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C.A.R.E. in the News
Commission rejects proposed compromise on Lookout Mountain towers
February 7, 2007 - Canyon Courier
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners on Monday received a prolonged standing ovation from nearly 70 people who oppose the construction of a high-definition digital broadcast tower on Golden's Lookout Mountain, following the board's unanimous decision not to enter into a final settlement agreement proposed by the consortium of Denver TV stations.
After accepting nearly two hours of passionate public testimony from a packed hearing room, the commissioners rejected what they characterized as a "final offer" from the Lake Cedar Group - an association of channels 4, 7, 9, and 20 - to end all court actions preventing the association from constructing a single digital tower on the mountain.
To read the entire story, click here...
Jeffco Rejects 'final offer' on digital tower
February 6, 2007 - Rocky Mountain News
GOLDEN - The Jefferson County commissioners Monday unanimously rejected a settlement agreement from a broadcasters' group planning to build a digital transmission tower atop Lookout Mountain.
"Not only no, but fill in the blank, no, " said Commissioner Jim Congrove after listening to two hours of public comment opposing the agreement, which would nearly eliminate county jurisdiction over the tower and the future addition of more towers.
The Lake Cedar Group, a consortium of Denver broadcasters, including CBS 4, Denver's 7, 9News, and Channel 20, is building a 730-foot tower to offer high-definition broadcasts by 2009.
"We are disappointed that the county didn't accept the settlement, but we are proceeding with building, full speed away," Marv Rockford, spokesman for the Lake Cedar Group, said after the hearing.
To read the entire story, click here...
Lookout tower flap to return to court
February 5, 2007 - The Denver Post
GOLDEN - A proposed settlement on a digital TV broadcast tower was sharply rejected by Jefferson County commissioners Monday, despite a new federal law that trumps local land-use authority on Lookout Mountain.
"Not only no, but fill-in-the-blank no," Commissioner Jim Congrove said of the unanimous vote that brought an applauding crowd to its feet.
The issue appears headed for District Judge Brooke Jackson's court Monday.
Lake Cedar Group - a consortium of local TV stations 4, 7, 9, and 20 - has asked Jackson in light of the new law to dismiss a zoning challenge filed by the city of Golden and the homeowner opponent group Canyon Area Residents for the Environment.
The commissioners charged originally with ruling on the rezoning have countered by offering the terms of a 2003 rezoning agreement approved by the previous board.
To read the entire story, click here...
Officials urge Bush to veto plan for tower
December 19, 2006 - Rocky Mountain News
GOLDEN - Two Jefferson County commissioners want President Bush to veto an eleventh-hour bill that would allow television broadcasters to install digital transmitters on a new tower atop Lookout Mountain.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., and co-sponsored by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., was approved about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 8 as Congress was heading home for the holidays.
Commissioners Jim Congrove and Dave Auburn wrote the president to say they believe passage of the bill was "a violation of (the) oath of office" taken by members of Congress to uphold the Constitution.
To read the entire story, click here...
Hardly government's finest tower
December 14, 2006 - The Denver Post
Forget universal health care.
You'll be pleased to learn that the federal government is now mandating Coloradans be provided high-definition television.
Yes, the president of the United States - the most powerful man on Earth (I know, you hate being reminded) - will soon sign legislation explicitly stating that a digital TV tower be built on Lookout Mountain in Jefferson County.
Who says we have do-nothings in Washington?
Republican Sen. Wayne Allard and Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar ("Land, water, people and HDTV!") decided, without debate, to make an end run on the local process by guaranteeing that the digital tower is erected by 2008.
The bill, carried by Allard and co-sponsored by Salazar, was approved by unanimous consent at night on the last day of the session - a bill packaged with more than 30 others, all deemed "noncontroversial."
Noncontroversial in Washington, perhaps, but it seems to be significantly controversial on Washington Avenue in Golden. To read the entire article, click here...
Surprise legislation likely to put HD tower on Lookout Mountain
December 12, 2006 - The Canyon Courier
Surprise legislation likely to put HD tower on Lookout Mountain
Golden city officials and a group of citizen activists were furious Monday over last-minute federal legislation drafted by Colorado's two U.S. senators — a bill that will likely put an end to a nearly decade-long battle over a proposed high-definition broadcast tower on Lookout Mountain.
Republican Sen. Wayne Allard joined with Democrat Ken Salazar last Wednesday in introducing Senate Bill S4092, titled “Clarifications of certain land use in Jefferson County.”
The bill states, in summary, that any person who holds an approved Federal Communications Commission permit to construct or install either a digital television broadcast station antenna or tower, or both, located on Lookout Mountain, may construct, install, use, modify, replace, repair or consolidate such antenna or tower so long as it is the same height or less than the existing analog towers. To read the entire Canyon Courier article, click here...
Congress oks TV Tower
December 10, 2006 - The Denver Post
In Sunday's (12/10/06) Denver Post, entitled "Congress oks TV Tower", Senator Wayne Allard (R) "decided to discreetly present a bill tha would allow a digital TV tower to be built on Lookout Mountain in Jefferson County," because he was, "Convinced local officials were deadlocked and time was running out." To read the entire Denver Post article, click here...
Surprise bill may put TV tower on mountain
December 9, 2006 - The Denver Post
Colorado Senators Allard and Salazar, under the cover of darkness
introduced (and passed) in both houses of the U.S. Congress, a bill (S4092) to preempt local land use decision and force the Lake Cedar Group tower on Lookout Mountain. Salazar stated in Friday's (12/08/06) Denver Post that he co-sponsored this bill, "because Denver metro television viewers deserve to have access to a high-definition signal." To read the entire Denver Post article, "Surprise bill may put TV tower on mountain," click here...
An Eminent End to Feud - Part II
October 12, 2006 - Golden Transcript
Golden resident Stony Shelton's biggest concern about a proposed new TV tower is aesthetic.
"From my specific location, I can just barely see any of the small towers that would go away," said Shelton, who lives closer to the proposed site for a single tower in the Stonebridge neighborhood. "Right now in my life, that new tower is going to appear to be much taller. It will certainly be much closer."
The city of Golden wants to keep Shelton's view clear. City officials want to buy the piece of land where four TV stations — channels 4, 7, 9, 20 — plan to build the new tower. The TV stations, under the Lake Cedar Group umbrella, want to replace several existing towers on Lookout Mountain with one tower farther down the mountain. Lake Cedar owns the new tower site but is not currently using the land.
To read the entire article, click here...
The Trouble with Towers - Part I
October 6, 2006 - Golden Transcript
Editor's Note: This is the first in a two-part series. Eight years into a struggle to build a replacement tower on Lookout Mountain, serious disputes remain over health issues, open space and interference. "What do you see when you look at the mountains west of Golden? The blinking lights on Lookout Mountain are more than a directional beacon. To residents, businesses and govenments involved in the eight-year-old struggle, three large towers signify many things.
Lookout Mountain residents see the towers as a health threat, safety risk and an electrical interference hazard. The TV stations that own the towers see them as the vital link for news, emergency informtion and commercial broadcasting. The city of Golden sees them as an eye-sore and a threat to open space.
To read the entire article, click here...
More Questions in JeffCo Tower Study
September 22, 2006 - Rocky Mountain News
A long-awaited study suggests living close to radio and television towers possibly could affect people's health, but does little to settle debate over whether a proposed tower should be built on Lookout Mountain.
The study, the first to examine the possible effects of radio frequency emissions, indicates a possible link between proximity of homes to radio and television broadcast devices and biological effects of radio frequency exposure, but one of its authors said many questions remain.
"Just like all good scientific research, more questions have been raised than answered," said James B. Burch of the University of South Carolina's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
The study, conducted by Burch and other researchers at Colorado State University and the University of Washington in Seattle, measured the production of "markers" believed to play significant roles in the human immune system.
The new study found the closer people live to the towers the higher their exposure to radio frequency emissions.
The study indicates changes in immune system markers such as white blood cells, lymphocytes and T-cells could be related to increased RF levels because the markers "were all significantly increased among persons" in the highest areas of exposure as compared with those in the areas of lowest RF exposure.
To read the entire article, click here...
TV Tower Proposal Returned to County
May 24, 2006 - Rocky Mountain News
A judge on Tuesday tossed a decision on a controversial 730-foot digital television tower atop Lookout Mountain back in the lap of Jefferson County commissioners, the third time the court has sent the issue back for further consideration.
Deb Carney, attorney for the CARE homeowners group, said the latest ruling very clearly permits the current board of commissioners to weigh all the factors in deciding whether the site should be rezoned to permit the proposed tower. "This gives our new county commissioners, finally, the green light to review the entire record and look at the alternative sites, the interference problems, the health dangers for us and the harm to our property values," Carney said. "In the end,
(the ruling) is a good thing." To read the entire Rocky Mountain News article, click here...
To read the 1st Judicial Jefferson County District Court's ruling, click here..
Special Edition of the City of Golden Infomer Addresses Lookout Mountain Issue
May 2006 - City of Golden Informer
The special edition goes into greater detail about the Lookout Mountain property the City of Golden wants to
acquire, and how it relates to the Lake Cedar Group tower proposal. To read the entire PDF article...click here
Mount Morrison Tower Case
May 5, 2006 - The Dener Post Article
"Court Returns tower to drawing board"... Jefferson County commissioners abused their discretion by letting a developer make last-minute changes to a controversial telecommunications tower plan without public comment, according to a Colorado Court of Appeals decision issued Thursday. To read the entire Denver Post article, click here...
Lookout Mountain Condemnation for Open Space
April 2006 - The City of Golden
On April 12, 2006 the City of Golden filed a Petition in Condemnation (the start of eminent domain proceedings) to acuire 64-acres of land Lake Cedar Group (LCG) owns on Lookout Mountain. LCG's request to rezone this land for the Supertower was denied by the Jeffco Commissioners November 2005. Under current Jeffco Zoning, LCG cannot build any towers on this land. The City of Golden wants to protect the land from any development in order to preserve the mountain backdrop and return Lookout Mountain to its former glory as an Open Space park. To read the entire City of Golden news article, click here...
Golden Showers - A City's Plans Rain on Local TV Powerhouses
April 13, 2006 - Westword Magazine
You've seen them: slick, highly produced commercials about the oft-delayed construction of a new, 730-foot digital tower on Lookout Mountain. The spots declare that viewers in the Denver metro area are being denied free, over-the-air HDTV by recalcitrant residents who have refused every compromise offered to them by the eminently reasonable representatives of the Lake Cedar Group, which represents channels 4, 7, 9 and 20. To read the entire Westword article, click here...
Tower Tussle: The Colorado Battle Over Extraterritorial Condemnation
April 2006- Independence Institute Issue Backgrounder
Should government be allowed to condemn privately-owned land outside its jurisdiction for the
purpose of preventing development or mandating open space?...A currently waged battle at the
base of the foothills just outside Denver pits a consortium of televisionstations against the city of Golden. To read the entire Independence Institute article, click here..
Golden aims to seize tower land - TV consortium that owns parcel decries eminent-domain bid
April 2006 - The Denver Post
Golden - The city of Golden filed a court petition Wednesday to condemn the proposed Lookout Mountain site for a digital TV broadcast tower. The eminent-domain filing in Jefferson County District Court seeks to seize the 70 acres to prevent development so the land can be preserved as open space. To read the entire article, click here...
The Controversy Over the Use of Lookout Mountain and HDTV
March 27, 2006 - City of Golden
The City of Golden is seeking to acquire property on Lookout Mountain that has been identified for park and open space uses for more than 100 years. This property was first planned for park purposes by the designer of New York’s Central Park, Frederick Law Olmstead. It has also been identified for years by City and Jefferson County open space plans as critical to the protection of the mountain backdrop of the Front Range. Golden’s acquisition of the property would connect large existing parks owned by the County, Golden and the City of Denver, greatly expanding recreational opportunities for residents of the entire region, as well as visitors. To read the entire article, click here...
Lake Cedar Group's (LCG) Misleading Tower Ad Campaign
March 2006 - City & Mountain Views Magazine
In January 2006, LCG began targeting private citizens with a negative ad campaign about the
730-foot HDTV SuperTower issue. The 30-second broadcast TV ad that says “a SMALL GROUP of People is PREVENTING US from bringing you the benefits of free over-the-air digital television”
is airing 15-25 times a day on four stations. To read the entire City & Mountain Views Magazine article. click here...
Golden Makes Bid for TV Group's Property
December 22, 2005 - The Denver Business Journal
The city of Golden has offered to buy a piece of controversial property on Lookout Mountain from a group of Denver TV stations for $1.68 million with the intention of turning the land into open space. The Golden City Council has approved condemnation proceedings if the property owner, Lake Cedar Group, refuses to sell. To read the entire Denver Business Journal article, click here...
Still No Decision in Towers Flap
by September 1, 2005 - Mile High News.com
A 730-foot telecommunications tower falling onto homes. A wire whipping into a residential neighborhood. Some 3,400 pounds of debris rolling onto U.S. Highway 6. These nightmare scenarios are not Hollywood plot lines. They are some of the real concerns voiced by opponents
of an approved telecommunications tower on Lookout Mountain. To read the entire Mile High News.com article, click here...
Golden adds twist to TV tower dispute
September 30, 2005 - Adam Schrager 9NEWS Reporter
GOLDEN - The city of Golden has offered to buy property on Lookout Mountain where Denver's
main television stations, including 9News, want to build a new broadcasting tower. The City Manager says if the stations won't sell, Golden will exercise its powers of eminent domain and seize the land for open space. To read the entire article, click here...
Frequency check
July 29, 2004 - Westword
A cancer-rate study of people who live near an antenna farm on Lookout Mountain arrived on
July 22, and, as with an earlier survey, its findings can be perceived in diametrically opposing
ways. A press release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which oversaw the research, emphasizes that "there is no conclusive evidence of any linkage of adverse health effects among Lookout Mountain residents to the high-powered broadcast antennas and transmitter towers located in the area west of Denver." In contrast, a release from the City of Golden, which was a party in a 2003 lawsuit filed against the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners to stop the erection of a new tower, proclaimed that the report "shows increased levels of brain and central nervous system cancers in residents living adjacent to broadcast
towers on Lookout Mountain."To read the entire Westword article, click here...
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