St. Louis Park confronts a bigger-isn't-always-better decision

Read St. Louis Park's ordinances one way, and the city limits towers to 200 feet. Read it another, and there is no limit whatsoever.

So when Northern Lights Broadcasting proposed a 392-foot-tall FM radio tower there, and the city balked, both sides were surprised.

The city has been tweaking its rules for greater clarity and, "frankly, so that we wouldn't get sued," said Council Member C. Paul Carver.

But in seeking clarity, there's been some confusion.

City staff members have drafted an amended ordinance that, among other things, increases height limits for certain areas to 400 feet with a conditional-use permit. Some residents and council members have objected to that limit, saying it would attract tall towers to town -- and with them, blinking lights and phone interference.

"I'm very concerned that if we adopt this ordinance as issued, allowing tall towers and short setbacks, that what we will see is a gravitation of other towers," said Council Member Susan Sanger. "We'll be a magnet."

Lawyers and consultants for Northern Lights Broadcasting, the company hoping to build the FM tower for its B-96 hip-hop station, say those concerns are unrealistic.

"I feel for the people of St. Louis Park, but it's just not going to happen that way," said Steve Woodbury, Northern Lights' president and CEO. Plus, he said, "You've gotta put towers somewhere."

Cities have sometimes complicated relationships with broadcasting towers. Neighbors generally don't like them, and cities often collect limited taxes from the land on which they stand. But they also can prevent the property from being developed in less desirable ways.

St. Louis Park would receive "absolutely no benefit" from a taller FM tower, resident Claire Christison said at a recent council meeting. She encouraged the city to limit tower heights to 200 feet.

The City Council will discuss these issues and others at a study session Monday. The council could vote on a revised tower and antennae ordinance within weeks.

The proposed FM tower would be built on a piece of property where four 200-foot AM towers now stand, on Brunswick Avenue S., not far from Cedar Lake Road. Northern Lights Broadcasting hopes to replace one of those four with a taller, lighted tower that will help its B-96 station reach more households in the metro area.

Right now, its 657-foot, 100,000-watt transmitter is located near Watertown. If it is relocated to St. Louis Park, it would have one-fourth the wattage, but would cover more of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Woodbury said.

"The signal was large, but it covered a lot of sheep and cows," he said, "and I don't care about sheep and cows."

Because it's an FM station rather than an AM station, and because the proposed wattage is relatively low, the tower should not cause interference in residents' phones and other electronic devices, said George Werl, a communications consultant who spoke at a council meeting on behalf of Northern Lights Broadcasting.

Residents near the property have complained about the interference the AM stations have created and worry that adding FM will worsen it.

Gerrie Nassen calls the noise her "own personal radio station" which regularly plays in the background of her phone conversations.

The city is considering adding language that would obligate the station to work out such problems for a longer period of time than federal law requires. And it's studying whether, as Council Member Phil Finkelstein asked, the city might find "other radio stations kind of migrating to 'Shoreview West,' here?"

The comparison to Shoreview is a stretch. The well-known broadcast towers there reach more than 1,400 feet high -- nearly twice the IDS Center's height in downtown Minneapolis -- while St. Louis Park is considering 400 feet in industrial districts only.

But few of St. Louis Park's neighbors allow towers that tall. Edina limits them to 125 feet, Hopkins to 75, Minneapolis to 150.

"Our sense if that there aren't very many opportunities for towers in the 400-foot-height range this close in the metro area," said Kevin Locke, the city's community development director.

But Northern Lights Broadcasting has pointed out that there are towers in nearby suburbs that reach more than 200 feet.

New Hope has two 312-foot towers and one that stands at 307 feet, according to FCC records. Golden Valley has several more than 200 feet tall and one that reaches nearly 320 feet.

"There are towers all over," Woodbury said. "You hardly notice them anymore."

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168