RIDGWAY – “This is as gnarly a problem as I’ve seen because there is a true public good,” said Ouray County Planning Commissioner Ken Lipton. Lipton was referring to a Special Use Permit application to construct an 80-foot communications tower on Log Hill, which would violate county regulations regarding visual impact. The tower would, however, allow the county to upgrade their emergency communications system on Log Hill Mesa. The issue was discussed at a public hearing with the Ridgway Area Joint Planning Board on May 20.

According to County Planner Doug Canright, the tower project would require a variance to proceed. The tower and accessory equipment shelter, if built, would provide antenna space for Ouray County, the State of Colorado and Verizon Wireless.

Both the Ouray County Sheriff’s office and the Log Hill Mesa Fire Protection District endorsed the proposal. “We are surrounded by agencies that are operating on the new 800 MHz system, while Ouray County is still on the VHF system,” said Ouray County Sheriff Dominic “Junior” Mattivi in a letter to the planning board. “We rely heavily on these agencies for mutual aid and at the moment are having a difficult time communicating with them… When lives are in jeopardy, it is so much more important that we have good reliable communications.”

A statement by Verizon Wireless said that the current service around the Town of Ridgway and along U.S. Hwy. 550 in northern Ouray County is “spotty, over capacity and not up to standard.”

Some residents who live adjacent to the tower feel, however, that the facility would be fraught with potential impacts, including obstruction of the Mt. Sneffels view corridor.

“I’m probably the most affected in terms of impacts on my property values and visual impact,” said Log Hill Village resident Jack Mueller, who lives in close proximity to the proposed tower. “It is much more elaborate than expected. Is this a commercial project? Are we using the public good to push a private profit? It does not meet the design requirements in the Land Use Code. You don’t have enough information to clearly make a decision.”

The proposed facility will be within a 30-foot by 45-foot area and is part of a bigger parcel containing two large water tanks and three existing communications towers. The applicant, Jim Willey and Dallas Creek Water Company, owns the land on which the tower will be constructed on a leasehold basis to Verizon and Ouray County.

Based on comments voiced at the public hearing, the planning board provided a list of requests to Jeff Sherer, agent for the Dallas Creek Water Company. Sherer was asked to provide the terms of the lease between the applicant and the lessees; engineering studies for both cellular service and emergency services; information on cell coverage on Colo. Hwy. 62, U.S. Hwy. 550 and County Road 1; alternative locations for antenna and equipment; and data showing why the proposed site is the best site.

The planning board will convene again on July 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ouray County Land Use Office.