Cell tower approved on Switchback Ranch property

Over seven years after the Park County Commissioners first approved a special use permit to build a cellphone tower on property owned by Switchback Ranch LLC, a similar project is moving forward on its land in the Clark area.

During its May 24 meeting, the Park County Planning and Zoning Commission approved Bridger Tower Corporation's special use permit application to build a 310-foot monopole tower.

The tower's site is located 20 miles northwest of Powell and 2,000 feet southeast of the intersection of State Highways 120 and 294, said Kim Dillivan, assistant director of Park County Planning and Zoning. According to the construction drawings, Verizon Wireless is a proposed carrier with an identifiable lease area on the tower. The tower could eventually be utilized by up to three additional cell service providers as well, Dillivan said.

Chad Krahel, senior vice president with Bridger Tower Corporation, said the new tower would serve roughly a 30-mile radius surrounding the tower.

"This tower particularly is designed to fill the gap in coverage between Cody and Belfry," Krahel said. "We are also working on another tower just south of Belfry in Montana, so that will be the second phase of the fill-in down the highway. So in theory, this tower should cover the community of Clark and on down the highway in both directions … for a 30-mile radius … That wouldn't be high speed coverage or 5G, but it would cover basic phone service for safety and 911 calls and things like that."

In December of 2015, the county commissioners approved a special use permit for a proposed 199-foot telecommunication tower on the same property, Dillivan said. While an extension on the SUP was granted until May 15, 2017, construction never commenced, and the SUP expired.

Unlike another recent cellphone tower proposal in the Wapiti area, the tower on the Switchback Ranch has not generated any public comment or controversy, Dillivan said. No written public comments were received by Park County Planning and Zoning, and Krahel was the only person who gave comments during the May 24 meeting.

The planning and zoning commissioners voted unanimously to forward the SUP to the Park County Commissioners for consideration.

They approved the proposal with three recommended conditions: complying with noise, lighting and nuisance regulations; receiving comments from Park County Fire District 4; and complying with all of the county's development standards and regulations.

Glad to hear that as many trips to Billings are part of Cody life. I wish they would beef up the T-mobile Data here in town. I don't like the fact that I practically have to use the internet to sneeze in to a tissue now, but that's life

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