Commissioners approve Hope Media height extension request for existing tower; FAA clearance and interference concerns addressed

Douglas County commissioners on April 8 approved a use-by-special-review amendment to extend the height of an existing telecommunications tower to accommodate Hope Media Group's FM antenna and improve coverage for KXWA (project file US2024-010).

Eric Pavlinac, principal planner for Planning Services, described the request as a USR amendment to raise the existing tower to allow relocation of FM antennas and mounting equipment. Pavlinac said the tower is on a roughly 52-acre Agriculture-1 property southwest of Sedalia, currently owned by American Tower, and that the facility houses both public-safety and commercial equipment. The application included a visual impact assessment and photo-simulations and received three written public comments raising concerns about rural character, health risks, and property values.

Rachel Bruin of the Derna Group, the applicant representative, and Steven Thompson, Hope Media Group's senior vice president of engineering and IT, said the station KXWA (101.9 FM) has experienced signal distortion from co-located antenna placement and that separating antennas vertically requires a tower height increase. Bruin said the applicant's written response to public comments is in the staff packet. Thompson, an engineer with about 40 years' experience, explained the technical concept of "blanketing interference," said Hope Media operates at lower power than another co-located station, and noted that the proposed change is expected to reduce emissions and may alleviate interference because the KXWA antenna would be higher and can operate at lower power.

Neighbor George Ackerman addressed the board during public comment, saying the tower is visible from his property and expressing concern about potential lighting and impacts on the area's ambiance. The applicant and staff said the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed the proposal and determined no lighting is required at the proposed height; Bruin stated the FAA approval was included with the application materials.

Board members asked staff and the applicant about claims that a prior approval had included an assurance that the tower height would not be increased; staff said they had found no record of such a commitment on the site plan or management plan. Commissioners also asked about potential impacts to property values; Bruin said she had not seen evidence that tower modifications affected property values.

A commissioner moved and another seconded approval of the use-by-special-review amendment subject to the two technical conditions recommended by staff. The motion passed unanimously.

Votes at a glance: US2024-010 approved unanimously; the approval includes two conditions, required technical corrections, and relies on commitments recorded in the public hearing.

The applicant must satisfy the conditions and technical corrections before final plan approval; routine maintenance and operational limits described in the management plan will apply.