The effort to build a consolidated tower on Lookout Mountain goes
back nearly 10 years. After being rejected by the Jefferson County Board
of commissioners in 1999, Lake Cedar Group worked with the county administration
and citizens to create a new plan that would account for many of their
concerns. The result is the proposed Lake Cedar Group consolidated tower
that is 110 feet shorter than the tallest tower on the mountain and set
below the existing towers to lessen the visual impact. This plan has
been approved twice by the Jefferson County Commissioners by unanimous
vote. Special interest groups and the City of Golden have now tied up
the tower in the courts. What follows is a time-line of events from the
start of television in Denver to present day.
1952 to 1954: Various Denver television and radio broadcasters
build transmission towers on Lookout Mountain. The land used for the
towers was not subject, at the time, to any Jefferson County zoning regulations.
November 15, 1955: Jefferson County ratifies zoning
regulations covering the property where the transmission towers are
located.
1985: Jefferson County adopts a telecommunications
land use plan for the county. The goal of the plan was to promote tower
consolidation in Jefferson County and to encourage construction of
new towers on the eastern slope of Lookout Mountain.
1993: Jefferson County adopts an amendment to its
zoning ordinance limiting the types of changes that can be made to
antennas that are nonconforming uses. The amendment states that existing
nonconforming antennas may be maintained or replaced by another antenna
intended to provide the same service. Jefferson County also imposes
zoning rules and application requirements on new antenna construction.
The County Commissioners commented, when these changes were adopted,
that they would try to work with broadcasters to approve applications
for the construction of digital transmission towers when a federal
DTV transition date was finally set.
1994 to 1997: The Denver television stations investigate
alternative locations for a digital transmission tower and possible
plans for consolidating their current antennas.
June 24, 1997: Lake Cedar Group, LLC is formed by
several Denver television stations with existing towers on Lookout
Mountain. Lake Cedar’s goal is to get permission for and to erect
a new digital television transmission tower on Lookout Mountain to
replace the existing towers.
July 1, 1998: Lake Cedar files an application with
the Board to have the Lookout Mountain property rezoned to allow for
construction of an 850-foot consolidated multi-user communications
tower and related transmitter building.
Fall 1998: Canyon Area Residents for the Environment
(“CARE”) is formed. CARE is one of the organizations that
has actively opposed Lake Cedar’s attempt to build a consolidated
transmission tower.
January 13, 1999: The Jefferson County Planning
Commission gives Lake Cedar’s zoning application a favorable
recommendation by a vote of 6 to 1.
August 3, 1999: The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners
denies Lake Cedar’s rezoning application despite the favorable
recommendation by the Planning Commission.
September 3, 1999: Lake Cedar appeals the Board’s
zoning decision to state court.
November 2, 1999: Lake Cedar petitions the FCC for
an order preempting the Board’s decision to reject Lake Cedar’s
zoning application.
November 1999 to December 2000: Lake Cedar meets with
Jefferson County officials to discuss modifications to its plan to
erect a consolidated transmission tower on Lookout Mountain. Lake Cedar
also explores alternatives to their original tower construction proposal.
April 10, 2000: FCC places Lake Cedar’s petition
for a preemption order on public notice and requests comments.
January 4, 2001: Lake Cedar requests dismissal of
its appeal of the Board’s zoning decision and asks the FCC not
to act on its request for preemption pending a final decision on a
new zoning application Lake Cedar is preparing to file. The state court
and the FCC grant Lake Cedar’s requests.
January 2001 to February 2002: Lake Cedar undertakes
a technical study to determine the best way to accommodate its member
stations’ digital transmission facilities on a new tower. Lake
Cedar develops a new tower construction plan that attempts to allay
the concerns of homeowners who opposed its initial application while
providing the maximum benefit for its members and television viewers.
April 2/4, 2002: Lake Cedar holds neighborhood meetings
seeking comments on its new tower construction plan.
June 2002: Lake Cedar re-applies for a Lookout Mountain
zoning change that would allowing it to erect a 730-foot consolidated
television transmission tower, remove the existing towers, and build
a related transmitter building. The City of Golden, Colorado, CARE,
and various homeowners and homeowners’ associations oppose this
new application.
Spring 2003: The Planning Commission holds hearings
regarding Lake Cedar’s re-application for a zoning change.
May 14, 2003: The Planning Commission recommends
that the Board approve the re-application for a zoning change with
certain conditions. The Planning Commission reaches this conclusion
despite the opposition of the Jefferson County planner assigned to
review the application, which was based on Lake Cedar’s inability
to prove that alternate sites for the new tower are unavailable.
July 1/8/22, 2003: The Board of County Commissioners
reviews the decision made by Planning Commission and holds public hearings
regarding Lake Cedar’s re-application for a zoning change.
August 19, 2003: The Board of County Commissioners
unanimously approves Lake Cedar’s re-application for a zoning
change after imposing conditions on its approval. The Board’s
conditions are accepted by Lake Cedar.
September 17, 2003: Plaintiffs file suit in District
Court of Jefferson County, Colorado, to prevent construction of the
new tower by Lake Cedar. Plaintiffs argue that the Board’s decision
was improper under certain mandates in the Jefferson County zoning
regulations.
October/November 2003: Lake Cedar and the Board file
a motion to dismiss the complaint.
December 12, 2003: Court grants in part and denies
in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint. Court allows
the portion of Plaintiffs’ suit seeking an injunction to prevent
construction of the new tower to move forward, while dismissing their
other claims.
January 16, 2004: Plaintiffs file a motion seeking
an order staying enforcement of the zoning decision and barring Lake
Cedar from commencing construction on the new tower.
March 26, 2004: The Court holds a hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion
to stay. The Court stays enforcement of the zoning decision until:
(1) the Board allows Plaintiffs to respond, on the record, to certain “late-filed” documents
that were part of the Board’s record of its actions; and (2)
the Board holds public hearings concerning Plaintiffs’ claim
that the risk of multiple tower failures on the Lookout Mountain site
creates a violation of the local zoning ordinances. The “late
filed” documents were rebuttal testimony presented at the final
hearing in response to criticisms raised by the opposition. The submittal
was consistent with the County’s long-standing practice on all
rezoning cases; however, the Court did not agree that the County’s
practice was consistent with its regulations.
August 12/17, 2004: The Board holds the public hearings
required by the March 26, 2004 Court order.
August 31, 2004: The Board unanimously re-approves
Lake Cedar’s re-application for a zoning change.
September 3, 2004: Defendants file a status report
with the Court and request that the Court certify the validity of the
Board’s re-approval of the zoning change and vacate the March
26, 2004 stay.
September 13, 2004: The Court refuses to vacate
the stay based on Defendants’ informal submissions and instructs
the parties to file a formal motion to lift the March 26, 2004 stay.
September 22, 2004: Defendants file a formal motion
to vacate the stay imposed by the March 26, 2004 Court order.
October 25, 2004: The Court denies the Defendants’ motion
to vacate stay for lack of evidence concerning the validity of the
Board’s actions. The Court orders the filing of a certified record
documenting the events surrounding the August 31, 2004 re-approval
of Lake Cedar’s re-application for review by the Court.
November 2004: Two new County Commissioners are elected
to the three-person Board. None of the new Commissioners had dealt
substantively with the Lookout Mountain tower proposal before being
elected to the Board.
November 2004 to April 2005: The Board files a certified
copy of record requested by the Court. All parties brief the issue
of whether the Court should lift the March 26, 2004 stay.
February 2005: The sole County Commissioner who
had participated substantively in Board considerations regarding
Lake Cedar’s
re-application for a zoning change resigns from the Board. A replacement
for that Commissioner is appointed who also had not participated substantively
in the Lookout Mountain tower proposal.
May 4, 2005: The Court denies the motion to lift
the stay. The Board is instructed to reconsider Lake Cedar’s re-application
in light of certain evidence concerning whether multiple towers on
the Lake Cedar site could fail and cause harm to persons or property
in the area around the towers’ location.
August 29, 2005: Lake Cedar receives a “Notice
of Intent to Acquire” from the City of Golden, Colorado, concerning
the Lookout Mountain property where the proposed consolidated tower
would be located. Delivery of such a notice is the first step in the
city’s condemnation process, indicating the intent of Golden,
Colorado, to acquire the Lookout Mountain property by eminent domain.
August 30, 2005: The Board conducts a public hearing
regarding the tower failure issue as required by the May 4, 2005 Court
order. The Board is notified that Lake Cedar has purchased all occupied
dwellings (amounting to 5 houses) that are located within the area
of private property that would likely be affected by a tower failure.
September 27, 2005: The Board hears rebuttal testimony
concerning the tower failure issue. The Board, pursuant to the limited
remand outlined in the Court’s May 4, 2005 order, decides based
on a vote of 2 to 1 that Lake Cedar had failed to present evidence
that harm to persons or property would not occur in the event of a
multiple tower failure on Lookout Mountain. It is unclear whether this
decision results in a denial of Lake Cedar’s re-application for
a zoning change to the Lookout Mountain property. The Board, though,
has portrayed its decision as relating only to the requirements of
the May 4, 2005 Court order and not as a repudiation of its earlier
approvals of Lake Cedar’s re-application for a zoning change.
The County attorney’s office also maintains that the Board did
not overturn the earlier approval of Lake Cedar’s re-application
and that the re-application remains approved at this time.
September 28, 2005: Plaintiffs file
a motion with the Court asking for a permanent injunction preventing construction
of Lake Cedar’s proposed digital transmission tower based on the
decision made by the Board.
April 12, 2006: The City of Golden abruptly ends
its “good faith” negotiations
with the Lake Cedar Group and files a petition in Jefferson County
District Court to condemn and gain control of the property on which
we plan to build the consolidated Lake Cedar tower.
May 23, 2006: Jefferson County District
Court Judge Brooke Jackson remands the tower issue for the third time
to the County Commissioners. The Judge rules that tower opponents
failed to present competent evidence homes on Lookout Mountain or Golden
could be threatened by the structural failure of the tower. The
Judge further ruled the Lake Cedar Group did present competent evidence
no homes would be damaged by structural failure of the tower. The Judge
orders the Jefferson County Commissioners to either affirm the Lake
Cedar Group’s 2003 zoning approval or reverse that approval and
cite the competent evidence used to reach that decision.
June 14, 2006: The Jefferson County
Commission files a petition asking the Jefferson County District court
to deny The City of Golden’s condemnation action. In its
filing, the Commissioners say Golden did not receive the County’s
consent to obtain the property which sits completely outside of Golden’s
city limits.
December, 2006: Both houses of
Congress approve Senate Bill 4092 and President Bush signs the legislation. The
bill, sponsored by Senator Wayne Allard with the support of the Colorado
delegation, authorizes the construction of the consolidated tower.
Congress took action when it became clear that without a vote to approve,
the consolidated tower could not be built in time for the conversion
mandated by law from analog format TV to digital format broadcasts
in early 2009.
January, 2007: Work begins on
the consolidated tower on Lookout Mountain. The estimated time
to build the new tower is approximately 15 to 18 months.
March 12, 2007: The Jefferson
County Board of Commissioners unanimously reaffirms the board’s
earlier decisions to approve zoning for the consolidated Lookout Mountain
Tower.
April 16, 2007: The Jefferson County District
Court affirms the Board of Commissioner’s unanimous approval
of the consolidated tower. All legal challenges to the new tower
are dismissed.
May 11, 2008: The Lake Cedar Group stations begin Digital TV broadcasts from the newly constructed consolidated tower on Lookout Mountain.
