nearly 200-foot tall communications tower proposed in boulder county, colorado

Members of both the Boulder County Planning Commission, as well as the Boulder County Commission, may soon be reviewing an application to build a 195-foot tall private communications tower.

The monopole is set to go up adjacent to defined open space at 9001 W. Dillon Road, some two miles south of downtown Louisville, on land that is owned by the Public Service Company of Colorado.

The PSC, which is a subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, has said that the tower will not be used as a colocation for wireless or other service providers.

In its Boulder County application, the company says the purpose of the structure will be to provide what is regarded as the first step in a “new intelligent, integrated grid called the Advanced Grid.”

The establishment of that grid, says the company, will bring “greater value to the experience” of PSC’s customers.

The project has met with the opposition of area neighbors to the north of the site, including members of the Coal Creek Ranch Homeowners Association, who have objected to the height of the proposed tower.

It is possible that the project will be reviewed by the planning commission sometime in November or December.

By Garry Boulard

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