Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

SE-04-01-100 — Florida State Department of Transportation

Request: To construct a 300 ft. tall lattice communication tower in C-1 (retail commercial) zone as follows: 1) Special Exceptions: a) Over 50 ft. in height; b) Not co-located with a separate service provider. 2) Variance to allow tower 1,300 ft. in lieu of 2,500 sq. ft. from another tower (160 ft. tall monopole to the east); 3) Variance to allow tower within 1,500 ft. of residential properties located to the north, south, and west. (NOTE: The purpose of this tower is for final implementation of the State-wide Florida Law Enforcement Communications System.

Decision: Approved

Hearing: The Staff Report and Recommendation is located on Pages______ The application was presented by the director of the Florida State Technology Office who explained to the BZA that this tower is a part of the State-wide law enforcement system. The system consists of dozens of 300-350 foot tall lattice towers, five of which are located in the Orlando area. He stated other sites were investigated for the subject tower, but those sites were deemed unsuitable either because of major zoning constraints, and/or the locations would fall out of the range necessary for signal coverage. Without this site, the system would not be complete, and there would be no coverage as signals could not be reached between the five local towers. One commentary from a residential property owner southwest of the site, in the Orlo Vista area, was received. The writer was concerned about appearance, interference with radio, TV, and cell phone usage, and also EMF radiation exposure. The BZA was advised by the applicant that this was a low wattage facility that would not interfere with radio reception, etc. Further, the EMF issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, which has adopted specific safety standards, and the applicant must comply with those standards. The State representatives conducted a community meeting and had personal contact with several area property owners prior to the public hearing. Notification was provided to all property owners within a 1,500 ft. radius of the subject property. No members from the public attended the community meeting. The applicant advised the BZA they had individual verbal discussions with St. Andrews Church, the owner of Conestoga Mobile Home Park, Orlo Vista Community Association, and other individuals, all who indicated they had no objections to the project. The applicant submitted a letter from Pablo Lopez with the Orlo Vista Community Association (copy attached). Mr. Lopez indicated no objection to the project but i*