4/9/09
The Rio Arriba County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved April 2 Alltel Communications’ plans to build a 150-foot cell tower on State Highway 537 west of Lindrith.
The tower will allow Alltel and two other cell phone companies to provide cell service to the Lindrith area, Verticom Site Acquisition Manager Patrick Palavicini said.
The Commission voted to issue a variance, or waiver, of a County ordinance limiting towers to 70 feet.
“There’s a desperate need (for the variance) because of the area’s terrain,” Palavicini told the Commission.
On a flat surface, cell phones can radiate five to six miles and 70-foot towers suffice, Palavicini said. But in mountainous terrain, taller towers are needed.
“I’m familiar with the area,” Commission member Randy Cordova, of Gallina, said. “It’s needed.”
Commission President Henry Ochoa excused himself from the hearing, disclosing that his daughter works for Alltel and that this would represent a conflict of interest.
County Planning and Zoning Community Development Director Patricio Garcia suggested that the Commission request an Alltel feasibility study of providing cell service between El Rito and Abiquiú. Palavicini said he would convey the request to Alltel engineers and that conducting such a study should not be a problem.
The tower will sit on the Schmitz Ranch, a half-mile south of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and approximately eight miles west of Lindrith, according to documents submitted to the County by Alltel. Ranch owner Tony Schmitz first leased the land to Alltel in January 2006 for an undisclosed sum.
Palavicini refused Monday to say when the cell tower is expected to become operational or to discuss the company’s lease with Schmitz. Schmitz could not be reached for comment.