City Council Minutes 2001 03 06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville City Council Meeting March 6, 2001 Page 4 Wood stated that on September 19, 2000, after a series of public hearings, Council remanded the application to the Planning Commission for further evaluation of rerouting alternatives, as well as pole types for the rebuild within the existing right-of-way. Wood reported that on December 12, 2000, the Planning Commission reviewed seven alternative routes presented by the applicant. Wood noted that the majority of the alternative routes were located west of the current right-of-way. The applicant applied 15 criteria to each of the proposed alternative alignments. Wood noted that although the applicant presented the information, they were not proposing an alternative right-of-way. The overall length of the alternatives vary between 5.5 to 6 miles, with the exception of the last alternative, which runs east and down 95th Street, which is approximately 7 miles. The amount of new right-of-way needed to acquire corresponds generally to the length of the alternative. The cost of each alternative must therefore add to the cost of acquiring additional right-of-way as a second cost component to the cost of construction. Wood reviewed that a number of above ground rebuild pole alternatives and combination of alternatives for overhead construction, include the primary request of a single steel, galvanized pole, a single steel pole with a cortan finish, and an H-frame steel pole. Staff requested that the applicant prepare a comparison for three overhead rebuild alternatives. Each alternative was to reflect the type, height, number of poles, capacity of normal and maximum loading, EMF levels, noise levels, time line for construction, and costs, as well as maintenance and operating costs associated with each alternative. Wood reviewed the proposed upgrades, which include the replacement of the existing wood H-frame poles with single steel monopoles with a proposed height of 86 feet. Existing pole heights within the corridor range form 60' to 80'depending on the location. The new pole height would range from 70' to 100'. Wood stated that the single steel pole is the choice of the applicant and their position is that the design of the single, monopole system, which uses a horizontal vee-type connection, reduces the visual profile of the pole. The monopole system could potentially eliminate the number of pole structures in the corridor. Wood noted that comparisons of the single steel pole, the H-frame steel pole, and the wood H-frame pole alternatives have been discussed. He noted that, while using wood H- frames may be more acceptable from a pole height perspective, the fact is that this alternative would add 22 poles into the corridor and would add a significant visual impact in new locations that were not previously impacted. Wood stated that new information received from the applicant states that PSCo has already ordered the single steel monopole with the self-weathering or cortan finish. Staff has requested that the applicant provide information on a concrete aggregate pole type that had not been previously discussed. 4