Conditional Use (Regular) - Pasco Land and Cattle Co, LLC/Skyway Towers/Verizon Wireless - 155 Foot Above-Ground-Level (AGL) Monopine Wireless Communications Facility (WCF) in an AR-1 Agricultural-Residential District - Central Pasco County - On the North Side of Green Willow Run, Approximately 2,000 Feet East of Quail Hollow Boulevard File Number PDD24-CU02

2:44:48P seventy nine was advertised in the Tampa Bay Times August twenty third, twenty twenty three, and by affidavit with certified mailings and site postings.

2:44:56All right. Commissioner's Denise Hernandez Planning and Development. Um this item was originally presented to you on October 10th, 2023. It's PDD 24 CU02 for Pasco Land and Cattle Company LLC, Skyway Towers, Verizon Wireless for a 155-foot above-ground level monopine. Originally it was submitted as a monopole wireless communication facility in an AR-1 district. Which is located in central Pasco County on the north side of Green Willow Run, approximately

2:45:262,000 feet east of Cuello Hallow Boulevard. When the item was presented to you back in October, the board suggested to the applicant that the and the applicant agreed to modify the the tower design for it to be a monopine, which I'll try to. Finally.

2:45:48So this is what the generally the tower will look like. It will be a monopine, the pole will be will be painted brown, and it will have fronds similar to what a monog what a pine tree would look like, but like pine tree fronds. The applicant was also asked to see if he can work with the landowner to move the location to To uh north northeasterly on the property. And it is my understanding from what the applicant

2:46:19has explained that the property owner has not agreed to that. However, this is the prior site plan showing that it's in set centrally located in the tower compound. Um now the applicant has shown that it's located more northeasterly. Within the compound lease area. And generally on the parcel, this is the parcel. It's a rather large piece of property and it's located where this yellow dot

2:46:49would be on the parcel. The applicant has also provided photo simulations showing what the they actually float up a balloon in the air. And then they place the monopine where that would be. And this is facing north towards the proposed tower from Green Willow Run without the facility and with the facility. I believe the applicant may have a correction to this because the actual driveway

2:47:21is in a different condition. configuration than what the one we're seeing today, right now. Mm this is on the left without the facility, on the right with the facility, the facility is is up here.

2:47:40Then again, uh facing northeast towards the tower to the proposed location from Green Willow One run without the facility on the left, with the facility on the right.

2:47:51This is facing west, without on the left, uh with on the right, and uh this comes to you with a recommendation of approval with conditions as included in your agenda packet. And I am here for any questions that you may have.

2:48:05Any questions for Denise?

2:48:09Yes.

2:48:10Thank you, Chair. The um I just want to com to confirm uh the applicant met with our office and that they're that they're going to keep the pine the buffering, I don't know if they're here, but keep the buffering in the mature pine should it be approved. Keep keep the density of those of the existing pines and dis disrupt. as minimally as possible and keep those there for as long as we can.

2:48:44Is that a true statement?

2:48:47She's looking for the condition.

2:48:49Oh, okay.

2:48:51I'm looking to see if there's a condition that specifically says that because in the past I have added conditions that say no tree shall be removed but for the trees that are required to for the compound itself. Um and on this one it does not state that. We can add that if that's the pleasure of the Board of County Commissioners.

2:49:09It's out of this guy's control, um because that he's only buying sorry. He's only buying that or or renting or whatever he's doing that pad. and I think the trees in front of it are owned by the owner of the land. But if the owner of the land wants the income from the pole then hopefully he will agree that no reason to take that those trees out. I also um asked if they could look at

2:49:39the driveway design so that when you're driving down the road and you look in And if you guys met with them, you saw the visuals. They didn't put any screening on the front. And so um he said he could work with doing the design of the driveway and making sure there's plantings on the front of that as well.

2:50:04But that would be within condition three, which is that they have to comply with the buffering requirements of the LGC. They have to. So that's a requirement. They didn't right in the site plan that's shown, but that's not they have to come in for a preliminary site plan in accordance to with your condition Number seven. So when they come in with the preliminary site plan, they have to show a minimum of a ten foot buffer around the the c the compound. So

2:50:28Well they had the way they had the front designed with the gate and the way the driveway came in. Yeah, there was a whole bunch of things.

2:50:34I completely agree that that's the consistent with the code. Yeah. Right.

2:50:39Any other questions for Denise?

2:50:43If not, then is there anyone signed up to speak? Oh the applicant? Crazy. Very good.

2:50:53Um, Mr. Karbala, are you with the our EMS like making sure uh you know there's tornadoes. Just wanna make sure when I looked they're not here, they're it's it's sat in the other side of the county, but just you know, make sure we're not sitting up here with the tornado coming.

2:51:12Yeah, we are currently under a tornado warning.

2:51:14Yeah, but there's one on the other side. Um so

2:51:19people here they

2:51:20got someone's watching to make sure we don't have one pop up here. here?

2:51:24Yes, we will. Keep it from having. Thank you.

2:51:29Activated the force.

2:51:31Okay. You can do wonders, that's it. Yes, sir.

2:51:37Hi, good afternoon. James Johnston with Shep Silani, three hundred Seth Weight Avenue. On behalf of the applicant, I've been sworn. Um I know we've got all the weather so and we had a full hearing back in October. So I don't want to uh belabor uh anything too much, but um I think as Denise did uh indicated, um you know, after the after the continuance we did go back to the property owner to see if there's a possibility they were agreeable to moving our lease area around on the parent parcel uh and they

2:52:07were not agreeable to do that. So then we um you know, are kind of left with uh our lease area and what we can do in our lease area. And so um what we have proposed um the the changes to try to alleviate you know some of the concerns expressed by the commission and the residents were to change to a monopine type tower which we think is consistent with the area from the monopole that was originally proposed. We moved the tower into the the north East corner of the lease area. And we know that this

2:52:37is not a great move, but it's what we control and it takes it from the closest property lines to what we can do in our lease area. We also created as Commissioner Weightman said, a no-clearing buffer area within our lease compound to not remove the trees. other than the trees we'd have to move or remove for the access road uh and like you know the the fenced area.

2:53:08And then we did change the driveway angle. And unfortunately the photosims that were submitted for the monopine included the old direct-in access. And so I just was, if I can put this up on the... Hold on. This was the revised plan and you'll see it has an angled in uh driveway with the purpose of you don't have direct view into the to the tower compound.

2:53:39Um you'll have the trees kind of in the front and the back of the angled um

2:53:46turn up that way. So you can see with the with the uh with the angled driveway like that to leave uh the the trees to to minimize view of the tower compound. Um and so uh those were the changes we were able to do in the area we controlled. Um I also at the last hearing there were some uh concerns raised about property values by some of the surrounding uh neighbors. So after the last hearing we engaged uh Dave Talby

2:54:16with Lee Pallardy uh Incorporated, who is an uh MAI certified appraiser to the at the issue and I know again we're trying to to speed through these things but I just wanted him to come up and introduce himself, his qualifications and very briefly talk about the results of his um study.

2:54:37David Tolby, Lee Powerty Incorporated, 609 East Jackson Street, Tampa, 33602, and I have been sworn. The applicant asked me to prepare a tower damage impact study. And what that is is it's a study to determine whether or not Proximity to a seller communication tower is disruptive or damages property valuations. And I've been studying this issue now for nearly 25 years. I've studied 460 plus tower installations.

2:55:08I have yet. to be able to find and support that a tower installation has any impact on the valuation of surrounding property. I've looked at rural property, undeveloped rural property. I've looked at urban. I've looked at single family. I've looked at commercial. I've looked at monopine towers, stealth towers, monopole towers. Self-supporter towers. I've studied them all. over twenty five years. Also I like to point out or bring to your attention that I have interviewed

2:55:39Nearly every single property appraiser along the west coast of Florida starting up in the Panhandle in Calhoun, Jefferson, and Leon counties. all the way down to Naples and Colliers County and over into Orange and Seminole County, and everywhere in between, including Lake and Pasco. Daniel Via, who's a senior property appraiser for Pasco County, and one of his representatives, Chris Poe, I've talked to both of them on multiple occasions. Pasco County. as well as all these other counties have never made a reduction in a property assessment

2:56:10due to pr uh approximately to a tower. So you have to ask yourself With all the opposition, how can that possibly be? And the property appraisers do the same thing I do. We analyze sales and resales. And there just is no support that a tower installation will impact a property valuation. And I have a copy of my study that I can Uh submit for the record.

2:56:34Uh move to receive and file. Second. Can you hand it to the clerk?

2:56:38All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. All right. Motion be passed. Four zero. Thank you.

2:56:44Thank you.

2:56:48Can I go back to the

2:56:53Oak. Okay.

2:56:57And again just to Mm-hmm. To wrap up I think it's um You know, it's important your code provides, you know, in deciding where these guys these towers go to require first to look for co-location, which we did and we're not able to co-locate on any existing tower. There's no tower within uh closest one is 1.25 miles. Um I think the other thing your code does that's

2:57:27important is it recognizes the complexity. of RF engineering and design of systems and so under your code it requires expert review due to the complexity and this is the language from the code due to the complexity of the methodology and analysis require. And so you're you've had an outside expert look at this. They also agree with the Verizon RF documents that are submitted in the record that there's a need at this height

2:57:57in this area. So uh again, we would just um uh ask that you uh follow the staff recommendation of approval, Planning Commission recommendation of approval. the outside your outside experts recommendation and approve this conditional use. We're here to answer questions and like I know there's some people from the neighborhood and so we'd just like a very brief time to come back up as needed.

2:58:28It's here.

2:58:29Yeah. Thank you.

2:58:33Getting pretty dark outside, yeah.

2:58:38Okay.

2:58:39All right. There's

2:58:40no one signed up but no one signed up? I'm assuming maybe in the public since we're in the last item. The public?

2:58:47Oh yeah. Is anyone there to speak to this item? Okay. Uh line up

2:58:57as Uh as you come to the podium please give your name and address and state whether you've been sworn. Thank you. Okay, so

2:59:55Hello, my name is Merrill Fermani. I am [address removed], and I have been snorted in. Um so on this first page, um I wanted to start by showing the Verizon provided RF maps. Um this first page here is the current coverage. And this next page is with um the added tower and the proposed location. Um so on this one, this next page, this is where um I wanted to provide a comparison of the two maps. I did this by doing both

3:00:25a digital and physical overlay to compare them to show the borders of current signal and improved signal. Um what you can see here is what did I do? I went back. There we go. I guess I gotta use this one. So right here and here, all of this is already covered by current towers, and I understand coverage is not the name of the game, it's capacity. Here and here are the only two additional areas from this tower placement here that would have benefit. What I want you to notice here is that this dead zone right

3:00:55here is Shenandoah of Saddlewood. And then on the next page, keep in mind I wanted to show street names. So this is from Google Maps. This here is Shenandoah of Saddlewood. And then right here is where the tower is going to be for Greenwill and Post location. All these little roads right here, I wish I could exhume in. um are private access roads that I want to draw your attention to. Keep in mind Shenandoah is still in the dead zone for where the tower is proposed to go. We're not saying no tower, we're just saying move

3:01:26it a little bit. Those private access roads are on 300 acres of property. So what I wanted to show next oh thank you. So right here, these are all the access roads that even Google Maps can see. And then on the next one, do you mind zooming zooming out again? Although you can see it right here. This is on the survey that they even provided in the public agenda note showing that there is an access road. At the last meeting they were mentioning they didn't think an access road existed where

3:01:56they could move the tower a little bit northeast and still have feasible, you know, ability to get to said tower to maintain it, etc. I wanted to show in multiple areas that there is a possibility to access it. Um and then Here um I wanted to show another issue with wetlands on this property. Now keep in mind both parcels are 150 acres. They are owned by the same people that are out-of-state owners that do not live here. I wanted to show this on something that you guys were

3:02:26familiar with. That you see your maps. I've seen them used here, so that's why I use this one. These are the wetland areas. And this right here is that same access road. Here is where the tower is located. This access road is seen by Google Maps, by the survey, and your own program. There are all these dry locations here that the tower could be where it's not impacting us. I I just I've been trying to email this and I I keep missing internal dates apparently and Denise has helped me and explained

3:02:56so much, so I really appreciate you. Um but my point is is like we moved out here to be more insulated from views like this and we understand that they're making it a pine now. But just please c consider we moved out here to avoid this and I hope that this provides proof that there are other options of resources that are not being considered that would benefit everyone and mostly us who already live here. Thank you very much.

3:03:24Name and address in the state if you uh bench warrant.

3:03:28My name is Stephanie LeFieu and our address is [address removed]. And and have you been sworn? Yes I have. Thank you thank you. Appreciate that. And I am a realtor, not an appraiser, um, but I am a realtor and I did research online on National Association of Realtors website and uh in speaking with an appraiser they told me to research external obsolescence. And it's a form of depreciation caused by factors not on the property itself, such as environmental,

3:03:58social, economic forces. An example would be a garbage dump, cell tower, or graveyard, something that you can't control. And once that cell tower is there, then we've got that going on and affecting values. Um homeowner can't reverse that, of course. Per NAR, the academic research on the cell phone towers on property values, impact ranges from 2.65 to 7.6% of the values of the homes. Of

3:04:29course, wildlife are more successful more sensitive to electromagnetic fields in humans. Some states require disclosure of cell phone towers or other nuisance. It's it would not be something that would be a benefit to us that live in the area. When you see it, especially when you when you're on the property and you see the the cell tower around the home, it's less appealing for anybody. If you live there or you're thinking about buying there, you're gonna get less. We find that homes close

3:04:59to towers sell for a discount of up to seven point six percent and that any noticeable effect disappears. Um anyway, hold on.

3:05:10Oh

3:05:13And it's perception of those effects that can impact. With it being potentially a health risk. Um American Sus um Cancer Society, they said it continues um it still needs to be looked at further. It has caused in rats um tumors in the heart and different places and they said it still needs to be looked at in depth uh with the effect of people, of course. Um so they said more studies Need to be done. U it's hard to say whether or

3:05:43not it's gonna affect us physically and our health, but it's gonna affect our values. And it does it is not appealing to look out and see one of those tall towers anywhere near your house. Um especially in a downturn market, um the negative impact increases um to nearly seven percent. And nine point seven eight. And they pulled s they spoke to people about the potential impact of a cell phone tower.

3:06:14and it states if purchasing or renting a property near a cellphone base station, over a third or thirty-eight percent of the control group respondents said that it C P S would reduce the price of the property then more by more than twenty percent.

3:06:34And it it may it may be that we have to disclose that a cell phone tower is within so many feet of your property, it could affect us in that way also, which would be detrimental. So I I just propose that it be put in a place that's not residential. I mean there's plenty of businesses around us. There's the grove, there's There's gotta be a better location that won't be affecting us. We bought we've been there for years. We've been there since oh eight and it will adversely affect us. So we're

3:07:04asking for something else to be done. Thank you so much.

3:07:07Thank you.

3:07:10Next.

3:07:12Name and address for the clerk and if you've been sworn.

3:07:15Sorry, didn't you?

3:07:18Name and address for the clerk and then if you've been sworn.

3:07:22Yes. I've been sworn, Kelly Lamasca, [address removed]. I will reside approximately a thousand feet from this tower. Um I am certainly glad to hear the

3:07:39details of home value, that is one factor of this. The other is that I would like to see a future impact of this tower because that's not been discussed in these meetings. Will Patrick County monitor this and keep a rising to its original intent? We'd like to see the original contract and it's extent of how long this lease will occur. Well, Verizon rent their tower to other providers.

3:08:09and not notify the community and saturate the community even further with more with more Bandwidth. Will it go to a higher bandwidth? Ten G. What is its future impact with that? We are not getting any type of safety impact with this. And I am asking that the board please recommend this information for public review. uh from Verizon and allow the community to have a state.

3:08:40of addressment with that because we've already decided at this point, as it appears, that this is already being approved and all Verizon is waiting on is which design we des we desire. We in the public have not approved this, however We are asking for more details and in the meantime I am a vote against it, so I ask that you reconsider some of the details needed to further uh review this for insight. Thank you

3:09:11for your time.

3:09:12Thank you.

3:09:20Name and address and if you've been sworn.

3:09:22Advance [address removed]. Um yes I've been sworn in.

3:09:30I was here last time and talked to you and I look right next door to where the tower is going in. It's fifty feet from my property, which is very upsetting.

3:09:41I didn't go into any my concerns about any health because I was we were told at the very beginning the health uh scares and the home values didn't matter because of FCC rules.

3:09:58Even with knowing that, I left here with some hope. because of the questions that the commissioners asked Verizon. They wanted to know how this is gonna fill the gap, if there's going to be any more coverage. if it w what all of the things were, if it could be moved. That hope for me was dashed yesterday. When the uh appraisers not the appraisers,

3:10:28the um Surveyors came in In the afternoon To do the final survey and put permanent markers in on the property.

3:10:44I felt like Why am I even going to that meeting tomorrow? Uh Because if they're already putting in permanent markers, they must know something I don't know.

3:11:01Then I started doing more research. And I found out about the high pitch uh noises the cell towers emit. Then I started getting really nervous about it because since I was a child I've had a thing with my ears that I can hear high-pitched noises that other people never hear. There are stores, jewelry stores I can't even go in because

3:11:31of the noise. So I started being concerned about that.

3:11:40So because there is no significant filling of the gap with this tower, I would ask the committee to please oppose it going in. Thank you.

3:11:54Thank you.

3:11:59Name and address and if you've been sworn.

3:12:01Hi, I've been sworn in. I'm Tim Dunaffin. [address removed].

3:12:09And have you been sworn?

3:12:10Yes, I've been sworn. Thank you. At the first um neighborhood meetings that we had with Verizon Uh last October nineteenth or I'm sorry, August nineteenth. I ask if the tower would work physically work anywhere on this three hundred and forty-two acre property. And their answer was yes, it would work anywhere on that property. So why do they choose this particular place to ruin and damage our neighborhood? It just doesn't

3:12:40make any sense. why this particular spot when they've got so much land uh to choose from. Last uh meeting October Uh tenth, Commissioner Oakley. Uh so let's take a three month wait and Let's let Verizon in the property owner try to come up with a different location. that makes more sense, that would actually benefit people. Rather than harm people. as

3:13:11we don't need the cell tower where we are. Uh I've had great reception with my phone. My internet has been great for 20-some years. Oh, this isn't going to benefit the people that it's going to harm the most. They say there's a The tree line will cover it to where nobody will see it. Well the tree line is at the most seventy-five feet tall. This is a hundred and fifty five feet tall. So the tree line's not gonna cover it at all. It'd be visible

3:13:42for anybody around. Mostly concerned with the weather, the hurricanes, the tornadoes. It's gonna blow steel through people's windows on their houses. And Verizon says no, it just falls straight to the ground. Well, that's eighty feet it's gonna fall before it ever hits the tree line and and that eighty feet can't it blow into someone's house or yard? I would say so. And even if it's on the ground Well what are we told every time there's a

3:14:12hurricane? Get everything off your property so nothing's blowing through anybody's windows. Well even if it's on the ground, what's going to keep it on the ground? We've seen boats, cars with hurricanes, throw them all over the place. I don't think they're gonna come out and secure that steel that's on the ground. They've also told us that they can add on to this. Yay. Five different more companies can come in and just add on to it, make it bigger and bigger. To make it even more dangerous

3:14:42for us.

3:14:45No, why should we, uh the neighbor people here, why should we be forced to look at this monstrosity that benefits other people? Um w it needs to be put somewhere else, it needs to be put somewhere where people need it the most and where it's at now it's not not the place it should be. You know, the commissioners are For the people. No, we are the people. And we need your help. We need you to vote

3:15:15this down. or move it somewhere where it makes more sense. Thank you.

3:15:21Thank you.

3:15:26I'll state your name and address and if you've been sworn.

3:15:29Paul Fermani, [address removed]. I have been sworn. Okay. I sent an email to all county commissioners uh last week. I'd like it to be received and filed. Same.

3:15:47All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed like saying. Motion passed for zero.

3:15:53Okay. Okay.

3:15:59I have brought one picture because one picture speaks a thousand words. I'm a little confused myself because at the last hearing which was here at, um Commissioner Mariano suggested to the petitioner that they look elsewhere, either on the same property or in different locations.

3:16:17I even in my email proposed alternate sites that are even closer to Wesley, to Saddlewood, excuse me, because Saddlewood is who is benefiting from this, not Quail Hollow. They want to put a cell phone tower in Quell Hollow to benefit a totally different community because it's convenient for them. So why not put it next to Cyprus Creek High School? It would be close to Saddlewood and it would be an income maker for the school board. Why

3:16:47not put it next to that monstrosity of a warehouse that still remains vacant to this day? On Old Pasco and Blair Road. There are literally hundreds of opportunities of horizon to put the towel closer to Saddlewood. and get better reception for those citizens who want it.

3:17:09Horizon thought they could just pat us on the head. and make a monopole a monopine and we'd all be happy. Well I'm sorry. We're not happy. Most of us have lived there over thirty years. We moved there to get away from urban sport. to get away from the car washers and the Starbucks on every corner. We moved that because we could look at a pristine skyline. And enjoy the Wildlife

3:17:39in our area.

3:17:42So We treasure our open spaces. Remember that? Open spaces, vibrant places, Fasco County. That's why we moved here. And yet thirty years later The argument is, oh nobody's gonna notice it. We've got a tree line and it'll cover it. A hundred and fifty five foot. I saw a single digit salute to the neighbors. above the tree line. That's what we'll be looking at every day when

3:18:13we wake up in the morning. So Skyway Towers will go back to their corporate offices, Verizon will go back to New York where they are based. The owners in Saint Leois of this property will gather the rent And we have to wake up every morning to that.

3:18:34If this were a courtroom, I would not be able to violate the court the golden rule and state how would you feel? But this is not a courtroom and you are not jurors, you are commissioners here to protect the rights of Pasco County citizens. And so how would you feel to wake up every morning to that for the rest of your life. 'Cause I don't intend to sell, it's not going to affect my value of property. And my property is contiguous to that property. So let's

3:19:05not change the motto for Pasco County from open spaces to vibrant places to the famous words of Joni Mitchell. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. 'Cause if you allow this, you're on a slippery slope, my friends. Your time's up, sir. Thank you.

3:19:21Thank you.

3:19:24Anyone else?

3:19:28Um could we hear from the applicant again for a second? I have a question. Yeah. Could you put up the service map please?

3:19:46Well the one that shows where your what the coverage is in that area.

3:19:52What do we have to do now? Didn't d didn't our consultant provide something. So this is the challenge that we have. Okay. Is that we First we can't go by Anything medical? legally and we hire a consultant that tells us where the need is. And I think that we have a consultant telling us there's a need there, otherwise you wouldn't be looking there. South.

3:20:24Cur correct Commissioner Oak you know, I I think as this showed the blue dots are existing towers where it's located. And so we're talking about, you know, as mentioned, coverage and capacity and it's not just, you know, the coverage, it's how this interrelated system works together and how the towers offload from each other which improve everyone's service. So again, I I think as you were pointing out, the Verizon doesn't go to put antennas where they're not

3:20:54needed. First, you know, th they only go where their RF system says these are needed to improve their coverage and capacity. Then they look to see if there's an existing tower structure in that area where they can go, and if there's not that's when they go, you know, for a new tower. And then you go, um, then they have, you know, site acquisition people who say, okay, within this area, let's find a willing, you know, properties at work, a willing landowner, and then find the

3:21:24the location. So that's how we you know end up uh with where we are. And again, I think, as your code very specifically says, this is a complex issue. That's why you hired the outside consultant to review what our what Verizon RF is saying, and your outside expert has looked at it and said, we agree that there's a need here at the height that is proposed. Um and if I can have a second just to address a couple of the other um issues

3:21:55that were raised. I don't wanna I know some health issues were raised. I know we've discussed that before, that that's preempted by um the federal government. Um I do think someone raised uh property values and um You know, the evidence we've provided is an actual property appraiser who's not basing this just on an internet article who but who actually prepared a study based on this site, based on his experience with towers, and has come to the conclusion

3:22:25that these will this tower will not negatively impact their property values.

3:22:34And uh I I think that I mean uh again we we we take the neighbors concerns, you know, we don't take them lightly. We did go back to the property owner to um ask about moving on the site, uh but Based on that response, we're here with our site as proposed with the with the changes we propose to try to mitigate impacts, you know, as best as we can on our lease area. So we would just ask for your support on this item.

3:23:05Thank you.

3:23:11Mr. Waybon.

3:23:12Chair, this is for the asking. Did there there was no conversation with the school board about putting the subtower at Cypress Creek?

3:23:23Well where where is that relative to this?

3:23:27Uh not too far away. I

3:23:30I think when when they when they did the site look for this again based on the search area where it was needed, they um they contacted eleven different uh property owners in the area. There were some limitations, gated communities they couldn't go into, conservation areas they couldn't go to. So they found eleven properties and received responses from two. One of which was a school, I don't know if it was the Cypress Creek High School. It may have been, but when and so those two sites were sent to Verizon and that was too close to other

3:24:00towers where it would not RF chose this site because this would uh better address their um their needs and the uh coverage and capacity gaps whereas the other one was too close I think to other existing Verizon facilities where it would not provide uh the same coverage and capacity that was needed.

3:24:21Where's the tower where's the closest tower in relation to the high school? Where do we that's

3:24:26a good question.

3:24:31You don't know I mean back to your that showed

3:24:35it. I mean I could j I have the map which shows

3:24:39existing facilities that's worked for a long time here.

3:25:03I think what you're talking about is is more to the east.

3:25:08So, um

3:25:09Denise Hernandez Planning and Development. So regarding the closest tower near the school is actually located at eighty four forty two Old Pasco Road. AT Mobile is the anchor tenant, but Verizon is on that tower as well.

3:25:23Excuse me. So again, is that D on the map?

3:25:28It is a two hundred and sixty foot tower, um eight four four four four four four four two Old Pasco Road. On the on Wildcat Groves parcel. I could give you the parcel ID number and you can put it on and plop it up. But I I I'm using GIS on my phone.

3:25:45Does our expert know? What is it D?

3:25:50So it is southeast of the school.

3:25:57This is it. No, so it's probably D, yeah.

3:26:01It's right off of I seventy five.

3:26:05Yeah, to be an interview.

3:26:10Hmm. Well what's the distance from the school to D and from the proposed site to D? Do we know? I

3:26:19don't know. I know the closest tower to the proposed site is over one and a quarter miles away.

3:26:29So that would be D. But what's the distance between your yellow dot and D?

3:26:49Yeah. Google Earth you could draw a line Just trying to map the other thing.

3:27:28Yeah.

3:27:31Right, yes. It's a pretty large.

3:27:41I guess my question is what's the distance between I historically support cell time. It's the way our world communicates. It's the way it works. It's a necessary and unlikable thing in today's world. So What's the how's it work? Is it by distance? Is it by how they bounce off each other?

3:28:02How's your formula? And again it's it's it it's like you have the surrounding ones and you try to go, you know, to be in the middle of those as best you can to again offload the other towers. So if you were on that tower compared to the high school right there is you know s the Verizon's already on that tower so would really provide no additional coverage and would not address their needs.

3:28:29If you build if you put a cell tower

3:28:31on the high school site?

3:28:41Two dollars. But that was one of the recommended that's one of the consultant sites. Well those are just our only options.

3:28:49Those are the those are the um what they do is they do an analysis. Can you ca am I being picked up my voice? I agree. Yeah, we hear

3:28:57you.

3:29:04So Denise Hernandez, Planning and Development. So an analysis is done um showing all the different towers that Ver that exist that are existing and Verizon actually is co-located on or is an anchor tenant on. So that tower was used as a site that they that they were on and that you know the they need this particular tower. I mean I'm not an RF consultant, but that's what the analysis says that this tower is necessary. And I think they also do an analysis of another monopine. That's like one

3:29:34point Some odd miles from here, southwest on Edna Pochet's property. Um that that's probably one of the only monopines we have in Pasco County. And I think they're on that as well. Yes, Verizon is on that side as well. Yeah.

3:29:48So again it's it's filling in the the system where you had the on the outside and and providing this new site on the inside to help again. Fill in coverage but also provide the offloading of the other sites.

3:30:03So my next questi if if if that's there then as you go north uh Old Pasco Road, what would be your next target site? Is there do we know? Because there's gaps as you go north up Old Pasco and you hit fifty two, um

3:30:27If it's working off this ping network I'm trying to understand big a bigger picture of what we do to better I guess it's kind of a staff question, what we do to better coverage.

3:30:41in general, not just this one one particular spot.

3:30:50No way to argue.

3:30:53I mean I I know just from Verizon's perspective it's co they're constantly looking at it and it depends on where customers are, where usage is, you know, so the so the RF needs are changing where um you know what what were you know what was appropriate, you know, way back when people only use their cellphones just for for calling, you know, it's different now as uh as we've moved forward with you know data capacity, those issues and that's why there's there

3:31:23are additional towers needed to fill in and and help stabilize that system and provide the the coverage and capacity that are needed. And again we we think it's it's helpful for public safety with all the nine one one calls. Um you know it's also utilized Horizons utilized by a lot of emergency management entities and it's just we think it's it's good for um for the area

3:31:53to have good quality coverage and capacity.

3:31:56I appreciate like I said historically you know self-town self-cell phone towers are unfortunately necessary to the way we communicate. I just like to be sure and confident that the cell tower companies have exhausted their opportunities or willing property owners to put to put these towers on there.

3:32:18Right. No, I I I appreciate that and they do. Because again, the easiest thing for them is to go on an existing structure or tower where there's no zoning hearing, it's already been it's already up. Um it's only when they can't do that that that's when they have to propose a new tower.

3:32:36Mr. Chairman Mariano. Yeah. Can I have a map that shows the before and after map? That shows the coverage change?

3:33:11was that?

3:33:13Well

3:33:14didn't you see it?

3:33:16Let's put him side.

3:33:27Wanna fold it? I want to fold it.

3:33:31Oh yeah.

3:33:35Uh

3:33:41So when we looked at the one over to um plantation palms and we saw the coverage area down low was like thick up when they changed this from the one tower where the sports field was to go north, we saw a significant change. I don't see a significant change here, especially to right where the core is. I don't I don't know what the consultants do or how they actually go about their business, but If that's the limited amount of extra service we're going to get, I don't think it's worth putting it in. I think they need to do a better job to what's going on there.

3:34:10Which

3:34:10color shows

3:34:11more service?

3:34:13The green or the red? But I think again it's coverage and capacity in the offloading of the other tower sites. So it it it's not just as simple as it's being coverage. It's all as well.

3:34:25And again, as simple as it is. is supposed to be when you look at where that tower is, right above it it like there's no change. Around it you get a little bit of a circle left and right. Um And that's it. So if that's the best you've got for the coverage that's there, I think you need to go look somewhere else. Maybe it is further to the right that you get better service. But for that for these people to go through that for that one minuscule improvement? I don't think it's worth it for

3:34:52I I mean again I I I say it's not a minuscule improvement. Again it's something that has been designed, requested by Verizon RF and again reviewed by your outside expert

3:35:05and all the experts in the world still can't to me show that that's the best you can do, especially when we've seen others do it across the s across on forty one where they had two different towers to be put in place. They could show a bigger gap that made a difference. Even when we looked at the school site over in uh on on fifty four. It showed differences where it can go. I think you guys need to go back to the table and look for a better site.

3:35:30I appreciate your comment.

3:35:32If if you'll notice the original original lease property, they didn't change to the larger piece of property. They stayed on that lease small lease property. So it's not much change from what you saw before.

3:35:44And Commissioner Oakley, we even have our own industrial property right on seventy five. Maybe that would even have an effect. I don't know. Did you reach out to us at seventy I seventy five, our own property?

3:35:54On I seventy five?

3:35:55On I seventy five, just on Old Pasco Road, between I seventy five and old Pasco Road.

3:36:01There's already one there. On seventy five, so we don't need one right over there.

3:36:06I don't know if that's the same one, 'cause that's that's by the school. If it's if it is enough, I'm not sure.

3:36:09Well I'm gonna say we don't we didn't need one right there. We needed one farther to the west 'cause we're already on the tower that's right there off of seventy five. What is

3:36:20it?

3:36:20That was to the blessing.

3:36:24Pleasure of the board.

3:36:30Is there any way I can say anything else about that? Yeah.

3:36:36I'm moved to deny it.

3:36:40You know, it does seem that maybe Is there one on the elementary school?

3:36:50Well all of them?

3:36:51Yeah.

3:36:54It seems if that were Just a little bit more to the west, the east.

3:37:02I

3:37:03I don't know about that site, but I know there have been other when elementary school sites have been looked at before. I believe I was in a meeting with you, Commissioner Oriano, where uh there was not support for putting towers on elementary school sites. Okay, it got a lot of criticism from the parents.

3:37:24So a lot of h health and safety concerns come out from the The people when we did the down in Trinity. I mean it's new information that has come up before. I guess the feds have stopped testing for rats, so we don't even have any current information. But even one of the presidents here talked about being a beekeeper and how no bees go around the cell towers for the same concerns about what what goes on with what's being transmitted. So I mean there is health concerns, which does affect property values, the location of the coverage. I mean, there's just so many networking. negatives to this site. Right. I I wish they'd just go back out and look go look go

3:37:54take a look again. I mean we we we uh obviously want to see s good cell coverage but again these people I think even suffering for cell coverage issues. I haven't seen anything that would incompel me to say this makes sense. Yeah. So my motion's still out there.

3:38:08I don't I

3:38:09Did you make a motion? I made a motion to deny.

3:38:11Oh okay, I didn't hear it, so I'm sorry. Sorry. Did we get a second to that?

3:38:18I see I see a difference in coverage. And I'm all for coverage and I've been consistent in that message. And the thing goes two two then it dies. I don't I don't wanna see an opportunity to improve

3:38:35Cell signal.

3:38:39you know, pass by. I really I really don't I and I always appreciate the residents and their concern, but it again it's the it's the way of our our world, it's the way we communicate. We used to communicate via smoke signal. Thirty years from now it might not cell towers may go down and who who knows how we'll how we'll

3:38:58communicate through satellite.

3:38:59Yeah. I mean you know I don't necessarily I don't I don't like it, but it's it's a it's a a need that we need to have a as a functioning society that communicates a thousand times a day, every which way, social media or however. So is there is there any other opportun have you guys exhausted Every opportunity to find sites for location here

3:39:29you guys.

3:39:32Comes down to him.

3:39:33Yes. I mean we we scrubbed the area, sent out notices to different properties that were were viable properties, only received two responses, and again this was the response that worked for Verizon R. So w we we have gone through that very laborious process to find find a site that works for Verizon RF again and and I ha hate to keep belaboring the point but but that your expert that you you

3:40:04know uh that you involve in this process because it is such a complex uh process uh the RF engineering has has agreed with it and said we meet the code requirements. Tower in that location is needed at that height. So again we would we understand the concerns but we would ask Uh that you approve this application. Thank you.

3:40:25I mean the confirmed the property owner at this current site, they don't want to have it in any different location for one reason or another.

3:40:34Correct. We did speak to them after the lat October hearing to make that request as uh Commissioner Mariano had requested.

3:40:43I will second Mr. Mariano's uh motion.

3:40:46Well I'm I'm on the same page as Commissioner Weightman. Um there's never any great site for Salt Tower really. Uh uh my house in Aristida, we back into the wilderness preserve. And when my my son comes down And the and now he's not even doing it anymore. To work. uh with my grandkids and he tries to work in my house he can't do it. I I'm sure I have spoken to many of you where

3:41:17you say, I can't understand a word you're saying and I have to go stand down on my driveway. Um it sometimes I have to get on my car and drive to the front of my street, my front of my neighborhood, because we don't have we have cell tower coverage. And so um just last night watching the football game, boom, frozen, um on a great play. So uh I I you may not you may not have great service. You may

3:41:47have fine service now but as more and more things come on the internet The capacity just gets gobbled up. And um You know, s th there are times if I had to I have to have a landline. I have to pay for landline. We can't go without it because of emergencies in case we have an emergency. So um I was looking at the neighborhood and and I I get that cell towers aren't British. I worked on the first

3:42:18cell tower ordinance. We've approved this one a little But you know, we we put in certain rules to try and

3:42:27They have to be Needed. Um when we first started before we had the cell tower ordinance, you could put a pole, you look in Port Ritchie, there's a pole here, a pole here, and a pole here. Three poles within a hundred yards of each other. I mean we we tightened it up, we got rid of the guide wires for the most part, it's um and the lattice when we tried to make them as as unobtrusive as possible, but the fact of the matter is this This is the world we live in and so um

3:42:59If that were in my view in my yard um I would be planting a tree in that I would be planting trees so that when I look that way, if it was in if it was in the view outside my my living room or whatever, my pool And I see most of those are pretty large lots. I would be planting a tree so I didn't see it. Um so that would be So I I I am not gonna vote against it,

3:43:26I'm

3:43:26gonna vote for it.

3:43:27I'm gonna call it a question.

3:43:28So with that, if it's two two then it dies. I I really don't wanna see

3:43:35the work that's been done here, I guess I mean could we move to continue and you guys if it's a if it's

3:43:41if it's a two two you're gonna have to m move to continue it until you have a full board, I would think. I mean it I

3:43:49wait for

3:43:49commission. 'Cause it 'cause a two two which Is is voting on the denial doesn't grant an approval.

3:43:57Well about you get the vote.

3:43:59No, I don't get the vote. Thank you very much.

3:44:05services is is warranted and I appreciate the residents and their concerns too. If there's another way to go, I don't know who our county expert is. I don't think I've ever met net with them. I don't know if anybody here has knows anybody or county has a r as a as a resource that can help the carrier out some way somehow to just maybe like we did at uh Starkey. We've been patient and we found another spot and we we

3:44:35accomplished our goal to get signal and in a carry. I I this is necessary. We have so much coming in at O at Overpass. And um in Old Pasco we have the riding of the road. I mean there's just a lot going on and it's not going to get any easier to make the decisions as people move here we're going to be forced to make these decisions and they're un uncomfortable but they're necessary. So uh

3:45:02questions so we have a

3:45:04can I make a sec just before we call the motion okay and just for the for the others. Maybe what we need to do is just give 'em clear direction. We don't want it here. Go work harder. Maybe they gotta pay more money to somebody else to get more interest to to get what they need to get for location. But this is di clearly not a Big boost for a location. Let's give them a direction to go pick another location. Just tell 'em straight up. Like don't go Move a driveway and put some fancy bushes up that could go flying everywhere in a storm. Let's

3:45:34go pick have them just tell them to go pick another location.

3:45:39You're probably right 'cause the the fact of it is if you continue You'll be s you'll be talking about the same things down the road wherever you continue to and

3:45:51But if you deny this application you have to deny it based on your criteria for conditional use. So that's

3:46:02So th that's not I don't wanna see it here and I wanna see it someplace else. That's it's gotta it you've you've gotta m You've got to do that. eight criteria for granting or denying a conditional use Um We've already been through the Health effects is not one of them that you can use. Um number two.

3:46:34You have the number three.

3:46:44Well I can use the e. Yeah, y you can make an argument that that because of the rural character of this area that it's not consistent with land use patterns. Um you've got evidence in the record that it doesn't affect property values and you've got citizen testimony that it does. So

3:47:03I if well the landowner the the where this thing is, the landowner has a right to say where where they want if they want that, where they want to potentially have it on their property. Seeing how this is shaking out, maybe that's what you need go to that landowner and say, hey, if you want to do business with us, we need it this spot because this board's at a I think we all understand we need it, but this board's at an impasse seemingly this for this

3:47:33location. Um maybe that's that's what you maybe that's, you know, advantageous to the property owner who wants the income from it to to make something work for them and work for for the resident. Look.

3:47:53Seeing the African not coming forward, let's call the hope though.

3:47:58Yeah. So we have a motion and a second. All those in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. Aye. All all uh opposed the motion, same side? Nay. Nay. Okay. So we're at a we're at a standstill at a two-two? That's a first. I would recommend recommend we move it down the road.

3:48:25I I I mean I yes, I I would I uh since we were at the standstill, I mean if we can continue it till there's a full commission because we're clearly at a standstill and that would also give us time, you know, to to again go back to the property owner as needed um you know, to tell 'em about, you know, what's been going on.

3:48:47I think you have some real ammo here. with this board to say, hey, you

3:48:52want

3:48:52to do business with us, when can we move it somewhere else on your on your place and they get a win and the residents get a win. Okay. I hope. Here comes the

3:49:03boss. Okay. So funny. It's just I'm the boss of dates. Okay, that's all. So these are the options because February's not gonna happen. March twelfth? Um April uh let's see, tenth? I'll say

3:49:19April tenth,

3:49:20just

3:49:21Okay. So I need a motion.

3:49:24Does this have to go to the Planning Commission, then to us again? No.

3:49:30130 or so and thereafter is can be

3:49:34can I also ask a question? If the If the landlord does not agree to move it. Can Is there a possibility to close it for public comment so that we could just get a full board vote? 'Cause Not to have to go through this whole thing.

3:49:55Right and it's been closed. If the site moves, I think you'd need to reopen public hearing. I was just wondering if the site can't

3:50:02moves you will. But the

3:50:03residents still need

3:50:04to be like,

3:50:06Well if they move it from that site, it won't affect these residents.

3:50:09If they move it from the site, uh they would they could probab they could comment, I would imagine, but if it's in the same site, they've all the comments have already been made. made it should just go for a vote. I'm I mean I'm just thinking out loud, just wondering. So that way It this is not like a one hour

3:50:24you've done that before. With the board has done that before. If there if there is no new evidence that is being presented and the public hearing has been closed, they can take a vote, assuming that Commissioner Bradford reviews the previous hearings and is willing to vote at that point.

3:50:43Okay.

3:50:46So who made the motion for the

3:50:48to continue? I made the motion to Commissioner Starkey.

3:50:55Okay. All those in favor of uh moving it to what is what's the day? April April tenth, April tent

3:51:02thirty Dade City and that happens to be a Wednesday, which is weird. But just letting you know it's a Wednesday.

3:51:09Okay. All right, so um all those in favor of moving to April tenth, one thirty.

3:51:18Aye.

3:51:20Hi.

3:51:22Thank you.

3:51:24Mr. Wait? You vote? Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. So that's what's done. So that motion passed four o so Okay.

3:51:39Land.

3:51:48Um it continues to get later, so I guess the weather's gonna get better before we get out of here.

3:51:58Uh.

3:52:01Oh, okay. So we still have uh R forty six.

3:52:08To cover.

3:52:12Yes. You've got forty six and one forty one.

3:52:15Oh and one forty one.

3:52:21Mm-hmm.

3:52:22Yeah.

3:52:23Yeah.

3:52:26So we'll take uh our four well what is uh we require to vote on one forty one

3:52:33I thought we were once.