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Council reviews proposed 145‑ft cell tower at country club; company offers ground lease with conditional‑use process
Summary
Telecom company proposed relocating a 145‑ft monopole to Fort Myers Country Club with a $42,000/year ground lease after a one‑year $1,500/month option period; staff highlighted conditional‑use review, FAA/lighting checks and coverage gaps if a rooftop is lost.
Staff and a Towercom representative outlined a proposal to relocate a cell facility to a country‑club parcel after the carrier's rooftop site is removed. The proposed monopole would be 145 feet to the top of steel (150 feet with lightning rod); the option period would be $1,500/month during permitting and due diligence and the ground lease would move to $42,000/year with 10% escalators on renewal terms.
Jessica Ross, representing the company, said the city should expect conditional‑use review and public notice during the Board of Adjustment process, and she stressed coverage impacts if the rooftop sites come down: "If we don't have a replacement facility after the building comes down, there will be a huge gap in coverage for both Verizon and T‑Mobile," she said. Council discussed aesthetics and asked the company to explore disguised monopine options, to check FAA lighting requirements, and to provide renderings and environmental/bird‑lighting mitigation plans.
Council asked staff to proceed with the conditional‑use and permit path and directed notification of nearby property owners; staff will return with renderings, an FAA airspace analysis and a public‑notice plan.
