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County topples tower
Unanimous
vote cuts down Cudjoe Key proposal
BY ANNA
HERBENER and TRAVIS JAMES TRITTEN
Citizen Staff
Writers
KEY WEST — A
proposal to build a 970-foot tower on Cudjoe Key was unanimously
rejected by county commissioners after strong opposition from neighbors
and environmental groups Wednesday.
The opponents
said the tower would be a visual blight, blocking the night sky for
astronomers, and create a danger for millions of birds that use the
Florida Keys as a migration route.
Industrial
Communications and Electronics offered to settle its civil lawsuit
against the county, now on appeal, if the county allowed it to continue
with its stymied tower plans. The company said the tower would have
aided the U.S. Coast Guard's plans to upgrade security and public safety
communications systems.
Joan Borel, a
resident of Summerland Key, said the tower would be a detriment to the
Keys because the "quality of life and tourist industry depend on our
scenic and low-key beauty."
David Paul
Horan, attorney for Industrial Communications, said the tower could aid
the Coast Guard's Rescue 21 project and is absolutely necessary to
homeland security. He said the height of the tower would meet the
"minimum standards for the United States" to be able to better
triangulate the radio signals of boats.
The Coast
Guard has no commitment to locate facilities on any private towers,
according to Jim Fitton, deputy group commander for Coast Guard Station
Group Key West.
The commission
originally put off a decision on the tower at its June 16 meeting to
give Horan time to produce proof that the Coast Guard was interested in
the project.
Horan
discounted claims that towers kill hundreds of migrating birds every
year and also said that they must have "some kind of death wish" for
flying in the dark.
"To me, it is
just unthinkable to put a tower in the way of [the birds'] migration,"
said Nancy Klingener, a board member of the Florida Keys Audubon
Society.
Industrial
Communications was blocked from building the tower in 2000 due to outcry
from residents. The opposition convinced the county to change its tower
height limitations to block any new [tower] building over 330 feet.
Also at the
meeting, commissioners gave tentative approval to a plan to build
pet-friendly hurricane shelters across the Florida Keys for special
needs residents.
The decision
will allow county social services to begin putting a system in place for
the current hurricane season, but also will require the department to
return with precise budget figures.
No
pet-friendly shelters are available to about 100 elderly and ill pet
owners who need special assistance during evacuation, and some fear
those residents will choose to stay and weather a storm rather than
leave a beloved animal.
"This is a
great idea ... but in approving it, we should approve it in the same way
we approve other programs," County Administrator Jim Roberts said.
Anna
Herbener is an intern with The Citizen.
ttritten@keysnews.com |
