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Sarasota commissioners deny 199‑foot Myakka Road cell‑tower request amid objections from church and neighbors
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners voted 5–0 to deny a special-exception application for a 199‑foot communications monopole on Old Myakka Church property after hours of testimony from church leaders and neighbors raising historic‑area preservation, safety, health and property‑value concerns.
The Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners denied, by a 5–0 vote, a special‑exception request to build a 199‑foot monopole communications tower on property owned by Old Myakka Church.
Petitioner representatives and Verizon RF engineers told the board the tower would close a coverage and capacity gap they say exists in the area—“the closest wireless communication tower is approximately 5 miles away,” the applicant’s RF testimony said—and that the structure would be built to industry and Federal Communications Commission standards and accommodate collocation by multiple carriers. The applicant offered design changes after the planning commission hearing, including antenna shrouds and a cross emblem intended to better match the church setting.
Opposition from residents, the church community and the planning commission centered on the tower’s location in a designated historic, rural community hub. Dozens of neighbors and church members described Old Myakka as a century‑old community gathering place and said the site’s deed limitations, the cemetery and the historic schoolhouse make a commercial tower incompatible. Church leaders also told the board they no longer support the lease. Longtime residents raised concerns about generator noise, aviation safety for a nearby private airstrip, possible health effects from radiofrequency emissions, and potential harm to property values.
An independent MAI appraiser presented to the commission for the applicant said he could not find market evidence that proximity to towers reduces assessments, while multiple neighborhood speakers and a local realtor argued the opposite, saying buyers avoid properties near towers.
County staff reported the FCC’s environmental and siting reviews (NEPA, FAA) did not identify prohibited impacts and that RF studies submitted show compliance with FCC limits; staff noted that federal law restricts local denial based on RF emissions where FCC limits are met. The board balanced those technical findings against the weight of local testimony, the church’s changed position and the planning commission’s prior 6–0 denial recommendation.
Following the denial, county legal staff said they would prepare a formal resolution of denial for a future meeting.
