Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hollywood stands its ground in tower tussle
HOLLYWOOD – Toddler-friendly West Lake Park is the best spot for a massive 32-story radio communications tower needed to strengthen Broward’s patchy 911 system, county officials say.
And that has nearby neighborhoods on edge.
“There is no place I can think of in South Florida that would accept this,” Hollywood Commissioner Dick Blattner said Wednesday before the board delayed a vote on the tower for the second time in three weeks. “No one wants this in their backyard.”
City commissioners say putting the 25-foot antenna atop the new 285-foot Circ highrise downtown makes more sense.
It would save the county time and money on a 300-foot tower that would cost more than $1 million and six months to build, Mayor Josh Levy told the county.
But Tracy Jackson, who oversees Broward’s regional 911 system, says the downtown location won’t work because the county doesn’t have time for an engineering study that might take up to 90 days.
Commissioner Traci
Callari suggested Hollywood do its own study and quickly gained support among her colleagues.
“There’s no price on life,” Callari said. “But we also have to respect the investments that our residents have made. That’s why I want to make sure we vet this to make sure there is no other [spot to put the tower]. It’s only fair that we do our due diligence for our residents.”
Commissioners are expected to debate the issue for a third time Dec. 19.
The tower is one of seven going up around Broward County to improve emergency communications, and is the only one that will sprout up in a park next to a residential neighborhood, visible for miles.
“I feel like they heard us,” said Lisa Stingone, a resident of nearby West Lake Village, where several homeowners are worried about plummeting property values if the tower goes in the park.
If the antenna is mounted on the roof of the Circ tower, the county would have to pay the owner a leasing fee.
Similar antennas have been placed on the roofs of condos around Broward and are paid a leasing fee. But on Wednesday, Jackson said he didn’t have a clue what the county pays.
“We believe it’s worth further investigation to see if [the Circ building] can handle the tower,” Andrea Wingett, Hollywood’s assistant director of development services, told commissioners.
Jackson again argued that a 90-day study was too much of a delay to determine whether the downtown high-rise would be a better spot for the antenna.
“I think 90 days will save you time,” Levy told county officials. “Hopefully Circ becomes a real candidate.”
Broward also plans to build a second communications tower in west Hollywood, on Southwest 49th Court east of 40th Avenue.
That request won commission approval Wednesday.