Golden – Testimony ran for five hours Tuesday on whether collapse of a proposed “super tower” on Lookout Mountain would endanger nearby residents.
The public hearing before the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners is a third-round rezoning attempt by a consortium of local TV stations to consolidate operations by erecting a 730-foot-tall broadcast tower.
Under the plan, three existing towers owned by KCNC-Channel 4, KMGH-Channel 7 and KUSA- Channel 9 would be removed.
The three stations, plus KTVD- Channel 20, which has a tower on Mount Morrison, are members of the Lake Cedar Group.
Four digital and four analog TV stations would use the tower, which would allow the metro area to meet a federal mandate to provide high-definition TV, said Marv Rockford, spokesman for the Lake Cedar Group.
“Nothing on Lookout Mountain changes” if the proposal is not approved, Rockford said, adding that existing towers would be converted from analog to digital by changing transmitters inside adjacent buildings without seeking county approval.
In 2003 and 2004, the previous county board approved the proposal.
Each time, based on appeals by homeowner groups and the city of Golden, Jefferson County District Judge Brooke Jackson remanded the case back to the county for further hearings.
The current board set Sept. 27 for final comments and decision.
Tuesday’s testimony was limited to whether the setback from residences is sufficient.
Rockford and an engineering expert testified that a tower collapse would be “extremely unlikely” and that the consortium has purchased or leased all potentially affected properties.
Between July 25 and Aug. 8, Mountain Housing Inc. – a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lake Cedar Group – bought three residences and leased another in the “fall zone” on Cedar Lake Road.this graph opt trim The action was taken to comply with the county’s requirement set back enough to prevent ice and tower- failure debris from hitting occupied dwellings.
Homeowners and Golden officials challenged the setback claim, saying the new tower must be more than its height away from homes to account for guy-wire whipping and debris dispersal if the tower collapsed.
“There is a serious issue of credibility” in the applicant’s claim that 80 percent of the tower height is enough, the switch to digital without the county’s approval and the home deals, said Deb Carney, attorney for Canyon Area Residents for the Environment.
John Putnam, an attorney for Golden, said if the super tower collapsed, it would hit Xcel Energy’s transmission towers and send debris flying and rolling into nearby neighborhoods.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
