PC16 Verizon wireless facility conditional use on Saint Joe Road

2:21:17Okay, so this item I believe is P16. It is PEG24 CU15. This item had previously been brought to the Planning Commission on June 6, 2024. This is a conditional use for a wireless communication facility. Southern One LLC Coral Towers Verizon Wireless. And when it was presented to the Planning Commission on June 6, 2024, the Planning Commission requested that the owner

2:21:47applicant consider an alternative location on the property, explore alternative locations on surrounding properties, provide site selection information, and have both the site selection expert and the radio frequency engineer available at the Planning Commission. And the PC of approved aid. 60-day continuance to today. So the owner applicant submitted a revised compound location which moves the fence compound area originally

2:22:18was in this portion of the property. So the fence compound area has now been moved approximately 255 feet north of Original location and approximately 230 feet east onto the adjacent parcel, which is listed in your finding of fact number 19. That parcel is under the same ownership. The proposed placement of the compound area will be approximately 395 feet from the front property

2:22:49line. The prior site plan showed it at 145. feet from the property line and it is approximately 230 feet east of the original location. This information was provided to our radio frequency consultant who basically stated that it did not affect his analysis or recommendation of approval.

2:23:12So this is basically the original location, so it's called sideplane location one.

2:23:19So as you can see it's um fairly close or closer to this particular piece of property.

2:23:29And this is site plan location too. Now we're on the adjacent parcel. And the property that we can we would originally see is over here.

2:23:40Additionally, I do want to mention that, but maybe I'll show it in a few seconds, which is that because that location has different elevation gradients, the uh the prior location, the proposed tower would have been at about 185 feet, which it which would have been like a 180-foot tower with a five-foot lightning rod. The new location you're seeing now because the elevation is lower, it's at about 105

2:24:11elevation. Prior location was at I can't read that, but I think it's 120 something. Um the tower that you're seeing today is at approximately 190 feet or 195 feet. ninety ninety foot tower with five foot lightning rod.

2:24:33These are photo simulations. Thank you. I apologize. That was pretty close. One twenty one at the old sign and one oh five at the name site. So these are photo simulations. This is position one is looking southwest at the intersection of Roughing Road and Roberts Barn Road. Position one shows existing without, you know, without the tower and proposed with the tower. Position

2:25:04two is at, it's looking southwest from Ruffing Road, just north of Saint Joe Road. Again, position two with existing, which is without the tower, position two with the proposed towers. The view three is looking northward on St. Joe Road, showing without and with. And the last photo simulation is looking southeast on Swift Road.

2:25:30And a recommendation is approval with conditions as included in your agenda packet.

2:25:39So doing the math it looks like uh the tower's about ten feet taller but it's on uh fifteen foot reduced elevation, so it's actually reducing the elevation above sea level by about five feet.

2:25:50That is correct.

2:25:55Okay. Yeah, the question is of uh Denny's not the applicant present.

2:26:03Oh I should say I'm so sorry. Um I did i one of the other things that the Planning Commission talked about, there was a applicant at the prior planning commission on June sixth that basically stated um that it of that towers neg negatively affect property values. So I did send the Planning Commission a tower value analysis, uh property value analysis with towers um that I would like the clerk's office to include in into the agenda as well. Okay. And I provided that to the clerk's office also. Thank you.

2:26:33Thank you.

2:26:37Do they need to make a motion to receive and file that please? If you you already gave it to the clerk as part of the agenda packet? Uh would you please I uh

2:26:46Yeah.

2:26:49Yeah, me either. Yeah, quick. Okay. Motion to receive and file. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed, like sign. There you go.

2:27:06Good afternoon. I'm Matt Tania John, 935 Main Street, Suite C4, Safety Harbor, Florida, 34695. It's a pleasure to come before you again. I have David Smith with Verizon Wireless with me to answer any questions that you may have about Verizon's RF Need. I also have James McNichol with BT Group, the site acquisition company for Coral Towers, on this project to answer questions that you may have on site. Selection. So just to take and circle up again on where we were,

2:27:36we're off of St. Joe Road. And I have an arrow pointing to the old location of the communication tower. It has since shifted east. And all maps I show you today up will be north. This is your Pasco County property appraiser area.

2:27:59So this arrow this is a closer view and you can see Saint Joe Road proceeding east and west across the map. Let me see if I can make the actual laser pointer work. Yep. Um that's a completely separate tool. Got it. My apologies.

2:28:22So you can see St. Joe Road here running east and west and it curves off. It comes up north. You have the old Orange Belt Railway right of way. You have Roberts Fault Road off to the east. You can also see the Orange Grove portion of this land. This is an overall ranch with orange groves and pasture land and some mag buildings further north. And what we've done is we've moved from the orange grove over to um the pasture land, which was something that was discussed extensively by the uh

2:28:53commission earlier at the um June meeting.

2:28:59And this is just another arrow pointing to the approximate location of the communication tower as it is proposed today. This is just your zoning. We're still AR zoning. We are still Residential One Development Year. This is allowable throughout your county in these different um jurisdictions in these different zoning districts because this is really a support use for what's going on out there. This is a monopole style communication tower as one support pole, no guy wires

2:29:30or um ironworks extending out to support it. None of that has changed since the last time we talked. I'm showing you the old sheet C1 just so you can see the location, the original location that was before you back on back in June, and it was 67 feet from the property line with our abutting neighboring property owners. We have one property owner on these two lots here to our west, one property owner to the northwest.

2:29:58At that time the tower provided 1.2 times or the monopole provided 1.2 times tower height separation from that house to the west, and that's the nearest house to this property.

2:30:11It's now been moved. It's 296 feet from that western property line.

2:30:18And now it provides 2.8 times, so going on three times, not quite, 2.8 times from the southwest.

2:30:28And two point six times to the northwest.

2:30:35This is the old location, just again, for context. And then here's the new. Alright, 2.7 and provides 2.2 times tera height separation from the south. Nothing else has changed.

2:30:54As you noted, we're on 15 feet shorter, so net effect is five lower. You saw the photo simulations. I do want to compare the old photo simulation to the new one. You can see this is looking down the lawn. This is the southern one looking north and it was looking along St. Joe Road. Now you have to look north from St. Joe Road into the property to get that simulation.

2:31:19These are line of sight analyses provided from our two western properties. They're prepared with survey data and by AI engineer. The blue area is the field of view for a person given the intervening trees. And these are assuming far locations. So you're instead of trying to look from here at these trees, it's for the southwest LOS one, it's looking from the Open view you can get from the backyard.

2:31:49And then that's northwest. Um The RF package has been updated just to show its relation to the Blanton site. You can see that the coverage is continuous between the two towers. So if you were to shift north, you would start creating overlapping coverage. I have David Smith with me here today to testify that the capacity side of their RF objective comes from the south. That's where they're noticing the traffic coming from that's causing the burden to trigger this.

2:32:25And then also you have the site acquisition methodology. There's a method there's a review of the a re-review of the entire ring, but the thing that's the direct answer to your previous question is were there other sites considered prior to this site uh rising to be an altern rising to be a candidate? And the answer is yes. So you've

2:32:49Go ahead.

2:32:50You can see the green star, that is the proposed site. And then you can see seven other sites, starting with SeaWorld off to the west. A variety of property owners along St. Joe Road who didn't respond to inquiries. And then there was a property further to the south that was wooded that would have made a nice candidate, but unfortunately, they were unable to provide the access. That is the legal access that is needed for Verizon. And that's a specific creature for Verizon, they have to be able to take their

2:33:20title to a very specific access that is code compliant. I have Mr. McNichol on hand in case you have any questions for him. So with that, I respectfully request that you recommend approval of the monopole as proposed with staff's recommendations of approval. And again, I have both Mr. McNichol and Mr. Smith available for your questions as provided. And I would also state that we provide a property value study letter in the

2:33:50record with our most recent submittal.

2:33:53Okay. Thank you.

2:33:56All

2:33:56right.

2:33:57S so I know the um one of the biggest issues we had was um with the neighboring property owner, which obviously this has moved it further away from that property. So have w have you spoken to him about this development and or about this change? And has has there been any Any update from that property owner?

2:34:15This is Mattanaya John. I have not had the opportunity to speak with that property owner. Um the last time I had communication it seemed like there was a a strong position on this that was not open to modification.

2:34:30Okay.

2:34:32Okay.

2:34:32If if I if I may, um that property owner did request the public records for any new information that had been submitted and I and that was provided to that property owner um the week of July nineteenth or so.

2:34:48I remember he testified at last meeting, I'm trying to remember his name, but yeah. Okay.

2:34:52Okay.

2:34:53Thank you.

2:34:53Anything else? Um Mr. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Uh anybody else for the applicant? Okay, anybody else to speak on the subject?

2:35:10Let's come forward. And you state your name and your um address?

2:35:22Yeah, good afternoon. My name's uh John Terry and I live at [address removed]. Yeah. Actually my property is right next to where they're proposing to put this this tower. Yeah.

2:35:46They moved it. Yeah right

2:35:47next to the orange grove, is that what you're saying?

2:35:50Yeah, it's my property's directly next to the to the Orange Grove and then um

2:36:00This would be

2:36:01would you would you guys

2:36:10Sorry, wha what was your address again, sir?

2:36:13My address? It's 34037.

2:36:19Yeah, that's the three perhaps.

2:36:32Okay, gotcha.

2:36:37Okay.

2:36:40Okay, that's approximately my house. I'm not known for my uh artwork. But uh So now it it appears that this thing's gonna be right out here. That I mean that's where I've estimated it, and it's gonna It's actually worse for me than it was before because now when I walk out of the house I'll that's what I I see. My office has a door that you know goes that would look right over here

2:37:11and we're gonna have that that large tower. Directly outside. 'Cause it You know, this one area here when they're talking about the orange grove, it's um the orange grove is dead. I mean it it's just citrus greening. So I I was talking to one of his uh guys who works on the farm and I mean eventually they're gonna have to tear it out. I'm sure they're just waiting for all this to clear out and see where what happens. But

2:37:42So it's all pasture land. But I think actually now it's it's I mean it's just as um prominent now as it as it was before and it's It's not consistent with the character of the surrounding area. I mean I understand they gotta put these things up. Um whether it needs to be there is I I don't know. There's hundreds of acres of land around there where it's vacant. You know, i if the stuck

2:38:12it even over here a little bit, that that would make uh a little bit of a difference. Because I I I read the information that they gave us regarding land value and they said it didn't make a difference. But my research I looked it up and it said 90% of people that that were asked didn't want to live next to a tower. But and in most of the research that it looks like they did, they they were looking at uh property in

2:38:43high density uh neighborhoods and the whole reason we moved out here was i you know I'd read that college living next to me those people so I mean it it's more I would say it makes it's a bigger difference for people who live out in the country to try and keep it that way. And and that's all. I I understand you gotta put these things up but um keep it away from the house, you know.

2:39:10That's So you'd rather see it go in the original location.

2:39:13Pardon me?

2:39:14So you'd rather see it go in the original location.

2:39:17No, I'd rather see it not there at all. I I'd rather see I don't see where they there was a time where they were looking at the uh Christmas tree farm and it That that was a my understanding was it was all approved. This goes back a few years so I don't know what's changed as far as they don't seem to talk about that. But

2:39:39Well yeah, the thing you gotta realize is that they can't put it anywhere that the property owner doesn't want it. So it might they might find an ideal spot but if the property owner doesn't want to put it on his property Christmas tree five they don't have They

2:39:53well

2:39:53have any choice. They can't go where they're not wanted as far as well the property owner is concerned.

2:39:59It appears that they can because that's the right-of-way.

2:40:00Well then that's not on your property. We can put it on your property, but if you want it

2:40:05there,

2:40:06would you like it there?

2:40:09I don't believe I wouldn't have to do it.

2:40:10Ultimately save the money. Ultimately. Well that that's the problem with a lot of the people around there. So that's why they're limited. They when they find the property owner that can where they can put it within the area geographically that will work for them. 'Cause they have to have their that's why it's a cell tower. They have to have a cell that connects to other cells. I understand, but

2:40:32on the same token coming out of You know, Saint Joe Road. It it is, as I mentioned before, one of the more pristine areas, so I just think they could find a better location further from the From the Yeah. The road. So

2:40:50Okay. That's where

2:40:51I'm at.

2:40:53All right. Well uh we appreciate you uh sharing that with us and if there's anything else you'd like to say or are there any questions?

2:41:00Your lot's mostly still wooded, correct? It looks like from the aerial it was when the aerial was taken, so I'm sorry? Your your lot is mostly wooded, correct? I mean at least from the aerial it looks like it was.

2:41:11Yeah, that aerial I don't know how long ago that was taken. It's uh I wouldn't call it it's we've lost a lot of trees, would it. I've taken maybe twenty or thirty out just they're water oaks and they're all forty five years old so they're

2:41:24not.

2:41:24They don't last that long, you know that. So but it's still fairly well treated, yeah. Okay. There's that one picture I got here. This would be looking at the uh

2:41:39Yeah, uh you you didn't talk into the microphone? I'm sorry. We have to get it on record, so

2:41:48Okay, this yeah, there you go.

2:41:51Okay, that's that's looking from uh my house to the uh it's eighty four feet to the property line for the Orange Grove and then the tower now is gonna be right about there. What, almost 200 feet now?

2:42:08So

2:42:09That's looking due east or is that looking south?

2:42:12That's looking east. Yeah, I'd say due east. I mean you can see the shuttle ball but

2:42:16well

2:42:16that's shuttle, but I mean you can see the

2:42:19So the proposed tower location from where your house is would be southeast.

2:42:24It's gonna be right about where I'm talking about.

2:42:31Okay. Any other questions?

2:42:35All right. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you. Appreciate you coming.

2:42:43Anyone else? Is there someone else? Yeah.

2:42:49Hi. Leslie Rose, one four nine two zero, Swift Road. Dade City.

2:42:56What road? I'm sorry.

2:42:57Swift Road is right off the same trail.

2:42:59Okay.

2:43:01My brother and I own the Christmas tree farm and we'd actually um way back I think it was in around two thousand and six Verizon was looking at a a nine point five um acre parcel of land and um if Verizon would be willing, we are willing. Um there's no additional easement or anything that need to be done. You just get off Saint Joe Road, turn on the Swift Road and you are

2:43:29Two minutes there. You're there.

2:43:31Okay, where is it on this uh aerial?

2:43:34Okay, um

2:43:35I I know

2:43:36because I I get

2:43:37Christmas trees there.

2:43:40Um

2:43:43Um uh it would it would go right there. That nine point five acres.

2:43:52And was that in the was that in the applicant search ring? They showed a sear a graphic

2:43:56of the

2:43:57search ring?

2:43:57It is in the search ring, yes sir. Um and I believe on the last meeting you guys had it they said something about an additional easement and that is not a true statement.

2:44:10Okay. Anything else? Any other questions?

2:44:15And we'll give the applicant a chance to respond to that. Okay. Yeah, was there someone other one other person? No?

2:44:25Yeah, there's one other person.

2:44:26Oh yeah. Yeah. come on up. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I lost you there. You're sitting on the other side.

2:44:35That would affect their coverage.

2:44:53Mr. Chair, I I do want to mention that we're we're being quite open with this applicant because in our rules it says that this information needs to be provided at minimum twenty-four hours pri prior to the Planning Commission meeting because if the if anything in here has any way to damage our computer system, this is something that we need to verify prior. So I just want to I'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything, but there are rules to to this.

2:45:24What's

2:45:24it?

2:45:32M my apologies about that. Uh my name is Benjamin Bluffin. I live at [address removed]. Uh I own the two properties just to the west of what they're uh of where they want to put the tower. Uh I just want to note that uh found a newspaper article. online that said that just not too long ago they tried to do a proposal to uh for a cell phone tire Verizon as well and it was rejected saying that it was too close to uh residential homes and it was so

2:46:03it was voted down. I have copies of that article and then I also have the top of uh where I got that from uh the newspaper. The link up there as well. I don't know if you if you guys want paper copies of that.

2:46:16No,

2:46:16I

2:46:16assume that that we voted it down, probably.

2:46:19Yes sir. Yeah, it was voted down. And the reason from what I could read from online was that it was uh too close to properties, too close to residential homes. And at that time that tower was one hundred and fifty five feet and the tower that they're recommending is one hundred and eighty-five feet.

2:46:35I'm sorry, how do I scroll? Yeah, that's more than that.

2:46:50And that's just another picture from the newspaper article and you can see that there's where the star is is where they wanted to put the tower and then there's homes uh just to the south and just to the w uh west. And so because of that it was denied. Uh the recommendation was to move it further and from that picture further north away from the the residential homes and so I couldn't quite get an exact location, but from what I understand it was roughly five to six hundred feet from the homes and uh So And and again that was too close

2:47:20and because of that it was rejected. So if I can click on the next.

2:47:26Uh sorry, there's one. Yes, okay. Thank you, sir. Uh so if you uh I'm sorry, keep going, I apologize.

2:47:38Sorry, I made a couple different versions of this. Uh keep going.

2:47:47Okay, perfect. Lazy lay acres is uh roughly fifty plus acres. Uh next slide there's lazy acres, I'm sorry, and then the two dots to the bottom right was our property. Keep going.

2:47:59Okay. Well Alright, I apologize. PowerPoint uh I guess not the one that I saved. Uh but I have uh their uh the one that they proposed has their circle radius. The lazy lazy lazy lay farm is within their within their circle. So uh obviously I don't want the tower right next to my house, um but uh So obviously the the opposing site would be the Lazy Lake Acres if for whatever reason that did not

2:48:29pan out. if we could go back, I'm sorry, to uh Yeah. Keep going. Where is your house? Yes sir. Uh so from this

2:48:42the yellow dot in the just above just north of the road.

2:48:46Okay.

2:48:47And uh so my my first request is that to look into the lazy lay lazy lay acres. It's wooded, it's off the road, it's not near any home. Uh but if that didn't work, the second thing would be if they could move it even further north and to the east so that it would be at least if they did that it'd be roughly a thousand feet from the house. I know some people say there's no Safety concern with radiation, but if there was, they say at least a thousand feet is is safe. So instead of making it 400 feet from my house, if they can move it f even

2:49:17further. uh east and further north, that way it'd be roughly a thousand to twelve hundred feet away from from me and Jack's home. So

2:49:26Okay.

2:49:29Uh that's it.

2:49:29Anything else? Okay. Alright, any questions?

2:49:36Okay. Thank you very

2:49:36much. All right. Thank you.

2:49:50Ms. John, have you uh I know you listened to what they've had to say. Is there any uh Any uh any sense in looking at the lazy lay property?

2:50:01Um Mattaniah John again, and I would say no because Verizon is trying to avoid overlap with the Blanton site, but they're also needing to be proximate to they're trying to pick up traffic to the south. And just like these lights over your head, those recessed can lights, if you start moving them, you create dark spots. And as you saw on the RF map that was provided, it's currently meant to reach

2:50:32down and it reaches the edge of the residential areas further south. So you're gonna pull away from that. And when you make these compatibility decisions, which stand in the light of their own day on a case-by-case basis, you're always balancing nearby neighbors and the overall area. So I would respectfully submit that. Uh to the extent that Mr. Bluffing has and if I may please have my PowerPoint presentation back.

2:51:01Um while they're bringing that out to the extent that Mr Bluffin had um Mr. Bluffin had

2:51:11His

2:51:18Um stated that his house would be able to vi view. We have a line of sight analysis from his property uh that takes into account the trees and runs from there to the tower. So You know, Mr. Bluffin obviously has a firmly, you know, as earnestly felt belief, but we've provided competent I would respectfully submit we've provided competent substantial evidence analyzing the view shed. And also um on

2:51:48that same note as um Commissioner Pontlet's uh noticed with uh Mr. Dairy. You can see Mr. Dairy's property and I won't speak to whatever tree clearing activity he may have done on his property, but his property's way up here. So what he was holding out that's that you look and due east through a a gap in the canopy, established that his house was under canopy. Um it wasn't a picture looking

2:52:18southeast.

2:52:19Right.

2:52:21Um I know that Mr. Bluffin was asking to move a thousand feet to the east. He mentioned RF emissions, so I would respectfully submit that that's grounded in RF emissions. And of course, the telecom act prevents regulation on the basis of RF emissions. But even just looking at sound planning, his thousand-foot radius was putting us in wetlands and a lower area where you'd need a taller tower, and once you go over 200 feet, you have to Light the tower. So um and then uh

2:52:53just to discuss um uh lazy lay acres, I I understand that uh they're trying to market their property by way of the diocese. I mean that's very clear. Um the public right-of-way stops short of their property. So maybe there's easement, maybe there's not, maybe I'm sure they're driving sub up there, but Verizon has a very specific requirement for access to the extent that I've had two sites this year shut down after they were built because they did not meet

2:53:23the legal requirements for a marketable assignable access to them as a Turn up.

2:53:30Mm-hmm.

2:53:31So with that uh we would respectfully request that you recommend approval of the monopole as adjusted.

2:53:39All right. Thank you very much for your presentation. Any questions for Mr. John?

2:53:46No, I'll go on the record to to say that since I was one that requested it continues initially, I I certainly appreciate the effort that the applicants done with relocating the the uh the location of the poll and I I agree that uh the safety concerns are completely eliminated in regards to proximity to the houses. Um I think the view shed analysis is very telling that uh yeah, well you're gonna come down Saint Gerr Road heading to the west you're gonna see it, obviously if you

2:54:17look to the north, but I think the location that is proposed now is far superior to what was what was uh initially proposed. So I appreciate your efforts in in doing that.

2:54:29Right. Anything else? Anything else?

2:54:32Um I read this case. We had continued at sixty days. We asked them to speak with the Christmas tree farm people. I understand the access problem and I think they've done the next best thing. There was an attempt made to Try to move the tower location and then

2:54:52That

2:54:52was

2:54:52my take on it too, was that they did the best they could. They uh attempted to assuage our concerns and don't see any recomm any reason that we should deny the request.

2:55:03Yeah, even the um uh access issue with st um even ignoring that, there's an issue with coverage if they move that far north as Ms. John mentioned, so I agree.

2:55:16Okay, uh then in that case I hear a motion. I'll make a motion to approve. Second. A motion is second for the discussion. All in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Like signed. Okay. Motion carries.

2:55:32Thank you for your time today. Thank you.

2:55:56Okay, what's next? Mr.