Telecommunications Tower Proposed for Baileys Harbor

Correction Appended

The Door County Resource Planning Committee will review an application submitted by Grain Communications Group to build a 380-foot telecommunication town on property leased from Randall Zahn at 2318 Meadow Road in Baileys Harbor at its Feb. 17 meeting.

The tower itself would be owned by Grain Communications, based in Sarasota, FL, which would lease space on the tower to the United States Coast Guard. The tower would be topped by a 20-foot antenna, bringing its total height to 400 feet.

Rick Brauer, zoning administrator with the Door County Planning Department, said the application has been in process for quite some time because of concerns voiced by the Ephraim-Gibraltar Airport Committee. The Door County Telecommunications Tower Ordinance regulates telecommunications tower applications, and Brauer said the approval process for a tower is pretty straight-forward.

“Basically, the company has to demonstrate that there is a need for the tower that isn’t being met by existing towers,” Brauer said.

Technical review of the application must show that the tower and its systems would not interfere with existing telecommunications towers, and there are also setback requirements. Telecommunication towers must be set back as far from the property line as they are tall, so the Green Communications tower must be 400 feet from the property line, plus 100 feet from neighboring homes.

A report by Evans Engineering Solutions described what the tower would be used for. According to the report, the initial tenant of the proposed tower would be the United States Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 mariner distress response program. The tower would be one of three Rescue 21 base stations serving the coastal areas of northern Door County and Upper Michigan. The other two towers are located near Sturgeon Bay and near Fairport, MI, providing coverage on both coasts of Green Bay and the west coast of Lake Michigan.

The U.S. Coast Guard website says the system will close 88 known coverage gaps to enhance safety at sea. It would replace the National Distress Response System installed in the 1970s.

There are 46 telecommunications towers throughout the peninsula, at least eight of which are taller than 400 feet. The tallest telecommunications tower in Door County is 499 feet tall.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Randall Zahn had applied for a permit to build the tower. While the property is owned by Zahn, Grain Communications filed the application to build the tower.