A cell phone tower is coming to Lakewood Ranch. It’ll look like a tree, developers say
A cell phone tower designed to resemble a tree, branches and all, will soon serve the residents of Lakewood Ranch.
The county commission voted unanimously to approve a tower in the 1,500-home Lorraine Lakes development on 545 acres of land east of Lorraine Road and just north of the planned Rangeland Parkway. Commissioners gave the housing project a green light in October 2018 but didn’t approve the tower due to a lack of detail.
There was also a bit of “heartburn” at that time because the P25 public safety radio tower at Kinnan Park was still fresh on the mind of the board, Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said. This time around, commissioners were pleased with the information.
Representatives with Lennar Homes asked the board on Thursday to amend their general development plan with approval for a cellular tower of up to 150 feet in the southeast corner of the Lorraine Lakes community.
“Lennar would like to plan in advance to ensure that its Lorraine Lakes homeowners have cell phone coverage. Currently, there is not sufficient cell phone coverage for the community that is being developed,” Darenda Marvin, a project planner, said in a Feb. 11 letter to county staff.
Marvin assured the board that the tower would look like a tree, while providing cell service for a number of cellular companies, such as Verizon and AT&T. The importance of the tower was reinforced, she told commissioners, when she saw a recent newscast about residents who complained of poor cell service in Lakewood Ranch.
“I live there. I get dropped calls all the time,” Baugh said. “I know the need.”
The “camouflaged tree” design does more than disguise its actual purpose, Marvin said. Those branches near the top allow for the “collocation” of uses. It will be designed to support all four major carriers and could also house a public radio system.
“I don’t believe we could accomplish what we want without that design,” said Marvin.
Commissioner Misty Servia commended Lennar Homes for their commitment to moving the project along with “perfect planning.” Board members agreed that cell phone towers are needed but residents should be warned of them.
“Before there are residents, we wanted to identify the location and give those details,” Marvin said, noting that the tower is slated to be operational before the end of the year and future residents would be noticed of its presence.
According to a report from county staff, the communication system is set to “provide adequate service and coverage ... in an area in which has been recently approved more than 4,500 residential units.”
“It’s totally needed out there and for you to put this on empty land before you get started is what we need,” Commissioner Carol Whitmore said.