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Pitkin County P&Z considers 10 cell towers on Aspen, Bell Mountains, and other locations

Aspen Mountain and the city of Aspen as seen on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, from the air with EcoFlight.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Pitkin County’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on Tuesday moved forward in the process to install 10 cell towers in nine locations around Aspen. The vote moved forward 5-1, with Commissioner Doug Throm voting “No.”

The main discussion surrounded the commissions’ support of cellular coverage related to safety and emergency purposes, while maintaining scenic quality on three of its four mountains and ski areas. 

“All this is a tightrope balancing act,” said Mak Keeling, Aspen Skiing Company’s (SkiCo) vice president of mountain planning.



Services for 4G and 5G require more robust cell towers and cabinets, which are buildings at the base of the towers that store radio, network, and communications equipment. Services for 2G were requested, but carrier companies will not install these services as they are too out of date and are not cost effective in the long run for the companies.

Each carrier requires a 10-foot tower, and it was stated during the meeting that three carriers are confirmed so far. This requires the towers to be at least 30-feet tall. 




So, both SkiCo and P&Z have to consider all of this before presenting the cell tower plan to the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners at a Sept. 11 meeting, where public comment will be available.

The commissioners also questioned if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had been consulted regarding if these cell towers need any red or white lights on them.

“I don’t want to see white lights, red lights blinking. It’s Rudolph,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Woodruff. “We don’t want that on the mountain.”

Buttermilk has been the only mountain that has undergone a flightpath evaluation, and SkiCo believes that the FAA determined that it does not need to be illuminated.

It was also mentioned that there is a 60-foot monopole right outside the Aspen Inn that is not required to be illuminated either.

Cell towers

Changes to the parameters around the cell towers were also made since an initial Aug. 6 meeting.

Changes to the application, based on first round comments, were reviewed for Silver Queen, Bell Mountain/Ajax Express, Cloud 9, Cliffhouse, Tiehack and Ruthie’s, and Bell Mountain Base.

There were originally 13 towers at 11 sites. Now there are 10 towers at nine sites.

Originally, two 54-foot cell towers next to the gondola storage building were proposed for the Silver Queen tower. Now, after a second consideration, there will only be one 60-foot cell tower next to the vehicle maintenance facility on Aspen Mountain.

The cell towers proposed on top of Bell Mountain/Ajax Express will be removed from the current application after 15 different options were considered, but SkiCo plans on submitting a new separate application to address the hole in the network left from removal of these towers in the future, according to a presentation during the meeting. They plan on coming back to Pitkin County with a separate application that includes one or two towers that will better meet screening and infrastructure criteria.

The Cloud 9 tower is also proposed to be relocated. The original location was just north of the restaurant, and it was visible from the Cloud 9 chair, the ski run, and vaguely from the restaurant. The new location puts the cell tower closer to a weather station located on the mountain within a tree island, which maintains the scenic quality of the area.

The Cliff House restaurant cell tower will lower its height from 60 to 54 feet. It is relatively in the same location as the original proposal, just under the tree canopy rather than over it, which also maintains the scenic quality of the area.

The Tie Hack and Ruthie’s cell towers were studied further, but their heights were unable to be lowered due to the inability to reach the propagation, or signal strength, SkiCo was looking for. The height will remain at 60 feet.

SkiCo also successfully reconfigured the cabinet layout of the Bell Mountain Base tower in order to better respect ski lanes. The tower is in the same place, but the cabinets are against a tree island rather than creeping into a ski run.

The plan for the cell towers is consistent with the 2019 Aspen Mountain, 2013 Buttermilk, and 1997 Highlands Master Plans, which all three identity wireless communication facilities as Uses Allowed All Year.

SkiCo’s cell tower plan will amend these documents to allow structures taller than the current 28-foot limit. The project is also consistent with the 2023 Pitkin County Comprehensive Plan and has received endorsement from the Pitkin County Sheriff, Pitkin County Telecommunications Department, Aspen Highlands Community Metro District, and Five Trees Metro Tower.

It was also referred to several caucus, including Owl Creek, Castle Creek, Maroon Creek, and East of Aspen. The U.S. Forest Service also accepted the project, and National Environmental Policy Act reviews are underway.

Construction is expected to take place between 2025 and 2028.

The town of Snowmass Village approved six cell tower sites in 2023.