The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on March 4, 1997, at 12:25 p.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Melbourne, Florida. Present were: Chairman Randy O'Brien, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Nancy Higgs, Mark Cook, and Helen Voltz, County Manager Tom Jenkins, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

DISCUSSION, RE: REGULATING TOWERS AND ANTENNAS

Chairman O'Brien stated the Board has been told by one group if there is a tall tower, the smaller towers are not needed; and he would like to know what the truth of the matter is.

Commissioner Cook stated the height of the towers is a strong issue; the higher they are, the more they can be seen on the skyline from neighborhoods that are distances away; he understands the needs for towers; and the Board needs to make reasonable restrictions, and maintain and enhance the quality of life in Brevard County.

Joe Lamers, Network/Communications Director, stated if someone wishes to use stone multiple antennas over a number of frequencies, it would behoove them to put up a 300 or 350-foot antennae as they can mount a 350-foot tower; they can mount any number of antennas at different locations on the tower; but for the PCS system and cellular, they do not have to go that high; and the thing to be concerned about is the low-powered handset. He noted someone with a tower that is up 350 feet can broadcast a long distance and it can be received, but they cannot talk back; there is not sufficient power in the handset to be able to communicate those distances; that is the reason why most of the literature talks about having towers every four to six miles because of the need for continuous overlap and the cells are very close together; but they do not need to be very high; and if they are up 150 feet, the line of sight for the towers will cover the distance it needs to.

Commissioner Scarborough stated there are different systems; what Mr. Lamers is talking about is the next system that is coming in; rather than the cell phone, they are going to be using something with low power; and regardless of the height of the tower, someone is going to need to be within a couple of miles of the tower or they are not going to be able to reach the tower.

Commissioner Cook inquired to what degree does the County accommodate the industry versus protect the quality of life. Mr. Lamers stated it is a consumer-driven thing. Commissioner Voltz stated the Board needs additional information from the industry.

Commissioner Higgs stated she does not want to have every one come back to the Board for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP); in certain zoning categories, as the Board applies strict criteria, she is willing to have it be a permitted use with those conditions; and in an industrial area with certain setbacks and size of lots, she is willing to let that be a permitted use. She noted at this point, a certain size antenna and lot, including clear setbacks in AU, she could agree to it if it is a big enough parcel of land; she would encourage that the antennas be put on buildings; and she is not sure if she would have a problem with antennas on existing buildings exceeding the building by 15 or 20 feet.

Commissioner Cook stated he agrees with Commissioner Higgs' comments; he does not know to what extent the County can regulate monopole versus lattice-type towers; monopole towers are less intrusive; and he is concerned about height.

Discussion ensued on industrial and residential zonings, setback or minimum lot size, distance, height of the tower, BU-1-A, MUD, TM, GU, and AU, quality of life issues, buffers, BellSouth, Department of Transportation, Town of Jupiter's Ordinance, conditional use permits, government managed lands, lot line to lot line, visual criteria and analysis, and property values.

The meeting recessed at 1:35 p.m.

The meeting reconvened at 1:50 p.m.

B. B. Nelson stated Tom Myers has a list of all the CUP's approved by the Board from 1995 through 1997; there are 12 of them; and six are his. He noted he is trying to serve the public; there is a lot of changing technology; and the antennas are going to be much shorter when getting into the PCS system. He noted the County is heavily promoting putting towers on existing structures; the structures were not designed to withstand the wind load of the antennas; the towers may not be aesthetically pleasing to the Board; however, the federal law says it is not one of the criteria it is to consider.

County Attorney Scott Knox advised aesthetics is one of the things the Board can consider. Commissioner Cook stated the County cannot consider the radio waves.

Mr. Nelson stated the distance separation is not going to accomplish what the County is trying to do; and the Board needs to get a clear definition of towers versus antennas. He advised there are a lot of things that go on the towers instead of only cellular phones, including pagers and heart monitors; there is a lot of use for it; and the County cannot establish the guidelines being discussed today and fit the changing technology. He requested the Board keep an open mind; and stated one of the worst enemies in the business world today is government.

Chairman O'Brien stated the County can look at the sins of the past and not repeat them; it has already made the mistakes; it is time to do something about it; and he does not want to do a dis-service to the public when business is allowed to take away their quality of life. He stated the Board is trying to be open and fair to the industry, and at the same time, look out for the benefit of the public.

Commissioner Cook inquired can the County require the monopole; with County Attorney Scott Knox responding he will have to review it. Commissioner Higgs stated the Board could encourage the monopole by having it as a condition that would not have to come to the Board.

Commissioner Scarborough requested information regarding the PCS new technology and camouflaging.

Laura Bellflower, representing Holland and Knight, provided documentation to the Board containing fact sheets from the FCC.

Keith Black, representing APT, advised the PCS technology is a digital technology as opposed to an existing analogue technology; what the digital part of it allows is more features and uses of the wireless phone; however, there is a limited amount of frequency. He noted existing cellular uses one channel or someone can make one call per frequency; and CMA, TMA, and GSM technology allows up to three callers per frequency.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired about the height of towers; with Mr. Black responding with the towers themselves, there have been various ways to camouflage towers. Mr. Black advised the antennas are smaller than the antennas they use for analog; the antennas can be placed on roof tops and camouflaged such that if someone was not noticing them, they could not see them; they can be painted various ways; and in some cases, they can be put on trees. Commissioner Scarborough inquired could they be put on the top of power poles; with Mr. Black responding it depends on the type of power pole that is being used for co-location of antennas. Mr. Black advised some carriers use power lines and some do not; it is up to their discretion whether they want to deal with the safety of the maintenance crew and climbing up the poles; such poles have to be maintained; and with power lines, there are safety issues involved.

Mike Lamb, representing Prime-Co, stated his Company built out in the Orange County area last year approximately 70 sites; 75% to 80% of those sites were put on existing towers, buildings, or utility structures; and the Company has been working with Florida Power Corporation using a lot of its infrastructure, including substation sites and transmission lines. He presented pictures of the various sites with examples. Mr. Lamb stated Florida Power Corporation's structures are usually 80 to 110 feet tall; Prime-Co needs to be at least 20 feet above the lines to meet its height requirements; in some cases, the sites were in residential areas; and others were sub-station sites and microwave towers.

Commissioner Higgs inquired does it require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) or administrative permit; with Mr. Lamb responding a permitted use in all categories. Mr. Lamb stated Orange County is looking at 40 feet above the height of the existing structure and a variance would have to be requested for anything above that.

Mr. Black stated height became important because in the rural areas, APT tries to get as much height as it can to maintain more coverage to make the propagation wider; when the system is up and sites are put in place, then smaller sites are put in for trafficking purposes to fill in the coverage gaps and off-load the surrounding cells from a traffic standpoint; and as you see the system start to build, more and more smaller towers start to come into play. He noted it is hard to start up a cluster of towers and be able to provide quality service for the network with very small towers; the more height of the tower, the less towers are going to be needed; and the less height, the more towers. Commissioner Cook stated 200 feet is more than reasonable on height restriction; and inquired what is used for camouflage.

Mr. Lamb stated his Company uses a panel antenna which is approximately five feet long and seven inches wide; it is mounted on a roof top, against the elevator shaft, or flush against the top of the building if the building is high enough; and the antenna blends into the wall of the building, especially if it is painted the same color as the exterior of the building.

Commissioner Voltz stated she has questions regarding the Telecommunications Act; she does not know all the legal ramifications; and she wants to know what the Board is allowed and not allowed to do. Attorney Knox stated he can draft a memorandum containing a synopsis of what can and cannot be done.

Assistant to the County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the moratorium will expire next Friday; the ordinance is expected to come to the Board on Tuesday; and if Tuesday is not sufficient time to complete the deliberations, it may wish to consider talking about extending the moratorium.

Commissioner Cook stated the Board wants to move as quickly as possible, but this is one of the most important decisions it is going to make; it affects the entire County; he has a lot of information to review; and he does not see any way of concluding something as complicated and important as this is by next Tuesday.

Commissioner Higgs stated there are some issues she can agree to by next Tuesday, but other issues need to be continued for further review of information. She noted she does not want to see the Board delay this another 90 days and not do anything; and it may be able to agree with certain things.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve permitting of antennas for existing buildings 100 feet or more in height and water towers up to 20 feet or less in commercial, industrial, GML, and multi-family zoning. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to approve up to 90 days extension on the present moratorium for towers; and grant permission to advertise the moratorium ordinance for March 20, 1997. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to direct the County Manager to request all agencies currently permitting towers to notify the County of such towers and allow it to provide comment. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.

RANDY O'BRIEN, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

ATTEST:
SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK
(S E A L)