and move, because I am an American, and that is not what Americans do. We meet problems head on, we don’t run from them. We work to make things better around the world, across our great nation, throughout our communities, and in our own tradition, working hard to make things better. But at the end of the day, after fighting the good fight, if it is lost, many people will leave” which doesn’t REALLY solve the problem, does it?” Imagine Lookout Mountain, Genesee and parts of Golden with empty boarded up houses” a ghost town that tourists drive through. I don’t believe that would be in the best interests of anyone expect the broadcasters” they threaten us saying if they don’t get their way, they will leave the existing towers forever” the law says, non-conforming zoning uses must be brought into conformity with the underlying zoning uses as rapidly as possible” We all know this case is about” broadcasters as landlords collecting rent” I am certain that their business plan does not say ‘if Lookout is denied, we will go off the air’” You are not responsible for finding a suitable site for them to conduct business” Your only responsibility is to determine whether this particular site is appropriate” If you say it is not, the broadcasters will find another place, because they are problem-solving Americans too” Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this great Democracy.”
Steve Howards is an environmental consultant who lives on Lookout Mountain. “The County Attorney asked for clarification on whether LCG proposal would increase or decrease RF” this is a very important topic” your RF consultant agrees with citizen Hislop’s 14-page report of RF increases” LCG has submitted propaganda to the public, the newspapers, the county and even the School Board that RF would decrease” This claim is not true” Why is LCG not telling the truth, even under oath at public hearings?” Every technical report says it will increase. You cannot lie about the laws of physics but apparently it is okay to lie to the community at these hearings” LCG lacks credibility about RF and about having no other place to go” They make technical statements that cannot be verified” The fact is their proposal would significantly increase RF at the most populated areas of Lookout Mountain” They cannot even abide by simple honesty. We are against this proposal.”
Mike Kleineider is an electrical engineer who has lived on Lookout Mountain for 22 years. When I first moved there, KYGO played on my radio, tape recorder, TV, and even my toaster one day” Now my cell phone and garage opener won’t work. I don’t trust LCG to maintain their radiation levels. Look at what this industry does, not what they say” They have put in many installations without Jefferson County permits” Seven of my neighbors have gotten cancer while living on the mountain 24 hours a day” Let’s wait until the CSU study is complete before adding more”
Kathy Garr lives on Lookout Mountain with her parents and a cousin in an inherited house. “We abide by the law and pay our taxes…I don’t understand why Jefferson County allowed this industry to destroy a beautiful residential area” Why do we have to keep defending our community from those who don’t abide by the law” My dad has a home office for an international business. His Russian clients are amazed at so much telephone interference” I have lived in Telluride where they would not allow this” Com. Sheehan explained that the applicant has the right to keep coming back and go through the rezoning process.
Cecil Oertli of Lookout Mountain is President of the Ralston Elementary School PTA. “Ralston was built in 1954 at 8,000 feet above sea level, directly southwest of the antennas on Lookout Mountain” There are now 430 students, age 5 to 12” The goal of PTA is to care for and protect our children” LCG claims the proposed tower would increase radiation toward the south” radiation would be reduced toward Ralston” If you approve this Supertower, you are also approving any antenna pattern they wish to maintain” Our children could be radiated without any control of residents” Increased radiation at their homes and at school” In the past, our society has made many business decisions which ultimately turned out to be detrimental. Not because anyone intentionally wanted children to be harmed” how many nurseries were decorated with lead paint?” how many vegetables were sprayed with DDT?” Birth defects and brain damage were not known because studies had not been done…” Com. Sheehan interrupted for her to finish. She continued, “Now in this case, a study (CSU) is being done and will be completed in 2004.” Com. Sheehan interrupted again. Oertli finished with, “I ask that you wait until this study has been completed” Please deny the tower.”
Ali Pougiales is a 3rd grader who lives on Lookout Mountain and attends Ralston Elementary. “Please make the towers go away from my school and home. I am a Brownie Girl Scout” Make those towers go away from me and my friends…”
Karen Sony (video) of Denver wants “free on-air HDTV for all no matter where it comes from” This Jefferson County land use decision will effect the metro area greatly…”
Gary (unknown last name) (video) of Lakewood wants approval. “The Standards are sound” I encourage you to approve this proposal as a good business decision” we want to attract more technology companies” denial says we are not friendly to technology…that we are not willing to bring HDTV to our citizens” Digital provides weather and emergency information” the RF will go down overall on Lookout Mountain” JeffCo does not want to gain the reputation for changing the rules in the middle of the game…”
Jill Johnson (video) of Littleton wants approval or the mountain will stay the same.
Vera Grothe (video) of Lookout Mountain is concerned for her safety which is threatened by RF interference. “On March 17, 2002 we suffered from an armed robbery at our home” There is so much interference in our community that Sheriff Deputies could not communicate with their wireless devices and had to use our wired telephones inside their home…” The criminals threatened to return and “Deputies could not use wireless phones in their vehicles when the robbers came back the next night…” In spite of the communication difficulty, they were arrested.
Michael Hancock (video) of Denver wants approval to serve the metro area. “People on Welfare cannot afford cable, satellite or Comcast.”
Monnie Barrett (video) of Lookout Mountain said, “My husband and I have three children. We love living in the Mount Vernon Canyon - Golden community” We had reservations about the towers before buying our home” We hired a hygienist who said it was safe” Now we know the standard is flawed” There are no buyers for 5 of the 13 homes for sale on our street”
State Senator Norma Anderson (video) of Littleton said, “The LCG proposal removes buildings and towers on Lookout Mountain and gives JeffCo the authority to make broadcasters toe the line and be responsible for what they are doing and also improve the RF environment on Lookout Mountain” while bringing Denver into the digital age. By not approving this, JeffCo appears to be anti-technology” We will appear to be lagging behind…” Editor Note: As chair of a legislative committee on March 17, 1999, Senator Anderson orchestrated denial of HB 1340 sponsored by Dr. John Witwer asking the state legislature to endorse the need (not fund) for more biological research of EMR effects on Lookout Mountain. Anderson responded to seven LCG representatives and ignored the testimony of Senator Sally Hopper, Deb CArney, Al Hislop, Jan Wilkins, Cindy Kelly, M.D. and Dr. John Reif of CSU (of 15 citizens attending).
Lake Cedar Group Rebuttal 7/22/03
Marv Rockford and Fred Niehaus countered compelling citizen testimony with insults about why they would want RF to be removed when it has “always” been on Lookout Mountain. The primary propaganda was again repeated: “They knew those towers were there before they moved there” and “The mountain will remain the same forever without approval of this proposal.” Rockford said the “opponents” (resident citizens) refused to compromise. “Our proposal is better for the county” it reduces RF” we monitor RF for one year” Dr. Johnson said there is NOTHING in the literature to base this decision on health concerns.”
In response to Com. Sheehan’s question of the percentage of sites that will experience a decrease, Rockford said, “It will go down at 800 sites, according to Dr. Musselman, our professor of engineering at the U.S. Air Force Academy. RF will go down overall” RF at Shelton Elementary will be about the same as Wheeling Elementary school and Central High School in Aurora” You heard testimony from a couple of researchers, not from the Colorado School of Mines” LCG stations produce a fraction of the total RF in the area”
Rockford claimed that no alternative site was suitable for their needs. He claimed that Bear Creek Development did not provide an apples to apples comparison of TV stations” “with news gathering equipment” CARE has taken the BCD approval to court. Squaw Mountain fails to meet our needs…” LCG Attorney Jim Campbell said the Squaw Mountain testimony was not clear about “horizontal” capability related to their ODP approval” restrictions would limit the site to three “vertical” towers of below 200 feet. He read portions of letters from Clear Creek County dated 2001 and March 2002 that cause him to question Squaw Mountain Communication claims” Another objection of SMC is that boosters would be required.
Craig Martin, a computer animator from Boulder, compared the 730-foot tower with a 200-foot tower allowed on SMC and claimed there would not be enough room for three antennas. Rockford again claimed significant areas of the metro area would not be covered from SMC. He also stated that digital must come from within 5 kilometers of analog and adjacent frequencies must be located together. Since the JeffCo Zoning Administrator approved KWGN-Channel 2 DTV on a non-conforming site on Lookout, the other Denver stations must also be on Lookout. KWGN and KCNC digital must be next to one another (without requesting and obtaining changed signal allocations from the FCC as 30% of stations nationwide have done).
Rockford applauded Earnie Santella of Chimney Creek for leadership of the HDTV-User Internet group that claim they could not receive DTV from SMC when the tests were conducted. There was also the claim that SMC antennas would interfere with Grand Junction stations west of the Continental Divide. The JeffCo Telcom plan calls for consolidation.
LCG’s primary PR consultant Fred Neihaus claimed “only through approval would the mountain change.” He was extremely disrespectful of CARE and the army of citizens attempting to protect their families and property. He claimed there are already towers there” the Supertower would not be bigger” there would be no increase of RF in the area. Neihaus claimed Al Hislop was not qualified to provide technical expertise. He applauded Dr. Johnson for saying the tower would not produce a health problem. He applauded the Planning Commission for voting 4 to 3 to approve the tower. Neihaus said LCG would eliminate all FM rentals at the facility and the existing tower sites would become Open Space.
Jefferson County Staff wrap-up
Planner Susan Wood said staff recommends denial. “There were two alternative sites that would satisfy the needs of LCG with some adjustments for short-spacing. Two more SMC towers of lower than 200-feet (and would not require lighting) were approved in 1988. A 2,000 square foot building could be constructed to serve the two undeveloped tower sites.” Wood claimed CCC Chief Planner Rollinghagen said determination would be in response to building permit applications” Staff believes that Squaw Mountain Communications is a qualified alternative site.”
Sheehan corrected Wood saying alternative sites were not required. Holloway said boosters for SMC would require towers elsewhere. RF Consultant Jim Hart said boosters can be on 30-40-foot towers, “like a cell tower.” Wood explained that the 300-foot existing tower on Mt. Morrison would remain. Bear Creek Development can accommodate LCG on the 300-foot tower (which can be expanded), or the tower complex approved by Commissioners Sheehan and Lawrence in March, 2003. “There are different claims for building space needs.”
Com. Holloway did not understand that the Channel 20 tower on Mt. Morrison would continue to be used if the Channel 20 antennas are moved to Lookout Mountain. Staff repeated this explanation many times but Holloway still assumed the Channel 20 tower would be removed from MM. Wood explained that more floor space was available in the building that serves Channel 20 on MM. “Different TV stations claim the need for as little as 500 square feet to 1,000 square feet. LCG claims to need 2,500 square feet for each of four stations.” Holloway said she understood they would take down four towers on Lookout and there would be a net building increase of 12,840 square feet that could be three stories of building”
Com. Sheehan said he understood that there are 11,000 homes within a 5-mile ring of the tower and there are no homes directly in the area near the proposed tower. RF consultant Jim Hart of Hartec reviewed the RF levels and said it would increase for some homes but levels would be below the current FCC standard, about 20% of the standard. Sheehan said he understood the increase would be 80% below the standard. Jim Hart again stated that he agreed with citizen engineer Hislop that RF would rise at approximately 350 homes. He also again implied that one year of mitigation offered by the applicant would not assist homeowners suffering from interference of Class B electronics. Wood claimed Foothills Fire Department and the JeffCo Sheriff dispatcher would not verify interference with wireless communications. Wood also claimed the proposed setbacks comply with current Zoning Resolutions. “The primary reason for staff recommendation for denial is the alternative sites available,” she said.
Sheehan said, “all sites will remain 85% below the Standard.” Consultant Jim Hart said, “When you look at the overall emisisons, LCG will contribute less than 5%.” Sheehan asked if water quality would be threatened by the 20,000 gallon underground diesel tank. Wood said diesel tanks have leaked in the past.
Sheehan asked if the tower could be lower. Niehaus claimed the only users of the tower and building would be Channels 4, 7, 9, and 20. Sheehan asked, “No others whatsoever?” Niehaus said “Correct.” Wood said the written restrictions stated the facility would be used for no more than eight television stations, satellite dishes, telephone and two way paging antennas. Sheehan asked if the guy wires had to be 3 inches thick. LCG consultants said they have to “comply with safety standards.” Lawrence said she was concerned about safety first before visual impact.
Sheehan asked if LCG would change the proposed directional antenna pattern if the FCC requires it and LCG said they would comply with the FCC. Planner Wood said the Quiet Zone may need protection. But LCG would still have to abide by FCC Standards. Sheehan asked why LCG could not be horizontal like the tower he approved for MM. LCG land planner Peter McNally said Lookout Mountain is different because Channels 7 and 9 need more vertical height than MM (LM is 500 feet lower in altitude). Sheehan said he was concerned that architectural standards are not stated in the proposed ODP.
LCG McNally claimed they offered one year of interference mitigation to “fix the problem” (if caused by LCG broadcast antennas). Sheehan asked if DTV would interfere with homeowners or emergency communication, would LCG pay whatever necessary to fix the problem? McNally said “We think we can help them.” Sheehan pressed, “What if you don’t comply?” McNally said, “You have all that in the ODP.” The Commissioners called an Executive Session at 4:20 p.m.
At 5:10 p.m., the Commissioners discussed zoning enforcement at the expense of the taxpayers” Zoning Administrator Tim Carl asked for specific language that prevents having to interpret the ODP. Wood read a provision that would force the applicant to pay 110% of enforcement cost. At 5:30, Commissioner Pat Holloway moved to approve the proposal. Commissioners Lawrence and Sheehan voted to approve. Sheehan claimed the proposal would lead to an overall RF reduction of 80%. The Commissioners will issue their official resolution on August 19.
