Walton County approves Miramar site for sheriff's public-safety tower after debate over setbacks and safety
Loading...
Summary
The Walton County Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a conditional-use permit and a setback variance for a Miramar/Choctaw Beach tower the county says is critical to restore emergency radio coverage. Applicants said two sites on tonight's agenda save taxpayers an estimated $1.3'$1.5 million over lease terms.
The Walton County Zoning Board of Adjustment on March 26 approved a conditional-use application and a related variance to allow a 250-foot (plus lightning rod) public-safety radio tower at the Miramar/Choctaw Beach sheriff site, saying the project addresses gaps in emergency radio coverage.
The applicant's attorney, Aaron Garnett, told the board the site is part of a 14-tower public-safety network and that siting equipment on county-owned property reduces costs. "These 2 sites represent an estimated savings of 1.3 to $1,500,000 in taxpayer dollars over the terms of the lease," Garnett said, and he entered a March 26 letter with fall-zone and Federal Aviation Administration "no hazard" determinations into the record.
Why it matters: Walton County emergency-services officials and the applicant said the existing radio system lacks capacity and interoperability in parts of the county. Tracy Voss, chief of emergency services with the Walton County Sheriff's Office, described cases where deputies could not transmit on handheld radios: "When communication fails in public safety, everything else fails," he said, arguing the new towers are needed for deputies, firefighters and EMS to talk directly during incidents.
What the board considered: Planning staff (Bridget Clements) entered a staff report saying the application met the conditional-use criteria; staff also identified several variance findings where it felt the applicant fell short but acknowledged public-safety benefits. Neighbors asked about environmental and historical resources and whether alternate sites (water tanks, utility-owned parcels) were considered; applicants responded that multiple private and public parcels were evaluated but were unavailable or technically infeasible, and that engineers sized the tower so a collapse would be contained within an engineered compound.
Vote and next steps: The board voted to enter the staff report and approved the conditional-use application by voice vote, then approved the setback variance for the Miramar Sheriff Site 1. The approvals allow the applicant and county to proceed to permitting; code revisions to reduce future variance requests were discussed but will follow a separate process.
Documents and claims to watch: The applicant relied on a fall-zone engineering letter and an FAA "no hazard" determination, both placed into the record. The applicant's claimed taxpayer savings ("1.3 to $1.5 million") and operational examples of failed radio calls were offered as reasons to grant relief; those are assertions in the record and will factor into future permitting and any appeals.
The board's approvals are administrative; any required building permits, minor development orders and FAA coordination remain to be completed.
