The County is in the midst of an ongoing upgrade, costing in excess of $50 million, to the public safety regional communications system. The system relies upon a network of communication towers that facilitate the critical radio communications for first responders and other public safety officials. Based upon extensive coverage analyses and in coordination with vendors, consultants, and other industry professionals, the County has identified the locations for additional communication towers that must be sited and built to support the upgrade to the regional communications system. One of the identified locations for a communication tower is on County-owned property in West Lake Park in Hollywood.
On August 21, 2018, the County submitted an application to the Planning and Development Board of the City of Hollywood (the “City”) for site plan approval (“Site Plan Application”). The City Planning Administrator reviewed the Site Plan Application and recommended the Planning and Zoning Board forward a recommendation to the City Commission to approve the site plan with minor conditions related to unity of title and certain tree mitigation.
On September 6, 2018, the Planning and Development Board recommended the City Commission deny the County’s Site Plan Application, contrary to the recommendation of the City Planning Administrator, and without articulating any valid basis for its recommendation.
On October 17, 2018, the City Commission unanimously continued (postponed) consideration of the Site Plan Application to its November 7, 2018, meeting, concurrently suggesting that the County consider other site locations such as the top of the newly constructed Circ residences building in downtown Hollywood.
On November 7, 2018, the City Commission again continued the item after extensively discussing alternate locations such as the Circ residences building. The County representatives at the meeting informed the City Commission that the Circ building is not designed for the construction of a rooftop radio tower and does not have space for the required generator, that preliminary engineering analyses indicate the building and roof would require substantial modification to support the tower and required ancillary equipment, and the additional time required to fully explore and engineer that site would impermissibly delay the implementation of the communications system. The City Commission nonetheless continued its consideration of the Site Plan Application to its December 19, 2018, meeting.
On December 19, 2018, the City Commission again postponed its vote on the Site Plan Application, this time indefinitely, until an engineering study can be done on utilizing the Circ building instead of the West Lake Park site.
The proposed communication tower at West Lake Park is a permitted use and appears to meet all the criteria for site plan approval. The failure of the City to approve the Site Plan Application, and the repeated delay by the City in either approving or denying the Site Plan Application, are negatively affecting the public safety of the entire county.
The item would invoke the Chapter 164 Governmental Conflict Resolution process for two purposes: (1) it would facilitate dialogue that might lead to collaborative resolution of this dispute; and (2) it is a required condition precedent for at least some court claims the County expects to assert if collaborative resolution is not achieved. |