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TMCNet: Key West Commission rejects 145-foot cell tower

[December 19, 2009]

Key West Commission rejects 145-foot cell tower

Dec 19, 2009 (Florida Keys Keynoter - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- After hearing more than two hours of testimony, it took City Commissioners the better part of a minute to unanimously deny a variance request to build a 145-foot-tall cell phone tower.

The Commission was sitting as the Board of Adjustment in what's called a "quasi-judicial proceeding." At the outset, City Clerk Cheri Smith swears in anyone planning to address commissioners.

Picture the 1980s hit TV show "Night Court," only Key West Mayor Craig Cates played the part of Harry Anderson. The proceedings came complete with wildcard witnesses, including former Assistant City Manager John Jones, who explained the intricacies of digital telecommunications.

"We cannot recommend approval," Planning Director Amy Kimball-Murley said Tuesday. "We do not believe the developers were able to address the objections of the neighbors." Key West-based development firm Trepanier and Associates applied for the variance on behalf of the estate that owns property at 2832 N. Roosevelt Blvd. The parcel is located between the Winn-Dixie and Albertson's shopping complexes.

The 145-foot monopole tower was to be built about 500 feet away from the road. This part of New Town, which the applicants argued doesn't have consistent cell phone service, lies in the general commercial district, which has a 40 foot height limit.

"The people directly in the neighborhood where the tower was going to be located, pretty much unanimously didn't support the height of the tower," Commissioner Barry Gibson, who represents that part of town, said.

"I do believe there's a lack of coverage in the area and we do need something," he said. "But most neighbors weren't comfortable with a 145-foot tower looming over that parcel." The project received a conditional use approval from the Planning Board, but city planners ultimately recommended Commissioners deny the variance based on a review of applicable city land-use criteria.

The development team argued that the 145-foot tower would provide an "optimum" use of the property, which was chosen because it sits directly in the middle of the area lacking coverage. The plan called for five to seven cellular carriers to make use of the tower.

"It's not our responsibility to maximize or optimize," Kimball-Murley said. "We look at the minimal necessary. They've failed to establish [145 feet] is the minimal necessary." The decision was met with a loud cheer from the nearly-full Commission chambers.

To see more of the Keynoter, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.keysnet.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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