Golden – Rezoning for a proposed “super tower” that would broadcast digital TV signals from atop Lookout Mountain was rejected 2-1 Tuesday by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners.
That means plans to offer more viewers high- definition TV signals have been dealt a setback. Tuesday’s decision was a victory for opponents of the tower.
“I can’t feel my feet. I think I’m walking on air,” said Deborah Carney, the attorney for several homeowner associations and the umbrella group, Canyon Area Residents for the Environment.
For six years, CARE and the city of Golden have battled a plan by the Lake Cedar Group, a consortium of local TV stations, to replace four major towers with one 730-foot-high broadcast tower.
It would transmit federally mandated digital TV signals that are sharper than current analog signals. Each member of the Lake Cedar Group – KCNC-Channel 4, KMGH-Channel 7, KUSA- Channel 9 and KTVD-Channel 20 – would have an antenna on the structure along with radio and microwave installations.
“We are disappointed,” Lake Cedar spokesman Marv Rockford said.
A judge will review Tuesday’s decision and decide whether to make permanent a temporary injunction barring construction.
If any party is dissatisfied , the case can be taken to the Colorado Court of Appeals.
Rockford said his group will discuss what direction to take. Carney said she would return to court, adding, “I’m stubborn.”
When the previous county board denied the rezoning in 1999, Lake Cedar Group returned with a revamped proposal. In 2003 and 2004, the board unanimously approved the rezoning, only to have the issue return after challenges by CARE and Golden in Jefferson County District Court.
Residents have spoken against the proposal in more than a half-dozen hearings, citing health effects from radiation, electronic interference and the possibility of tower failure. About 3,300 residents signed petitions against the tower.
The most recent testimony was limited by Jefferson County District Judge Brooke Jackson to whether the tower was far enough from residences to prevent damage in the event one or more towers fall.
Commissioners Jim Congrove and Dave Auburn voted against the rezoning but would not discuss their reasons until Jackson’s review.
Commissioner Kevin McCasky voted in favor of the tower, saying its placement is fine based on how the zoning regulation is written “and not on how I would have written it.”
Jim Schoedler, director of engineering for the Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Service, said people who have cable or digital television can get HDTV today. The decision affects those who still rely on free television – about 20 percent of households in the area, he estimated.
His company has obtained initial approval for a tower on Mount Morrison, but there is no space for the Lake Cedar companies. “It’ll be very difficult for them to find any alternative” to Lookout Mountain, he said.
On Aug. 29, Golden notified Lake Cedar Group of its intention to buy the site. John Putnam, an attorney for Golden, said the city will continue those attempts, but if negotiations are futile, city officials said they would use eminent domain to condemn the properties.
Staff writer Katy Human contributed to this report.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
