Blue Sky Towers has reactivated their application to put a cell tower on our neighbor’s property. The Planning & Development Commission will hear the case on October 1 and we are busy preparing for that meeting. Yours truly is leading the effort - learning to be a lawyer, an engineer, a petition writer, an organizer, and a land use manager. Oh, and a journalist! Well, at least I have some experience there.
We would appreciate your help, if you feel inclined, writing our county to let them know you oppose this tower too. If you’re interested, please send an email to Joanna Coutu by September 10. Her email is [email protected] - reference Blue Sky Towers Application No. CU-2026-00003 in Crystal River, Florida. Ms. Coutu will forward emails to the PDC members. Feel free to keep it short, but I do have some ideas below.
Because cell towers have federal protections, it does us no good to argue that they have a health or environmental impact. Governjng bodies cannot vote them down based on those factors. Here are the talking points that work well if you want to include these in your email. Though of course, write whatever you feel is best. We very much appreciate your help!
1- it is massive industrial infrastructure that does not fit the character of our neighborhood, which is an established residential community with many single family homes. It will be visually intrusive.
2- Blue Sky Towers is asking for a conditional use permit so they don’t have to obey county code, which requires structures be 150 ft or less (this is slated to be 185 ft but they can add 20ft more to it once built with no permission needed). This will weaken county codes which protect local communities and set a precedent for loss of local control.
3-There is an onslaught of Big Business reaching into communities to build industrial infrastructure and if we allow it, our neighborhoods will become unrecognizable.
4- According to Dr Kent Chamberlin, who wrote an expert engineering report for us, there are existing towers in the area which provide full coverage - any carrier wishing to enhance their signal can simply colocate equipment on these towers. Blue Sky has not proven that they must build a tower at this location, that there are no other options.
5- This is not about safety. Safety is the ability to call 911, which we have the ability to do here. This tower proposal is about profit for cellular companies who want to gain more customers for in-home wireless internet services.
We did it. We fought telecom and won. An industry worth trillions of dollars with copious federal protections. Just one ex-TV reporter and my motley crew of friends along with our rural middle class neighborhood. The Citrus County Planning & Development Commission denied the permit for the cell tower proposed next to our farm. What an incredible day.
This is likely not the end. There could be a federal lawsuit. The attorney could resubmit for a shorter tower. For now though, we celebrate - or nap.
This morning I was puking my guts up from stress, praying that God would get me through this day. The benefit of a situation like this is that it allows us to confront every identity we believe limits or defines us and watch God do the work. An old family friend and pastor told me once that courage is not lack of fear - it is acting despite it. It hit me a while back that it matters less what happens with the cell tower than how I react to it. “What does it profit a man to gain the world (or ...
We are two days away from our cell tower hearing before the Citrus County Planning & Development Commission. I am representing our neighborhood and over the last several months I have had to become an attorney, RF engineer, community activist, journalist, land use planner - all while living the wife, mom and farm life.
Thank you to everyone who has written our county voicing their opposition! If you haven’t done so yet, please take 25 seconds and send an email to: [email protected] and tell her “I oppose the Cell Tower application CU 2026-00003, please deny the conditional use permit. It is incompatible with the height limitations of the surrounding neighborhood and the applicant has not proven a significant gap in coverage.”
If you live in the area, please join us at 9A on October 1 and at the Lecanto government building: 3600 W Sovereign Path, Lecanto, FL. Let’s do this! 💪🚫
We made the deadline to get in our presentation to STOP the cell tower proposed right next to our farm. Taking on telecom is not for the faint of heart - or really anyone with anything better to do. It’s a full time job and has been a real challenge for me both mentally and spiritually. But I am already grateful for the learning experience and for all of the help I’ve received along the way.
Our hearing before the Planning and Development Commission is Thursday, October 1 - one week away! Please help us, wherever you are, by sending a quick email to [email protected] “I oppose the Blue Sky Cell Tower application CU-2026-00003. Please deny the conditional use permit.” THANK YOU to everyone who has already written!
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