THE REINVENTION OF THE CELL TOWER

On December 13, 2015, after 12 months of silence, Dynamic Towers, Inc. (DTI) filed a revised application for construction of the 120 foot high cell tower at the Sailfish Marina.  Like Sleeping Beauty, the cell tower project awakens.

Background

On December 15, 2015 after five postponements, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) decided to send the second application for a cell tower back to the Local Planning Agency (LPA) because of a “scriveners” error in the newspaper announcement regarding the size of the proposed re-zoning (postage stamp zoning).  See earlier posts on this zoning tactic. The postage-stamp zoning has gone away so this makes the return to the LPA based on zoning a bit Kafkaesque.

The BOCC gave DTI one year to come back to the LPA for a new hearing.  This is not in the record – it is the interpretation of the (now former) County Attorney Michael Durham, in a separate memo that he filed with the BOCC on March 31, 2016.  He determined that if the applicant came back with a new application by Dec 15, 2016, then it could proceed back thru the process, because of the “scriveners error”.

The Revised Application

DTI filed a new application on Dec 13, 2016.   You can see it here (warning – very large file).

This new application is very different from the original but retains some important similarities

(1)          The same tower design is proposed to be constructed in same location.

(2)          The tower will NOT initially be a cell phone tower.  AT&T, who said it needed the tower for cell phone coverage has severed its business connections with DTI, and DTI does not have any cell phone company lined up as a lead tenant on the tower. Therefore, there is no longer any demonstration of need for a tower as required by Martin County rules for cell phone towers.

(3)          The tower will be used to provide “wireless internet service” to local residents. DTI claims that Comcast, AT&T, DISH, and DIRECT-TV do not provide adequate Internet Service (ISP) and it will meet this need from antennas on this tower.

(4)          The tower will also be used to provide important emergency 911 service for Martin County residents and for local emergency service providers.

(5)          The tower will also be used to provide communications for Sailfish Marina.

(6)          Eventually, the tower will be used for cell phone service, and will be integrated into “Firstnet”, which is a proposed nationwide network of emergency communications facilities sponsored by Federal Government.

(8)          The request for re-zoning the "postage stamp" has been withdrawn.  No explanation is provided in the application other than “county staff says this is not needed”.

Schedule

We have already engaged the County staff again.  We have asked them about the schedule, and they said that they plan to issue their staff report sometime in the next two weeks.  A meeting with the LPA will be scheduled once the staff report has been issued. The County rules for notification of the neighbors have changed since 2015, so many more neighbors should be getting letters notifying them about the tower, their entitlement to intervene in the hearing, and the meeting date and time.  However, because this is NOT an application to construct a tower for cell phone service, the County is not bound by the FCC rules regarding the time it can take to review the application.

We will be providing additional details about our concerns and the issues in new blog postings. Please review earlier postings for detailed information about the project process to date.

Stay tuned and stay engaged.  We have done a lot of research over the past year.  There are many issues that the developer needs to address before the County can approve this project, if they follow all of the Federal, State, and Local regulations.  To date, they have not followed the rules, but we intend to point them out to all interested parties. 

BOCC DECIDES NOT TO DECIDE

Yesterday's hearing before the Board of County Commissioners went pretty much as expected. Martin County staff recommended that the entire application package go back to the Local Planning Agency (LPA) on a housekeeping matter.

As I understood the explanation by the Senior Assistant County Attorney for Litigation yesterday: Martin County staff is tasked with sending out the public notice to residents and the newspaper when a proposed change to zoning is in the works. The Staff made a "scriveners error" and used numbers on a drawing. Apparently this is a legal issue. They should have used a different number, presumably the correct one lodged in some other location or document.

At the LPA meeting on March 5, 2015, the 586 sq. ft number was cited in the hearing and then County Planner Deanna Freeman immediately set the record straight to reflect the 640 sq ft number. She pulled out land drawings and oriented the LPA so that there would be no confusion about the square footage that was being designated as the "postage stamp". Ten months later, this correction has just come to light as being insufficient.

In totality, the issue to the County is over 54 square feet of Sailfish Marina specifically 586 sq. ft. vs 640 sq. ft. Trivial. The issue for the residents is "bad zoning, spot zoning, illegal zoning, what the County Staff call Postage Stamp Zoning." Does 54 square feet warrant a whole new hearing back to the LPA when it seems like different numbers were in the application package?

The Senior Assistant Attorney for Litigation said that the hearing should not go forward due to the error in the public notice. The BOCC took her advice and said that the LPA must hear the application again.

On a very positive note, opponents to the cell tower at Sailfish Marina turned out in force. They definitely made their objections known to the BOCC by coming to the meeting, many spoke out against the tower, many wore red so their position against the tower was clear. Thank you all for coming out and for your continued support.

Stay Tuned.
I will post updates as they happen.

BOCC HEARING ON TOWER FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15

At the September 22nd meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, opponents to the proposed cell tower at Sailfish Marina were promised a hearing for a "date certain" of December 15 and that the application to "postage stamp" zone Sailfish Marina and construct a 120 foot cell tower on the site would be heard on its merits.

Well guess what? The County staff is again recommending a postponement.

Now the Staff want the application to go all the way back to the Local Planning Agency for some housekeeping issues. Nothing substantial.

Opponents to the cell tower should come to the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, December 15 at 9 AM. The meeting will be held at the Martin County Administrative Center located at 2401 SE Monterey Road

There is lots of parking next door at the Blake Library

Shortly after the meeting is called to order each member of the Public is permitted to speak for 3 minutes. You have to fill out a form that you wish to speak and hand it in to the uniformed officer. Please let the Commissioners know you want a hearing and not another postponement. Tell them you do not want this UNSAFE tower in a residential community, at the edge of the Manatee Pocket.

The actual hearing is set for 4 PM if you wish to attend both times.

Please wear something red to identify yourself as part of the opposition.

MARTIN COUNTY FIRE PREVENTION PART 5

We think we have giver Martin County plenty of time to resolve the issue of inadequate automatic fire suppression at Sailfish Marina.

However according to Mr. Doug Killane who was interviewed by a local resident the only progress made so far is that he as Fire Inspector has met with the owners of Sailfish Marina.

To our knowledge, the marina has not been fined for such an egregious infraction. Nor is there a schedule to fix the problem or shut down the marina.

Martin County residents need their fire protection services to serve all the population not just one business owner.

MARTIN COUNTY STANDS TO LOSE MUCH BY IMPRUDENT FLOODPLAIN DEVELOPMENT

The proposed 120 ft high cell phone tower at Sailfish Marina would be located in a Class AE floodplain, and would be about 6 feet away from a large in-out boat storage building that contains about 200 boats in racks. The electronic equipment for the tower would be located within the boat building. The boat storage building was built so long ago that the County has no records of its construction, but it was damaged during Hurricanes Jeanne, Frances, and Wilma, and one wall was substantially re-built after Wilma.  We have informed local officials that the tower is a hazard to the boat building, where the boats are required to be stored with full fuel tanks.  There is no automatic fire suppression in the building. The applicant himself stated at the Local Planning Agency hearing of March 5, 2015 that if the tower should fail, it would only hit the boat shed.

Why does the County seem to be determined to go ahead with this imprudent floodplain development by giving the tower developer zoning and planning permission, and then a construction permit?

As we understand the Local Mitigation Strategy for Martin County, the County is supposed to mitigate hazards, and is especially encouraged to mitigate them by not creating new ones.  Isn't locating a cell tower next to a boat storage building without automatic fire suppression in a hurricane evacuation zone that is also a floodplain just creating a new hazard that will become a disaster during the next hurricane that strikes this area? And better yet, the tower is not designed for flood loads, an issue that will be discussed in future posts.

Responsible governments are charged with the application of mitigation principles at all stages of a project's review.  The FEMA Flood Protection program regulations (44 CFR 59.22(8) and 44 CFR 60.1 (c) ) say that communities are required to "recognize and duly evaluate flood, mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards in all official actions in the areas having special flood, mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards " and "must take into account flood, mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and flood-related erosion hazards, to the extent that they are known, in all official actions relating to land management and use".  

Martin County staff have taken the position that these issues do not need to be evaluated until the actual building permit for the project is processed, and that they do not have to be considered during the zoning and development approval process, where the Board of County Commissioners vote.  Martin County residents should be very concerned by this practice, considering the risk that this facility presents to the residential neighborhoods that surround the proposed tower, which would be about 25 feet from the waters of the Manatee Pocket.

One casualty of such imprudent floodplain development management could be the County's participation in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Martin County's homeowners and prospective home buyers need to be able to buy flood insurance at reasonable rates. Martin County's standing in the NFIP could be jeopardized. The NFIP will be discussed in future posts.

FIRE PREVENTION IN MARTIN COUNTY PART 4

Before reading this post please review the previous posts on Fire Prevention in Martin County by clicking on Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

All of Martin County should fear a fire of catastrophic proportions generated by a 120 ft Cell Tower at Sailfish Marina.

Plans for the tower call for the hollow tower-base to be constructed a few feet away from one of the two large in-and-out dry-stack boat storage buildings at the marina. The second building is less than 50 feet away. The electronic equipment for the tower will actually be housed inside one of the storage buildings. This building is part of the tower project.

A request to the County for extant building records revealed that the County could not find or no longer has a copy of the original permit for the building. It is thought that the storage building was built about 1971. It has been damaged several times over the years by hurricanes and hail storms. Some repairs were made via building permit, some were not, so there is not a complete history of the buildings.

The buildings house some 200 boats with their engines and fuel tanks, stacked on racks that are up to 3-high. A conservative estimate would put 20,000 gals. of fuel stored on those boats.  There is no automatic fire suppression system in the buildings as required by the Florida State fire code.

Nine years ago the marina owner acknowledged that automatic fire suppression was lacking and made a written commitment to Fire Prevention Chief  Pasqualone to install the system "in the next 2-3 years". To date that has not been accomplished.

When the County performed its fire review of  the tower application, the reviewer said that only a 10 lb fire extinguisher and a Knox Box was required. When some of the intervenors met with the County reviewers for the application, they were told that this was a mistake and the fire extinguisher requirement was changed to 40 lb. Here is the intended purpose of a fire extinguisher (wiki:)

A fire extinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.e., no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish a fire.

Martin County residents, do you think this is sufficient fire protection for a 120 ft. cell tower and a boat storage building housing perhaps 20,000 gals. of fuel?

Why was this application permitted to go forward when the installation of an automatic fire suppression system in the boat storage building intended to house all the electronics for the tower is an outstanding deficiency in the County's records?

Fire fighting equipment can approach the marina from both directions of St. Lucie Blvd., but a fire at the tower itself, or a fire in the electronic equipment inside the building, could only be accessed by going through the boat storage building. Boats stored on trailers and posts block access to the proposed tower site. Why was this application permitted to go forward when the only access for a fire truck to get to a fire is through the boat storage building which has no automatic fire suppression and stores 20,000 gals of fuel?

A catastrophic fire in the boat storage buildings would not only the require the evacuation of nearby residents but perhaps people enjoying Sandsprit Park. In order to exit Sandsprit Park people would be required to actually drive towards the fire to flee it!

Building this tower at this location is a risk that no one can afford to take.

BOCC POSTPONES CELL TOWER HEARING AGAIN

The September 22 meeting of the BOCC went pretty much as expected for the first 5 minutes. The Board approved a continuation of the Tower hearing until Nov. 24, 2015 and moved on to public comments. After intervenors objected to the postponement during the 3 minutes they were permitted to speak during the public comments, the Board reopened the discussion for a continuation. 

The applicant got the continuation until December 15, 2015. The November 24th date was quite objectionable as it is just 2 days before Thanksgiving. Only the attorneys are permitted to select dates for rescheduling the hearing. Rarely are the intervenors even notified by email that a postponement is even in the mix.

The BOCC did hear just a few of the many issues that have yet to be raised about the application and project. Those issues will be posted here on the blog every few days. They will astound you.

The County staff said that the applicant is thinking that he can abandon the long process taken so far and just ask for a building permit. The reasoning is that he would be asking for a replacement tower. There is a provision in the Florida code that says that wireless companies don't have to jump through all the hoops if they just replace one tower with another. 

This is a very reasonable law, but it is not at all clear that they can do it in this case, because (1) there is no building permit for the existing tower, (2) the tower has not been registered by the FCC, even though there has been a requirement to do so since 1996,  (3) they would have to dig up the entire foundation for the old tower to install a new one,  (4) the existing tower is owned by Mr. Bayley, while the new one would be owned by DTI, and (5) the current application for construction of the proposed tower states explicitly that neither  Mr. Bayley nor DTI owns any wireless telecommunications towers in Martin County.

Commissioner Scott is to be commended for realizing that the applicant is now trying to move the tower project to a process that would not be voted on by the BOCC and the invervenors would be denied due process. Her insistence on a date certain hearing of December 15, 2015 is very much appreciated. Thank you Commissioner Scott.

The postponement made the front page of the Stuart News today.

BOCC HEARING TOMORROW-UPDATE

On the advice of the YCC lawyer, the Intervenors have written to the BOCC to object to yet another Applicant driven postponement. The response to these objections given to us by Assistant County Attorney Krista Storey was that the County staff are going to go forward with the recommendation for a postponement despite our objections. The YCC lawyer felt it was not in our best interest to have many people come to the hearing tomorrow as it will very likely be postponed. You will be needed to attend the actual hearing which may be in December. Thank you all for your comments and support. Unless you feel very strongly about the treatment we are receiving from the County and wish to state this to the BOCC about 9 AM tomorrow, enjoy your morning.

Ms. Storey is currently consulting with all the attorneys for a date to schedule the next hearing. It is looking like that will be scheduled for sometime in December.

Read the blog for an update about the hearing tomorrow.

GETTING PREPARED FOR SEPTEMBER 22 HEARING

Many supporters have expressed their outrage at the idea of another postponement to the hearing for the Postage Stamp Zoning and Construction of a Cell Tower at Sailfish Marina currently scheduled for September 22, 2015. The questions becomes "What can we do?"

Write/email to the Commissioners and tell them you want the hearing to go forward.
Write to the Newspapers, too.
Come to the September 22, 2015 meeting of the BOCC and take your allotted 3 minutes before the Commissioners to express your opinion. This would occur at about 9 AM.

To get prepared for that meeting think carefully of what points you want to make before the Board.

Write down your thoughts now.

On the Day of the hearing, you will be requested to fill out a form with a brief of what you plan to say before the Board which is given to an officer to bring forward.

Make sure you take no more than 3 minutes to make your case.

More about the process of addressing the Board will be posted.

Thank you all for such a great response.
Yes, hiring a bus to take people to the meeting is very much a possibility.

CONFUSION CORNER AND I DO NOT MEAN THE TRAFFIC CIRCLE IN STUART

September 22, 2015 that was our date. We thought we would finally be able to present our case to the BOCC in a logical and thoughtful manner. Then a message. We were led to believe that the County Staff were going to propose another postponement of the Postage Stamp Zoning and construction of a Cell Tower at Sailfish Marina "in order to get it right". Mr. Aycock had already agreed to the postponement.

Now we are understand that it is Mr. Aycock who is requesting the postponement. According to Martin County's own regulations he has used up his allotted postponements. So what is the problem?

Is a postponement even on the table?

A new tactic is unfolding. We are being told that maybe Mr. Aycock can build the tower without changing the zoning and without a hearing if they just replace the existing tower by getting a building permit. Is this not where we started? Why has the County changed course about requiring a zoning change and a hearing? Other cell tower proposals get to be heard. In fact just last month an existing lattice cell tower went through a mandatory rezoning (spot zoning by the way) in order for it to be replaced. What is the difference? What is going on here? We just don't understand. There are regulations and guidances for all of these procedures but we only seem to get attempts to work around them.

But it gets better. Mr. Aycock's certified Professional Engineer stated and stamped on the application to Martin County that the existing tower is 75/80 feet tall.  But fortunately for Mr. Aycock, the existing tower is really 120 feet tall. How good is that? He can build a 120 feet monopole replacement tower by just getting a building permit. I hope Mr. Aycock gets all the money he spent on those engineering studies, plans, simulated photos, and drawings back from that certified Professional Engineer who was off by 40/45 feet on the height of the tower.

And will the County be held responsible for refunding the application fees to Mr. Aycock as well? If he did not need the rezoning and construction hearing, shouldn't he be reimbursed? And reimburse him for all his lawyers?

What has changed? What information do they want to keep back from the citizens of Martin County by stopping the public hearing on September 22, 2015? What information is pending that they do not want to see televised to the entire County?

Please plan to attend the hearing whether the rezoning and cell tower is up for postponement or not. Each member of the public is permitted to speak before the BOCC for 3 minutes at the start of the meeting. Ask why you are not being given a public hearing about this matter. Express your concerns about this whole process. Whatever happened to Government in the Sunshine?

The BOCC meeting starts at 9 AM on September 22, 2015
The hearing room is on the ground floor of the
Martin County Administrative Offices which is next to Blake Library
2401 SE Monterey Road
Stuart, FL 34996

We are looking into hiring a bus to bring people to the hearing. Stay tuned.

IT IS SEPTEMBER AND TIME FOR A CELL TOWER HEARING----OR IS IT?

We were informed that the Board of County Commissioners would hear the Postage Stamp zoning request for Sailfish Marina and the construction of a cell tower at that site on September 22, 2015. But will they?

Here is the history of the 2 application submissions and their postponements:

August 27, 2014 Mr. Aycock requested per Section 10.2.D.3, one time request for new
application, 60 days allowed

March 5, 2015 Local Planning Agency unamiously approved the 2 applications despite strong objections on the part of the Intervenors. Application moved forward to the BOCC for a hearing.

BOCC hearing was scheduled for April 7, 2015 but was postponed at the request of Mr. Aycock. It was rescheduled for May 19, 2015.

The County Staff requested a postponement of the May 19th hearing. The hearing was rescheduled for June 23, 2015.

At the request of Mr. Aycock, the June 23, 2015 was postponed. It is rescheduled for September 22, 2015.

Now the County Staff is suggesting that they will request to postpone the hearing again. This is not definite.

Why is this happening? What are they trying to do that they do not want the public to know about? We are up to 4 or 5 postponements depending on how you count the August 27, 2014 request.

Has any other cell tower request been subjected to so much opposition and received so many postponements in order to get it right?

More than 700 people have signed a petition against the cell tower. Why stop the hearing again?

Continue to let the BOCC know that you oppose postage stamp zoning and the construction of a cell tower in a residential neighborhood.

Contact the BOCC by email at:

efieldin@martin.fl.us
ascott@martin.fl.us
sheard@martin.fl.us
jhaddox@martin.fl.us
dsmith@martin.fl.us

BOCC HEARING POSTPONED AGAIN

Just how many times can this posting get repeated?

The hearing on Postage Stamp Zoning and Construction of a 120 FT Cell Tower at Sailfish Marina that was scheduled for June 23, 2014 has been postponed again.

DTI, the applicant, has requested yet another postponement. This time the request was so that they could hire more lawyers to ensure that this monstrosity of a tower wins approval from the BOCC.

Residents and people who enjoy Manatee Pocket have spoken loudly that they do not want this tower. More that 700 people have signed the petition against it. But the applicant and the County staff seem deaf to our cries.

No date for another hearing has been set. There are now so many lawyers involved it is hard to coordinate a date for the new hearing.

Stay tuned. It might be in August or September, or later, we have no idea. Certainly, at the peak of hurricane season is the best time to schedule a contentious hearing so that as little as possible opposition is heard.

However, as with all of the previous postponements, the hearing is not actually continued until the BOCC votes on the agenda on the day of the hearing. This means that once again attendance at the June 23rd meeting is necessary in case the continuance is not approved, which is unlikely.

Please let the BOCC know you oppose postage-stamp zoning and the construction of this tower in a residential neighborhood. Contact the BOCC by email at:


efieldin@martin.fl.us
ascott@martin.fl.us
sheard@martin.fl.us
jhaddox@martin.fl.us
dsmith@martin.fl.us

MARTIN COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION PART 3

The recent fire at the Viesel biofuels facility in Martin County (brief report) showed the need to consider the synergistic effects of placing incompatible facilities near, next to, or within each other and within a residential neighborhood. The biofuels fire and its aftermath is still being felt. The firefighters were heroic and contained what could have been a catastrophe from spreading. They were aided by the fact that both Dixie Highway and US 1 offered fire trucks good road access to the light industrial center where the fire took place.

The biofuel facility is located in a complex where the surrounding businesses work with and store highly flammable materials, materials that produce noxious fumes. Some of these businesses are boat builders. Was this the right location for a fuels facility? Martin County is now going to consider that question.

County officials reacted quickly to the aftermath of the fire and suggested placing a temporary halt to site plans and building permits for biofuel facilities until the issues surrounding them can be studied (brief news report). The topic was on the agenda for the May 19th meeting of the Board of County Commissioners. This was the same meeting that the cell tower was to be heard. Our cell tower issue was continued until June 23rd as was the hearing on the moratorium on biofuel facilities.

The investigation into the Viesel fire concluded that it was an accident. According to an article in the TCPalm, a county official said it could cost as much as $500,000 to remove the biodiesel, water and dirt from the county's drainage system and other areas following the fire.

A cell tower with associated electrical equipment and generators is just as incompatible a facility to place immediately adjacent to and within a boat storage shed. The tower design standards say it is designed to have a 100 ft fall zone (see previous post). This tower proposal has no fall zone. Debris falling from the tower or water borne or wind borne debris at the Marina during a hurricane could cause the tower's equipment to generate a fire, a fire that could ignite scores of boats stored in the building.

However, the actual cause of this fire would not be an accident. The cause would be the fact that the County bypassed its own regulations as well as the design standards for the tower to place the tower at this location; that the County came up with a new type of zoning called "Postage Stamp" zoning to accommodate just this one tower;  that the County is determined to put the lives of thousands of residents and visitors round the Manatee Pocket at risk from explosion, fire, and noxious fumes; that the fragility of the Manatee Pocket is not a consideration if a cell tower and boat shed fire has to be fought;  that the County thinks a 10 lb fire extinguisher is sufficient to fight such a fire.

We applaud the County firefighters for risking their lives for us. They are heroes in every sense of the word. We sincerely hope that they do not have to save our lives and put their own lives at risk because of such an ill conceived project.

The next posting will take a look at the Fire Codes that apply to this project.  Stay tuned.

I THINK I HAVE BEEN HACKED

When I started this blog I thought very carefully about whether to allow or not allow comments. I discussed this option with several people and finally came to the conclusion that comments would not be allowed.

Comments require moderating. They open the Blog up to inappropriate language and highlighting issues that should not be considered here.

In the US Telecommunications Act of 1996, the effects of electromagnetic radiation CANNOT be used in fighting the location of a cell tower. There are many readers of this Blog who think this issue will help us win our case. We understand their concerns and appreciate their support. But we cannot let this issue be open for discussion here. Therefore I closed the Blog to all comments to prevent this from happening.

So I was shocked to see a comment from Mr. Aycock using this Blog to promote his cause. Yet another good reason for not permitting comments.

I am leaving the comment up. We have nothing to hide. No tower should be built in such a hazardous location.

I have once again closed the Blog to comments. Will I  be successful? Who knows? -   but if more inappropriate comments are posted, I will be sure to tell you about them.

MARTIN COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION ISSUES PART 2

The review of the cell tower application included a fire protection review which was summarized in the final staff report as follows:

SAILFISH MARINA STEALTH COMMUNICATIONS TOWER REVISED MAJOR/MASTER FINAL

Applicant: Bayley Products, Inc.
Property Owner: Bayley Products, Inc.
Agent for the Applicant: Kevin Aycock
County Project Coordinator: Deanna Freeman, Principal Planner
Growth Management Director: Nicki van Vonno, AICP (Recused)
Assistant County Administrator: Roger Baltz
Project Number: S242-003
Application Type and Number: D056 201400027
Report Number: Staff Report 3
Application Received: 02/04/2014
Transmitted: 02/14/2014
Staff Report Issued: 05/19/2014
Joint Workshop: 06/05/2014
Resubmittal Received: 10/28/2014
Transmitted: 10/28/2014
Staff Report Issued: 12/29/2014
Resubmittal Received: 01/27/2015
Staff Report Issued: 02/24/2015
LPA Meeting: 03/05/2015
BOCC Meeting: 04/07/2015

...

P. Determination of compliance with fire prevention and emergency management requirements
Fire Rescue Department Fire Prevention

Findings of Compliance:

The Fire Prevention Bureau finds this submittal to be in compliance with the applicable provisions governing construction and life safety standards. This occupancy shall comply with all applicable
provisions of governing codes whether implied or not in this review, in addition to all previous requirements of prior reviews.

A 10 lb. fire extinuisher[sic] will be required within the gated compound.

Additional Information:

Information #1: Martin County Code of Laws and Ordinances, Section 79.121, adopts NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 as the county's fire prevention code. The Code is to prescribe minimum requirements necessary to establish a reasonable level of fire and life safety and property protection from the hazards created by fire, explosion, and dangerous conditions. This is in accordance with Chapter 633, F.S. All construction, including, but not limited to, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire suppression systems, shall be subject to these codes. All documents including specifications and hydraulic calculations are required at the time of the application for a building permit for the property that is the subject of this application for site plan approval.

Information #2: The AHJ shall have the authority to require an access box(es) to be installed in an accessible location where access to or within a structure or area is difficult because of security. [NFPA 118.2.2.1] Martin County utilizes and requires the Knox access system. You may contact
www.knoxbox.com to order the system.

Really? A 10 lb. fire extinguisher, for all that electronic equipment and the backup generator that will be located within the building? What Type of fire extinguisher is effective against a disaster involving flaming gasoline, diesel, and fiberglass boats? An A,B,C or a CO2?

Also where is the "gated compound" that is referenced?  Are the gates of the communities of Yacht and Country Club, or the Mariner Cay which are next door to the Marina being confused for this "gated compound"?

Fire Protections Issues will continue..........

HEARING POSTPONEMENT CONFIRMED

Shortly after the meeting began this morning, the Board of County Commissioners voted to continue the two agenda items concerning Postage Stamp Zoning and Construction of a 120 ft Cell Tower at Sailfish Marine.

The new date for the hearing is now June 23, 2015. Updates to follow.

Please keep checking this blog for more information.

MARTIN COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION ISSUES PART 1

Human life and safety should be the number one priority when considering the cell tower. The proposed cell tower will be located adjacent to a boat storage building at Sailfish Marina. There is no FALL ZONE around the tower as is required by the tower's design standards. See previous post.

There is no fence around the tower to protect it from the fork lift maneuvering gasoline laden boats around it and having an accident.

The tower will be built in a hurricane area. During a storm, wind borne and/or water borne debris could impact the tower and all or part of the tower could fail. Falling debris from the tower could strike the boat storage shed and the electrical equipment housed inside and ignite the stored boats. They are filled with fuel and the resulting fire would be of staggering proportions.

Remember the previous fire at Sailfish Marina? The noxious fumes, the black smoke that invaded our homes? If not check it out here WPTV News story. The dean of the Chapman School of Seamanship who witnessed the fire thought that if the boat storage shed had gone up it would have been a major disaster.

Martin Fire and Rescue Chief William Schobel stated that the thousands of gallons of fuel, fiberglass which burns at a very high temperature, winds, and poor access to the fire site were all issues in fighting the fire which involved just three boats.

The conditions at the marina have not changed. What would happen if scores of boats in the storage shed should ignite? The catastrophe that was so narrowly avoid last time because the boats were at the water edge, may not be avoided because the ignition source would be the adjacent 120 ft. cell tower and its electrical equipment.

Why is Martin County permitting such a proposal as this to go forward? Why are our lives, the environment, and our homes worth less than a Cell Tower?

Read my next posting on how Martin County reacted to the biofuels fire.

HEARING POSTPONED AGAIN

While not official until the Board of County Commissioners meet on May 19 and they vote on a postponement to their published agenda, it does look like our Postage Stamp Zoning and Cell Tower application will be postponed again.

On May 19, the Martin County staff will recommend to the BOCC that the following two applications be postponed until June 23, 2015. There is a Supplemental Memo notation to the published agenda stating this fact.

BAYLEY PRODUCTS, INC. REZONING This is an application for a proposed mandatory amendment to the County Zoning Atlas for a 640 square foot portion of the property located at 3565 SE St. Lucie Boulevard within the existing Sailfish Marina. The applicant is requesting a rezoning from R-3A to WGC, Waterfront General Commercial to accommodate a proposed telecommunications tower. AGENDA ITEM: 8069360d QUASI JUDICIAL & CONTINUED FROM 4/7/2015 
SUPPLEMENTAL MEMO (request to continue to June 23, 2015)

SAILFISH MARINA STEALTH COMMUNICATIONS TOWER REVISED MASTER/FINAL SITE PLAN This is a request for revised Major Master/Final Site Plan approval to construct a 120 foot tall stealth telecommunications facility at the Sailfish Marina. The property is located at 3565 SE St. Lucie Boulevard, south of Sandsprit Park in eastern Martin County. The proposed stealth monopole and associated telecommunication equipment will be located on land adjacent to an existing storage building and will replace an existing 75 foot tall lattice communications tower. AGENDA ITEM: 8069382e QUASI JUDICIAL CONTINUED FROM 4/7/2015 
SUPPLEMENTAL MEMO (request to continue to June 23, 2015)

The BOCC meeting will be held at 9 A.M. at Martin County Administrative Center, 2401 S.E. Monterey Road, Stuart, FL and is open to the public. You can attend this meeting and voice your opposition to the tower, especially if you will not be present in June. Many people leave during the hurricane season and will not be able to attend the June 23 hearing. You can still be heard!

Also it will be critical that you write each of the Commissioners of your opposition to this zoning change and the construction of the tower. More information and addresses will be in a later posting. The purpose of this post is to quickly get the word out that we are facing another postponement.

Please visit the blog regularly for updates.

DTI STATES FALL ZONE FOR STEALTH 120 FT CELL TOWER IS 100 FT

In a document dated September 29, 2014 addressed to former Growth Management Principal Planner Deanna Freeman regarding the engineering report for the 120 ft cell tower, DTI clearly states that this tower is designed to have a FALL ZONE OF 100 FEET. However his project design does not include the clearance to meet this design standard.  Martin County, by permitting the application to move forward, seems to think this is acceptable.

BACKGROUND

According to Martin County Codes Division 18 which deals with telecommunications towers, a STEALTH tower is the only tower permitted in vulnerable and environmentally sensitive areas. See blog post Is this a Stealth tower? published on 3/23/15.

Stealth is only a cosmetic feature, it is about aesthetics. Unfortunately Martin County conflates stealth with safety. In some cases stealth installations do not present a hazard to public safety.  A small installation disguised as a cactus would not be a hazard to public safety if it should fall. 

Large facilities by their very nature present a hazard.  If they fall, they can hurt people, destroy property, and cause a tremendous amount of damage. Large facilities require a fall zone, even if they are stealth such as the 120 ft tree at Sugar Hill in Jensen Beach.

If this 120 ft tower is permitted to be labeled Stealth the critical safety features of setbacks and fall zones will be ignored.

MC Code 4.798.B Tower separations and fall zones states that a tower shall have a minimum setback that is relative to its height. From a residential area zoning district (such as the Yacht and Country Club and Mariner Cay) that distance is equal to 400 % of the tower height. And fall zone means the calculated area of the land surrounding a tower or any of its attachments which may be affected by debris should the tower structure collapse.

However MCC 798.C states that the above requirements shall not apply to a stealth tower. So in the project design there is no setback, no fall zone, and the tower is set next to a boat storage building. This building, which pre-dates 1971, stores scores of boats filled with gasoline. A fork lift goes in and out of the building all the time carrying boat with a gasoline engine, so if this proposal goes forward the fork lift driver must maneuver around a steel tower base with a precariously balanced boat to enter the storage shed.

We do not understand why Martin County is permitting this application to go forward.  DTI clearly states that this tower is designed to have a FALL ZONE OF 100 FEET and given the circumstances at the marina, the fall zone should be exactly as stated in the MCC and be 480 feet.

Why is Martin County so keen to ignore this very important safety feature?

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RADIO BROADCAST AGAINST THE TOWER

The KC Ingram Show on WSTU AM 1450 Martin County's Heritage Radio Station devoted the 5:00 to 5:30 PM time slot on Tuesday, May 12 to the Coalition to Preserve and Protect Our Neighborhood which is fighting the Cell Tower.

You can hear (and see) the group discuss the issues of postage stamp zoning, the definition of what constitutes a stealth tower, safety concerns, and alternative solutions to a 120 ft cell tower at this link radio show discussion.

And stay listening to the second half of the broadcast which is on All Aboard FL.

A huge thank you to KC Ingram for inviting us to participate on air and get the message out to many more people in Martin County than the few residents around the tower who had to be notified because of the proposed zoning change. Just because the Cell Tower is not in your backyard, does not mean you will be not be affected if it is approved because:

Postage Stamp Zoning is a bad idea to allow to go forward in Martin County. Your neighbor could use it to develop property that is outside the character of your neighborhood.

Dynamic Towers stated vision for Martin County is to build one of these 120 ft Cell Towers every mile and a half throughout the county. So you too could be fighting one of these towers near your home soon.

There is the potential for a disaster of staggering proportion especially during a hurricane when the Tower fails and some part of it falls on to and ignites the adjacent boat storage shed with scores of fiberglass boats filled with gasoline. The fireball and toxic smoke will be visible for miles. The run off from the fire will be hazardous and will pollute the Manatee Pocket. Sailfish Marina is not an appropriate location for a 120 ft. tower.

The destruction of the peace and viewshed of Manatee Pocket (one of those special places in Martin County) is everyone's concern.

How many more reasons does the County need before they realize that this Cell Tower is the wrong development for such a sensitive area?