Islanders oppose proposed cell phone tower location
Island residents came out to a hearing examiner hearing last month to oppose the proposed location for a cell tower.
Those who spoke said they would like to see providers use the existing tower on Pine Island.
Pine Islander Steve Eldredge said a new cellphone tower, which has been requested by Skyway Towers LLC and may have a future at 7645 Barrancas Ave. in Bokeelia, could be both good and bad for the island.
He said following the meeting that while a tower could be great for Bokeelia, its proposed location on a well-developed, residential street would not be a good one
Most people don’t realize there is already a tower on Tropical Lane for current service providers, he said.
“The good part is that we would end up with three cellphone companies providing service on this (the north) end of the island… for all residents. The positive thing is, now we have three cellphone providers and, assuming that all of them are providing the same level of service, then ultimately it becomes about price and customer service.
“We want more providers, what we don’t want is to put this big monstrosity at the entrance, essentially, to Bokeelia,” Eldredge said.
He also points out that all competing service providers may be able to work from the same tower, such as, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. Currently the Verizon tower is on 20 acres, he said.
Residents feel the decision of the building of another tower should be based on whether there is adequate cellphone service for Pine Island, not whether the equipment is the most modern and impressive.
“A lot of it boiled down to them bringing in experts from AT&T and T-Mobile saying… we’re not going to be able to cover 100% of Bokeelia and we know that is absolutely not true,” Eldredge said.
Eldredge said there were approximately 55 Pine Island residents in attendance at the March 11 hearing.
Approximately a dozen spoke and all were against it.
Honc Industries Vice President Steve Honc, who is also a resident of Bokeelia, was among those in attendance.
He said the existing Verizon tower is located on his family’s property. He explained that for every appraiser who would say there is no negative impact on the properties surrounding cellphone towers, he could find appraisers who would reveal studies showing that there are negative impacts.
“I own multiple pieces of property in the general vicinity, much more suited for development like this, similar to the Verizon tower, that would still provide the same amount of coverage,” Honc said.
He said he has applied for many variances himself for less invasive structures and has been denied.
Eldredge said he wants to be clear about what Pine Islanders genuinely want, saying that it’s better, increased cellphone service by multiple carriers.
Variances for the 150-foot-wide proposed tower site, he predicts, will be required on three of the four sides of the tower, as well as a special exception on the height of the tower, which Eldredge emphasized would be required of just about anyone requesting to build a tower on Pine Island.
“Our issue is that they are essentially trying to put this tower at both the entrance to a residential neighborhood and the gateway to Bokeelia,” Eldredge said.
He said he knows of people who may have decided not to continue with plans to build in the same neighborhood due to the possibility of a cellphone tower, and that new property owners came forward at the hearing to say they are already trying to sell, but have had no luck yet.
The case file was closed on March 20, he said, and he expects it to be 4-5 weeks before the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation is made public.
That would put the release around the last week of April or by the end of the month.
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