2019 was a viril year for cell-tower construction in Palm Coast. Four poles rose over the city–on Palm Coast Parkway near Heroes Park, on Palm Harbor Parkway and Farmsworth Drive, near the municipal pool and Wadsworth park, and in the woods behind the city’s tennis center, off Belle Terre Parkway, though that one was more of a replacement for an existing, bantam version. They were the first new cell towers in nearly 10 years.
None of those towers drew more than muted public opposition, especially in comparison with the county’s more gargantuan set of towers, some of them rising more than twice as high as Palm Coast’s, that have gone up since, though that network is also the crucial backbone of the county’s and cities’ emergency communications. There’s also been opposition on health grounds, but also on anemic evidence. Rather, the towers were seen as finally helping to end the city’s sprawling graveyards of cellular dead zones.
There were no new towers in 2020. But this morning, the company responsible for planting the poles proposed a new, 150-foot monopole off of 20 Palm Harbor Drive, on the grounds of the city’s golf club.
The proposal did not leave everyone beaming. One council member asked if the pole may be disguised as a tree, as is commonly done elsewhere. It may not. Another asked if a local resident and activist, an engineer, could be given the chance to analyze the proposal. There appeared to be no consensus for that idea. And a few residents spoke objections or reserve about the new tower.
One resident whose home neighbors the tower asked for a “cell tower impact analysis and assessment” on the tower. Another spoke of the aesthetic effects of the tower. “When you enter Palm Coast this is your first impression,” he said, describing the drive in from the Hammock Dunes bridge. “When you come over that bridge, it’s one of the highest point in our city, you’re going to be looking at a 150-foot tower.” (From the ground, the tower will possibly be visible from homes on Casper Drive, Cole Place and Cole Court. The closest house to the tower would be 300 feet away, according to a city official.)
He questioned whether that was the sight the city would want to present, and whether the towers were generating revenue for the city. Revenue in the Information Technology Enterprise Fund, which accounts for cell-tower revenue and the city’s fiber optic network, is projected to drop significantly according to the adopted 2020 budget, to 562,506, from $739,200. Most of that is fiber optic revenue.
The city is not responsible for the cost of tower construction. But nor does it get the majority of revenue from the towers. The city contracted with New Jersey-based Diamond Communications in 2017 to provide a wireless communications master plan and implement it. The city also relaxed regulations that had hampered the construction of high cell towers. Diamond’s master plan, developed in cooperation with the city, drew up 10 coverage areas that needed improved cell reception. The plan identified 29 potential properties within those areas where towers could rise.
“The point of the wireless master plan was a way to affect quickly getting cell towers up in these areas,” Doug Akins, the city’s IT director, said. “Typically to put a cell tower up, they’d have to go through a special exception process, the city would then have to go before the planning board, public hearings would have to happen, and in effect with the wireless master plan, city council pre-approved these 29 areas for a cell tower to be put up. So what the developer needs to do now is to submit a permit application and of course get a ground lease for the property.” That still has to go before the council every time, and what was before the council this morning, and expected to be on the council’s agenda for approval later this month.
Diamond assumes the $300,000 to $400,000 cost of building each tower. It pays the city a one-time $25,000 site-development fee. The city then receives 40 percent of lease revenue generated from each carrier on each tower. Diamond gets 60 percent. The city also has four towers of its own (the water tower in the Hammock is one such). Diamond doesn’t take revenue from carriers that were on those towers before 2018, but it gets 35 percent of revenue from carriers it would have recruited and placed there since.
According to figures provided by the city, revenue from cell-tower leasing was $306,000 in 2018–T-Mobile, Verizon, Metro-PCS and Sprint were the phone-service providers–before Diamond began paying the city a share of its own towers’ revenue. Revenue rose to $400,000 in 2019, including $62,500 in Diamond in site-development fees and just $21,500 in revenue sharing from Diamond’s leases to providers. Revenue in 2020 was $334,000, including just over $40,000 in revenue sharing from Diamond. (See the details by year and by customer here or below.)
Council member Ed Danko proposed tabling the proposal until Lou Vitale, the engineer and a member of the Protect Palm Coast organization, could provide the impact analysis. The council did not take him up on it. Vitale wrote the council an email outlining his concerns, and including an illustration of how he perceives the tower to affect neighbors.
Palm Coast Cell-Tower Revenue, 2018-2021
Click to access FY-2018-and-FY-2019-Cell-tower-revenue-summary.pdf
deb says
First people complain about not getting good reception from their cell provider, now the same ones complain about a tower to give them just that. Go figure.
Skibum says
I live in the F section, not far from Matanzas High School. Until recently, with the construction of the new cell towers, we have had poor cell phone reception in the neighborhood, and often times I have had to walk around the house , sticking my cell phone up against an outside window or even going out into the yard to prevent calls from dropping due to not having even a couple of bars on my phone. I’ve had no problems since the city’s plan was implemented, so I am grateful that the city reacted appropriately and authorized the additional towers. With that being said, I cannot understand why the company that is putting up the towers is unwilling to do so in a manner that is more appealing to the eye. I know many other cities have required cell towers that were built to look like trees that were hardly visible as cell towers unless you really looked hard. It should not be that difficult of a design process to ensure these tall but necessary cell towers do not detract from the surrounding community.
Dennis C Rathsam says
In the event of a hurricane, dont stand near these towers.
Slappy says
Dennis! These towers are designed to handle hurricane force winds! They have massive concrete foundations.
The type of winds that would cause one of these towers to fail, would wipe the entire area around flat anyway. How do I know this? Because I’ve been in Telecom Site Development for over 2 decades. Everybody wants the service but gets all NIMBY about the towers. Grow up! You want to talk on your phone, you need towers/antennas.
If aesthetics are your big thing, riddle me this Batman: How ugly is a McDonalds? A Burger King? A typical intersection w/4 gas stations, 4 fast food places, 4 strip shopping centers. It’s ALL UGLY. Nobody in the history of the world has ever looked at a Burger King or a McDonalds and said “Oh my god, that’s beautiful.” Same goes for the auto parts store and the strip shopping center.
If you want to see some beautiful aesthetics, go to Europe.
David Williams says
Well said! We’re umping into huge profitable conditions, when revenue is being generated by leaps and bounds. Placing towers increases the whole value of land. This one is a good reply to those. I can also corroborate with one blog I read https://wirelessequity.com/investing/cell-towers-effect-on-property-value/
C’mon man! says
How about a tower near sr100 and I95. Service sucks in that area
Palmcoaster says
We are all for better cell phone reception acquired thru cell phone towers strategically located around Palm Coast, as is needed!
Now at times the locations proposed is what some residents are concerned about.
Can a 150 ft tall cell tower at 300 ft of two large groups of homes as proposed In Palm Harbor Golf Course valued and visible reduce the value of all those homes? Also the concern even higher of any health issues for those nearby homes residents as reported, is that a fact to kindly request from Mayor and Council for another location to be considered? : https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phone-towers.html
https://beatemf.com/cell-tower-dangers-symptoms/
https://www.radiationhealthrisks.com/cell-phone-tower-radiation-harmful/
Annoying Buzzing says
I have been hearing an annoying buzzing every night on the golf course the past few days and have been wondering where the buzzing was coming from.? Now, I know. Bummer. I used to enjoy the quiet peacefulness of living on the Golf Course.
Denali says
Maybe I do not properly understand your comment but are you implying that the buzzing you hear is from a yet to be built cell tower?
BUZZWORD says
Yeah right, the same ones who support the BIG ECONOMIC ENGINES in our community are now complaining about some buzzing near them with a project that has not even started yet! WEAR EARPLUGS!
Geraldine says
The fifth new cell tower in 2 years, at Palm Harbor Golf Club, has drawn less than beaming reception. Some residents say they’re not sure why the towers are needed, while others worry about potential health effects. The golf club says the towers are necessary to improve cell service in the area.
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