SAGUACHE COUNTY — Villa Grove is a small town of about 30 residents located on Highway 285 in northern Saguache County. Last summer, after the Saguache County Board of County Commissioners approved a land use application from Mountain Tower and Land LLC and Tower West LLC (Viaero) to construct a 195-foot cell tower near the center of this small hamlet, many residents were outraged.
Almost one-third of the residents filed a lawsuit against the Saguache County Board of County Commissioners in Saguache County District Court last summer seeking the county to make the Land Use Application null and void. The plaintiffs are also seeking "A declaration that construction of the facility is not compatible with the surrounding area as currently constituted and that the BOCC did not comply with the requirements of the Land Use Code in approving the Land Use Application and adopting the resolution." They are also seeking attorney fees and costs.
Thomas Wagner, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said the proposed tower is "basically right in Villa Grove, it is a parcel on the north side of town. The property is zoned for agricultural use, but under the Saguache County land code with a use permit that they eventually got, you can use it for industrial use like a cell tower. Wagner said residents objected to the permitting at both a planning commission meeting and a county commissioner meeting where the application was approved.
"The biggest concern that they [plaintiffs]have is that the cell tower is going to be a couple of hundred feet high...what their arguments is that it doesn't comport with the surrounding uses of property, and that is one of the things the county commissioners have to consider when they authorize a special use permit like this," Wagner said.
Wagner added the proposed tower will be right up to residents' houses and will impact the viewplane coming down Bonanza Road. That view affords people unobstructed views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east.
Local resident Paula Maez said, "The tower is 195 feet of metal monstrosity. Even our trees, the tallest things in town, are only about 60 feet high. We feel our commissioners were not listening to us or their own land code. That 195-foot monstrosity Just doesn't fit in here."
In a statement to the Valley Courier, Saguache County Attorney G. Brad Crowell stated, “Due to pending litigation brought by some residents of Villa Grove, the County is unable to make comment at this time. The County looks forward to presenting its evidence in a court of law where due process is afforded to all.”
