CB South cell tower erection expected to begin in July

Citizen concerns brought up at fire district meeting

[ By Mark Reaman ]

The proposed 85-foot cell tower to be located in Crested Butte South near Red Mountain Park continues to be controversial. The proposal was discussed at the May 12 Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) board meeting. The fire district has agreed to lease their CB South site for the tower and is awaiting final county approval but that hasn’t stopped the comments. The tower would be placed on CBFPD property near the park and would in part, improve fire district emergency communication capabilities along with upgrading general cell phone reception in the subdivision.
The fire district has received numerous comments for months, both for and against the cell tower location and the May 12 meeting was no different. Written and in-person comments cited the perceived safety concerns of a cell tower located in the middle of a residential subdivision, the impact on views and property values and the potential for upgraded cell phone service.
The CBFPD will rent Western Slope Towers the location at the CB South fire station. Scott Stryker of Western Slope Towers explained at the May 12 meeting that the county is reviewing its building application and the expectation is a decision will be made shortly with construction of the tower starting in mid-July.
Chris Stryker responded to citizens regarding the process and alternative locations identified for the proposed communication facility. He said the company has looked at several other potential sites in the area and each had issues. He said a Forest Service site was first considered but the distance from CB South was a problem. Two private property locations along Highway 135 were considered but the property owners expressed concerns and did not want to lease a portion of their property for the tower.
“Topography is always an issue in Colorado,” Stryker said. “The carriers prefer a tower in the center of a community like CB South for enhanced coverage. We want the location to be able to hand off consistent coverage to other towers. Access, utility costs and county approval also all come into play when determining the location.
“You also need a willing landlord,” he continued. “All those factors brought us down to the location of today. We looked at six or eight other locations. There is a high likelihood we’ll upset someone else. That’s the nature of these.”
Stryker said he has been in the business since the 1990s and there are always challenges with locating towers in residential communities. But he emphasized they have been placed in many residential neighborhoods and work well, especially when it comes to line of site. “That means we can’t place the towers in a place people won’t see them,” he said.
He also emphasized there has been strong community outreach to discuss the location since last year. “We followed the county permitting process and held public community meetings asking for public comment,” he said. “Every resident in Crested Butte South got a survey. We took all of that into the county process. Frankly, there was overwhelming support for the tower.”
The tower will look like an 85-foot pine tree and with construction starting in July. It is expected to be operational for a least one of the cell carriers and the public safety radio equipment by late fall.