Planning commission backs 145-foot monopole at Inverness Walmart, recommends approval to county commissioners

The Citrus County Planning and Development Commission voted 7-0 on Sept. 18 to recommend approval of application PUD-2054, an amendment to allow a 145-foot monopole telecommunications tower (149 feet including a 4-foot lightning rod) on the east side of the Inverness Walmart along State Road 44.

The vote came after a technical presentation from the applicant’s representative, questions from commissioners about engineering, buffers and fall-zone protections, and a single public comment from a nearby resident concerned about noise and property values.

The applicant presentation, given by Shazad Mahmood of Kimley-Horn on behalf of SBA Communications, described the site as a commercially zoned location east of the Walmart’s garden center and said Verizon has committed to collocate on the tower. Mahmood said the monopole is designed to accommodate up to four carriers, that the compound would be 25 by 75 feet, and that the monopole foundation will be a drilled caisson sized to the manufacturer’s design. He said a…