Www-o-w!! By monopole I would imagine you to mean, a freestanding structure; but, by 180 feet, I would assume you to mean an aerial tower with guy lines. It would be helpful, I think, to know the location of your project. I will suggest the first place to start--before you even get to the planning phase. That would be with your local planning (or planning and zoning) authority. Your local aviation authority will certainly want to be involved, too. My experience leads me to believe that such a project, in many if not most localities, will not be permitted as a DIY endeavor. You will probably be required to obtain your plans--that means hire a professional--from a state-certified engineer or engineering firm--before you have any chance of obtaining the needed permits; if you go directly to your construction contractor, they will perhaps be able to refer you to an engineer--or provide their own. Another thing, is your site commercial or residential or other kind of zoning? In many locations, such structures as you propose will not be permitted on residential, or even some ag-zoned property. They must be in commercial zones. Another thing: counties will generally prefer that the "antenna" be co-located near or on already existing structures; unless there are none, or unless you can demonstrate (as an expert authority) that your facility (your transmitter, receiver, etc) would be adversely--that means very much adversely--affected by such co-location. The burden of proof will be solely upon you--and doing the necessary testing will be very costly--and even if you meet the burdern of proof, it might be to no avail; local administrators and committees can be very fickle or abitrary things. Another thing: if you succeed in getting it installed, you can, in many instances be compelled to permit the co-location of other antennae on your structure. You might even be required to design it with that ultimate use in mind! Now, you might hear rumors that Federal regulations exist that bar local authorities from interference in situations like these--where FCC regulations are deemed paramount. Even if this view has merit, in general, the local authorities have the say as to what will be permitted, Federal law notwithstanding. So my opinion, based on what you have given, is that this project of yours could be one in which it is more cost effective to buy, rather than make, the tower installation. You will need lots of money, but it will almost certainly be worth it--and possibly cheaper/easier--in terms of the grief you could be setting yourself up for. But, then again, depending on your circumstance, I could be totally wrong. (My opinions expressed here are based on true life experience when a monopole was proposed to be erected on my semi-rural property. The tower never materialized--because the county forced it to be co-located on a nearby AT&T monopole; and I wound up losing a few $hundreds (plus lawyer fee), anyway, for my troubles.) Hope this helps...if not immediately, then before you've invested too much.
Oh, I forgot to mention. There's also environmental impact studies that might be required if the project constitutes a change of existing use of the property--local, state, and/or federal. There's also the matter of certifying that the site is free of hazardous materials--contamination that might be there from even before you acuired the site? The building code will also come into play due to the height of the tower.
I have the chance to build a 180' tower with 6 digital FM radio stations and 4 digital TV stations wanting to rent space. I need rental rates for tower space and ground facilites. Any help you can give would be great.
Tower
