Planning commission approves 199‑foot telecommunications tower near Cuba with conditions

The Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission on June 10 approved a conditional use permit for a new 199‑foot telecommunications tower and equipment compound near Cuba, New Mexico.

The application (BCU‑24‑008) covers a 45.24‑acre property at 537 County Road 11 in District 5 owned by Ernest Cordova. Atlas Tower is the applicant and identified Cornelius Whitehead as the project point of contact; Verizon Wireless is the initial equipment user listed in the application. County staff told the commission the recommended approval includes nine conditions developed with the county’s contracted telecommunications consultant and that the conditional use permit applies to the entire 45.24‑acre parcel, not only the 2,500‑square‑foot tower footprint.

Mike Powers, a representative of Atlas Tower, said the tower was designed to accommodate up to five service providers and described Atlas Tower as the owner/operator responsible for ongoing compliance: “Atlas Tower will be your go‑to to make sure that we are complying with your code,” he told the commission. Powers also described the pad‑and‑pier foundation planned for the tower and said modern tower design and national building codes address wind, ice and seismic loading.

A member of the public, Father Christopher de Herrera, testified that he was concerned about visual impacts, property values and potential health effects from radiofrequency emissions and asked the commission to consider moving the site or imposing a moratorium pending further study. Father de Herrera cited scientific studies he said raise concerns and asked the commission to consider precautionary steps; he was informed by staff about locations of county documents and appeals processes.

County staff, the applicant and Atlas Tower said they had completed site studies including a NEPA review, a Phase I cultural resources assessment and photo simulations intended to evaluate environmental and visual impacts. The applicant stated that Verizon would monitor equipment‑specific compliance with federal rules while Atlas Tower would respond to county code and conditions of approval.

Commissioners discussed enforcement. Staff confirmed the county relies on its contracted telecommunications consultant for detailed technical review and that enforcement and monitoring would involve both the company and county staff. Commissioner discussion produced an additional explicit condition (added as an item 10) requiring the applicant to comply with the Sandoval County Code of Ordinances Appendix A, Article 3 (wireless telecommunications facilities); staff agreed to add agreed language to the conditions of approval.

A motion to approve BCU‑24‑008 with the recommended conditions and the added condition requiring compliance with the county wireless ordinance passed on roll call: Commissioner Rodriguez — yes; Commissioner Brown — yes; Commissioner Maduena — yes; Commissioner Simpson — yes.

The transcript records that the applicant committed to complying with the nine consultant‑recommended conditions and working with the county on long‑term compliance; the commission did not identify any additional restrictions such as minimum setbacks from schools in this record, and no appeal was recorded in the meeting transcript.