Delve into 12: Cell Tower

“Sick and tired of important phone calls being dropped.”

“This is a safety concern.”

“Third-world countries have better cell coverage.”

Those are a few of the comments collected by Jim Eatrides, owner of the Longboat Key-based Alpha Omega Communications LLC, and Kevin Barile, president of Ridan Industries II in Tampa, in support of a cellular tower.

“I believe the tower will be an eyesore and negatively impact property values.”

“Anyone concerned with their service can install a booster system.”

“Cell towers are going the way of the 78 RPM records.”

Those are a few of the comments made in opposition to a cell tower in emails and statements to the Longboat Key Town Commission and Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board.

Debate over the proposed 150-foot stealth tower on the Longboat Island Chapel property rang through the island in 2011 and will likely continue to cause static in 2012.

The Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board voted 8-1 to recommend an ordinance for an outline development plan (ODP) for the proposed tower at its Oct. 18 meeting. The board was also scheduled to consider a special-exception use for the chapel property and a site-plan amendment at the meeting but held off after attorney Charlie Bailey filed an appeal challenging the applications’ completeness on behalf of Ralph and Sheri Trine, owners of the Grand Mariner condominium, which would overlook the proposed tower. The Trines say that the proposed tower could interfere with sales of at least half of the units at the 14-unit Grand Mariner, which they purchased for $9.5 million in April from Bank of America. Accursio “Gus” Sclafani and his wife, Doreen Erickson, whose home is also close to the site, have also challenged the applications.

At the Nov. 10 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting, Eatrides and Barile agreed to accept all appeal points and submit detailed construction drawings and soil-engineering plans in what they described as a strategic decision.

“Getting reasonable cell coverage is an important issue for the residents, visitors and workers of Longboat Key,” Eatrides said at the time. “We want the application and the process to be just right, just like the town staff does and the opposition does. This has been going on for three, now going on four, years. Redoing the ODP hearing and adding a month is not going to kill us.”

At the same time, Erickson said that she and her husband would continue to challenge the plan even if the applications are determined to be complete.

“We’re fighting for our property,” she said. “This doesn’t belong in an area like this.”

At press time, the application had not been deemed complete by town staff. When the application is complete, it will restart a “shot clock” that gives local governments 90 business days from the date a cell-tower application is deemed complete to approve or deny it. Eatrides and Barile agreed to stop that clock at the ZBA hearing and say that they’re inclined to hold off on restarting it until a consultant that the town hires completes a study of wireless communications issues on the island.

An evaluation committee ranked the Minnesota-based TE Connectivity as its top choice for the wireless communications study — a choice that drew concerns from some residents because the company is a DAS vendor. But in a Dec. 21 email to Town Manager David Bullock, a company representative defended its services and wrote that it would provide “recommendations wholly defined by the test results and with no predisposed bias toward any specific solution or product.”

Despite the conflict surrounding the proposed tower, both sides say they support the study, which could be completed in March or April. Eatrides and Barile estimate that they could return to the P&Z Board after that and then go before the commission in May or June.

Fast fact: The north end has typically experienced more cell-phone service issues than the south end of the island, which has taller buildings that have allowed for the placement of four antennae that boost signals.

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