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Grant County hears application for 150-foot telecom tower in Cliff; applicant seeks setback variance
Summary
County staff recommended approval of Western New Mexico Communications’ application for a 150-foot monopole near Cliff, citing a documented coverage gap and no collocation opportunities within one mile; the applicant requests an ordinance setback variance and commissioners asked that any motion explicitly include the variance request.
Dean Williamson, the county’s tower consultant with Wireless Tower Solutions, told the Grant County Board of Commissioners on March 10 that Western New Mexico Communications is seeking approval to build a 150-foot monopole at an equipment yard on Highway 211 in Cliff and is also asking for ordinance relief from the setback requirement.
"There are no suitable collocation sites within one mile of this proposed tower," Williamson said, describing the company’s coverage-gap analysis. He said the county ordinance requires a tower setback equal to the tower height plus 10% (for a 150-foot tower that requires a 165-foot setback), and that Western New Mexico had requested relief because the proposed location does not meet that distance from the northern property line.
Williamson provided the commission with the application package summary, a structural analysis (reporting roughly 20–22% reserve capacity, meaning the monopole can accept future collocators), a 50-foot soil borings report, contractor licensing, insurance certificates and a $75,000 bond. He also reviewed publicly available coverage plots for carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon) that showed a local coverage gap in the valley.
An adjacent property owner, identified in the record as Mr. Baxter, submitted a letter supporting the variance; Williamson said Baxter is aware of the setback issue and asked the commission to grant relief.
Commissioners asked procedural and safety questions. Commissioner Medina sought clarification on whether an adjacent owner could "waive" an ordinance requirement; Williamson said applicants can request ordinance relief and the commission is authorized to grant or deny such requests. Commissioner Shelley and other commissioners noted limited cell service in the valley and expressed support for improved communications, particularly for safety and emergency response concerns.
Williamson also summarized the NEAR (non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation) report filed by the applicant: at typical ground-level distances the report found no expected danger from radiation and that physically harmful exposure would require climbing into the antenna area. The report recommends standard caution signage at facility entry points.
No formal action on the application was recorded in the provided work-session transcript. At the time the item moved to the formal agenda (Item K) commissioners signaled support for the tower but said they preferred any motion to explicitly include approval or denial of the requested setback variance so both matters would be decided together.
The commission will consider Item K on the upcoming regular meeting agenda, which lists the Western New Mexico Communications 150-foot monopole application and the associated setback variance request as the formal action item.
