KDVR-Channel 31 is threatening a Denver developer with a temporary restraining order in an attempt to keep him from erecting a tower crane that the Fox station says could interfere with its broadcasts.
Brent Snyder is building a seven-story apartment building on property across the street from the station at Lincoln Street and Fifth Avenue. But Fox, which is broadcasting the World Series, has told Snyder the crane would interfere with transmission from its dishes to its towers on Lookout Mountain.
In a letter Snyder received Tuesday, the local station said the project threatens its “ability to broadcast – and the ability of 45 percent of KDVR’s viewing audience to receive critical news, weather and emergency information, as well as sports and entertainment programming.”
The letter also said the crane would keep almost half the metro area’s viewers from seeing the World Series.
Snyder, who wanted to put his crane up two weeks ago, said Fox has told him he would be violating Federal Communications Commission rules if he blocks transmission. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment.
Snyder, who is building affordable apartments on the site, said he delayed installing the crane, hoping to work out a solution with the television station. He said he’s incurring extra costs because of the delay.
“We are reviewing and evaluating the situation,” said Erica Keane, a New York-based spokeswoman for Fox TV. She declined to elaborate.
Snyder wants the local Fox affiliate to reimburse him for costs associated with delaying the project, which will include 75 apartments, 4,500 square feet of retail space and 3,500 square feet of office space. Meanwhile, he has rented a mobile crane to keep the project moving.
“We’re paying for a crane that is not up, and we’re paying for a mobile crane because we said we’d give them time,” Snyder said.
He declined to say how much he’s asking Fox to reimburse him, but because he’s using tax credits to help finance the project, it’s more than just construction costs.
“When you have a tax-credit investor, you agree to provide credit delivery on a tight time frame,” he said. “Tax-credit delivery is made throughout the construction, occupancy and conversion from the construction loan to the permanent loan. Any delays in the schedule will impact that.”
Snyder said he has spent months trying to resolve the situation. He initially tried contacting the station in April, he said, but didn’t hear from general manager Bill Schneider until July. Construction on the site started in September.
On Aug. 30, Snyder received a hand-delivered letter from KDVR’s law firm, Isaacson-Rosenbaum PC, saying the building would block transmissions and that the crane could interfere with transmissions unpredictably.
The letter also informed Snyder he would be responsible for costs associated with relocating KDVR’s transmission equipment. KDVR’s building was constructed in 2000.
But Snyder contends the site’s B8 zoning, which has been in place since 1983, allows for intensive general business and high-density residential development.
“They should know that the property across the street could build at least as high or higher,” Snyder said. “Trying to put off the cost of relocating their equipment at this stage of the game is ridiculous.”
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
