P&Z to sound off on cell tower

The view of a proposed 150-foot stealth cell tower depends on your perspective.

“(I’m) sick and tired of important phone calls being dropped,” one resident wrote in one of more than 600 petitions of support submitted as part of the August application for the proposed tower on the Longboat Island Chapel property. The application was submitted by Longboat Key resident and Alpha-Omega Communications Inc. owner Jim Eatrides and his business partner, Kevin Barile, president of the Tampa-based Ridan Industries II.

“Third World countries have better cell coverage,” a resident wrote about north-end cell service.
“A necessary evil,” a north-end resident wrote.

But the view of the proposal is different to Sheri Trine, who, with her husband, Ralph, purchased the 14-unit, 20 boat-slip Grand Mariner condominium in April for $9.5 million. Before the Trines purchased the project, it was the target of four separate lawsuits before Bank of America received a foreclosure judgment against it in 2009. She worries that the proposed tower would destroy the view of the harbor that the condominium overlooks and interfere with sales.

“It’s devastating,” she said. “For our project, we have six units under contract and six letters from the buyers stating that they aren’t going to buy if there’s a tower.”

For both supporters and opponents of the proposed tower, there’s a lot on the line at the Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board (P&Z) meeting Tuesday, Oct. 18. That’s when the board will consider a special-exception use for a 150-foot unipole personal wireless service facility; an Outline Development Plan Amendment with departures required to reduce the required setback for a personal wireless service facility; and a site plan amendment to allow a 150-foot unipole personal wireless service facility and 1,800-square-foot elevated equipment compound. The board will make a recommendation, but, ultimately, Eatrides and Barile plan to move forward regardless of the decision and take their proposal to the Longboat Key Town Commission.

Eatrides and Barile will hold a public meeting at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at Longboat Island Chapel.

“We want them to get accurate information and not be making judgments based on misinformation or misjudgments,” Eatrides said.

But at the same time, Reid Murphy, of Developers Realty Inc., will hold an open house from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Grand Mariner so that the public can check out the view.

“Before they make the decision to be pro-tower, they should look and see what it does to the Grand Mariner and other beachfront properties,” he said.

Trine said that many towers have generators that are serviced once a week for 30 minutes that create a noise so loud that it causes the surrounding area to vibrate. But Barile said that modern towers use a Whisperquiet propane generator that generates a sound at the same volume as an outdoor air-conditioning unit and requires service once a month for 10 to 15 minutes.

Trine worries that the elevated platform will be visible from Grand Mariner. But Eatrides and Barile disagree, noting that the tower will be surrounded by an 8-foot security fence, which will be surrounded by a vegetation buffer.

Trine also feels that the height of the tower has been misrepresented in renderings submitted with the project. She feels they make the proposed tower appear only slightly taller than light poles and said that many members of the public aren’t aware of its 150-foot height.

But Eatrides and Barile say it is a matter of perception and that they commissioned an independent engineering group for the drawings.

But the debate extends far beyond the walls of Grand Mariner.

In an Oct. 10 email to the Town Commission, Warren Simonds, who lives a block away from the proposed tower, expressed support for the plan and criticized those opposing it.

“This stance is similar to the egotistical behavior that we saw exhibited by the IPOC group against the investment that the Loeb Group wanted to make in the LBK Club,” he wrote. “One small ego-centric band of NIMBYs — who want to ruin things for the majority of Key residents need to clearly recognize that what they are doing is patently wrong for the Key.”

But the same day, Stephen Spotte, who also lives within a block of the proposed tower, emailed commissioners in opposition to the plan.

“That property values will likely decline if a cell tower is erected seems reasonable,” Spotte wrote. “I can’t imagine why anyone would buy an expensive piece of property if such an unsightly structure comprises part of the view.”

At least three commissioners have visited Grand Mariner to check out the view.

“I understand his concern,” said Vice Mayor David Brenner, who looked at the cell tower site from the condominium. “But the way the system goes is we have to let this go before the P&Z Board and listen to what everybody has to say.”

LINES OF COMMUNICATION
• Community Information Meeting — 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive; 350-9618
• Grand Mariner Open House — 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at 599 Dream Island Road; 232-3304
• Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board Hearing — 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road; 316-1966