by Lisa Crockett

After months of negotiation, a task force of Castle Pines North (CPN) citizens has reached a compromise with Xcel Energy regarding height of several new poles to be placed on the ridge adjacent to Coyote Ridge Park.

Last winter, residents from across CPN voiced their objection to two towering poles placed at the top of the ridge. Xcel agreed to remove the two poles, 165 feet and 180 feet, respectively, and replace them with a 105-foot and a 120-foot pole. The 165-foot pole has already come down and the 180-foot pole will be removed by Xcel sometime during the fourth quarter of this year.

During a meeting with CPN residents to discuss the replacement towers, Xcel announced that it would install an additional four new poles to accommodate “crossover” lines. Two of the new poles were slated to be a towering 170 feet; the two “shorter” towers were to have been 150 feet.

“When the task force met with Xcel, we asked them to think outside the box and come up with a way to route the new lines under the exisiting lines, rather than above them,” said CPN resident and task force member Bruce Thompson.

Xcel has agreed to do just that, reducing the height of the new towers a whopping 90 feet.

“The new lines will be over the ridge, and they will be low enough that a number of CPN residents won’t really be able to see them,” said Thompson. “For those of us who can see them, we will just see the tops of the towers. The visual impact has been greatly reduced.”

As of press time, an installation time line for the new poles had not been determined. “I know the task force was very happy to hear the results of their time and efforts pay off,” said CPN City Councilperson Jennifer Havercroft, who served as a liaison to the task force. “Of course no one wants more poles, but to have the heights lowered by this much is such a wonderful compromise by Xcel.”

For more information, e-mail .