Manatee explores moving Lorraine Lakes' proposed cellphone tower

A unified effort by Lorraine Lakes residents to stop the planned construction of a cellphone tower next to their playground and amenities center might pay dividends.

After saying a week earlier that the Manatee County Commission probably couldn't legally halt the construction, District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said April 18 that things have changed.

The Commission had approved the cellphone project in 2019, but the agreement was signed with the builder with certain stipulations, including one that signs had to be hung throughout the neighborhood, alerting residents and prospective residents that a cell tower was being built there.

Lorraine Lakes residents said they have seen no such signs, and Baugh said she has seen drone video of the entire neighborhood showing that no such signs exist.

Baugh said because the stipulations were not met, the project should need to come back before the board for approval.

Before that becomes an issue, Baugh said she wanted to find out if there was any possibility to move the cell tower to county property adjacent to Lorraine Lakes. That property is part of the land purchased by Manatee County for Premier Park.

Baugh said much research had to be done by the county's legal department to find out what could be possible. She said the county needed to contact the builder of the cellphone tower, SBA Communications, to find out if a tower adjacent to Lorraine Lakes would effectively fill the same need as a tower built next to the amenity center.

The county's legal department would find out what needs to be done to approve such a tower on county property and Baugh said the county will have to check its contract with Schroeder-Manatee Ranch to see if it is possible to build a cell tower on the property it bought from SMR.

In 2018, county staff reported that on the larger 162-acre Premier Sports Campus site Manatee County purchased in 2017, that a restriction existed in the purchase contract, saying there is a 25-year restriction for “predominantly parks and recreational uses.”

However, the 74 acres (adjacent to Lorraine Lakes) the county purchased in 2018 from SMR had a stipulation that there is a 10-year restriction for “public purposes only.”

In general, whether a tower can be placed on county-owned land depends on the property’s zoning, as well as deed and other property restrictions. Under current requirements, Manatee would deem a property “surplus” to lease or sell it to a cellular communications company.

Photo by Jay Heater

Baugh said it was somewhat amazing that a cellphone tower is even being considered for the Lorraine Lakes neighborhood because she could see two other cell towers in close proximity while standing at the site of the planned cell tower. 

She said she also has had a conversation with Lorraine Lakes builder Lennar about the possibility of moving the proposed cell tower or canceling the project.

Baugh expects county staff members will report back to the commission in two to six months before commissioners can move forward.

Meanwhile, Lorraine Lakes residents who attended the April 18 Commission meeting were hopeful the cellphone tower might not be built next to the amenity center and playground.

Mary Buck, who organized a Facebook effort to bring her neighbors together on the issue, said 16 residents attended the Commission meeting, but eight had to leave when the meeting, which began at 9 a.m., went past 6 p.m.

"We didn't have much of an opportunity to speak," Buck said. "At this point, we are waiting to see what the next steps are going to be, and then we will decide where to go from there."

She said opposition to the cellphone tower continues to grow.

"Every day I get requests to join our group (Lorraine Lakes Residents Against the Proposed Cell Tower)," she said. "We have 757 signatures on our petition (to stop the cellphone tower's construction). 

"This goes to property values, and if the tower falls — and cellphone towers do fall — it would fall on our amenities center."

The petition states "We, the undersigned residents of the Lorraine Lakes Community, are concerned and shocked about the health hazards, visual pollution, and the unnecessary addition of another cell tower in our neighborhood. The cell tower, located at the town center, is causing great concern and distress for us and our families, many containing young children."

Buck said she has talked to some potential home buyers who have said they will hold off buying in Lorraine Lakes until they find out what has been decided about the cellphone tower.

"I am not against cellphone towers. but I am against one over the top of our playground," she said.

Since research is going to take up to six months, Buck was asked if the residents might lose interest in their cause.

"We are investing so much time and effort. we are not letting this go," she said.

Cellphone towers emit radio frequency signals, which are being studied by worldwide health organizations to determine if there is a risk from long-term exposure.

Lorraine Lakes is scheduled to be 1,500 homes with about 500 having been occupied already.

After residents began a letter writing campaign to Lennar officials, they received a letter April 10 indicating the builder was working to set up a community meeting to answer concerns about the cellphone tower.

Buck said the residents haven't heard anything since that correspondence.