KZGI Sedro Woolley went on the air in 2017 and was bought by Bustos in 2021 from the orginal owner. The station is non directional at 700 watts. The station can be heard almost to Burlington and probably to its out 70 dbu contour. The station has been on and off several times within the past year or two.
The proposed channel change from 105.7 to 96.9 appears to be a major modification of the license as it is neither an adjacent channels/I.F. move or resolving an interference issue.
A major facility change for a commercial or a noncommercial educational full service FM station, a winning auction bidder, or a tentative selectee authorized or determined under this part is any change in frequency or community of license which is not in accord with its current assignment, except for the following:
(i) A change in community of license which complies with the requirements of
paragraph (g) of this section;
(ii) A change to a higher or lower class co-channel, first-, second-, or third-adjacent channel, or intermediate frequency;
(iii) A change to a same-class first-, second-, or third-adjacent channel, or intermediate frequency;
(iv) A channel substitution, subject to the provisions of Section 316 of the Communications Act for involuntary channel substitutions.
(2) The second group consists of applications for licenses and all other changes in the facilities of authorized stations.
(b)
(1) The FCC may, after the acceptance of an application for modification of facilities, advise the applicant that such application is considered to be one for a major change and therefore subject to the provisions of
§§ 73.3522,
73.3580 and
1.1111 of this chapter pertaining to major changes. Such major modification applications in the non-reserved band will be dismissed as set forth in
paragraph (f)(2)(i) of this section.
If I am not mistaken the proposed change does not allow for the expressions of interest in the allocation of 96.9 to other (perhaps preferable communites) or request a change in the FM Table of Allotments and the public would be better served by this going through the rulemaking process to substitute channel.