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The tower was constructed to support various communications structures. including broadcast receiving antennas. that are part of a single parcel cable TV system servicing only Lakewood Village. Broadcasts received by these structures are fed into the system run by 21' Century to serve Lakewood Village residents with "local" over -the -air broadcasts as well as satellite broadcasts. No approval was requested or given for construction of the tower. In response to a complaint received from a resident who lived near the tower, staff determined that a 110' tower had been constructed without approval. Consequently, code enforcement staff issued a :ode violation notice to the property owner on September 16, 1998. Contrary to assertions made by 21' Century, code enforcement investigation and action were not based upon complaints from a competitor of 21' Century. The park owner is under code enforcement action to cure the violation by either removing the tower or by obtaining after -the -fact approval for the existing tower or a modified tower. County Tower Regulations During 1996 and 1997 in the face of increased requests for towers, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners held a series of public workshops and hearings on the adequacy of county tower regulations. Since major changes to county tower regulations were anticipated, the Board enacted a moratorium on new tower applications until the regulations could be revised. Through the workshop and public hearing process. new comprehensive tower regulations were enacted that reasonably accommodate telecommunications needs, minimize unnecessary proliferation of new tower sites, and protect property values and community aesthetics. These regulations, which are contained in the current land development regulations (LDRs), provide incentives to co -locate antennas, dishes, and similar structures on existing towers and other existing tall structures. Within the LDRs, there are incentives to retrofit and expand the capacity of existing towers, and to use "camouflaged" towers so as to build structures that function as towers but look like other kinds of structures that fit into a given local setting. The LDRs also contain disincentives to construct new, non -camouflaged towers in new locations; such new tower locations are limited and are considered a "last resort". To protect residential areas from adverse aesthetic impacts, current LDRs allow commercial towers ,.,in residential zoning districts only if such towers are "camouflaged". Because Lakewood Village Mobile Home Park is located in a residential district, the district regulations applicable to that site allow "camouflaged" commercial communications towers only. After -the -fact Approval Request and Appeals The applicant, 21" Century Satellite Communications. Inc., applied for an administrative approval site plan to obtain after -the -fact approval for a "camouflaged" tower. Staff denied that application based upon a determination that the applicant's proposal does not constitute a "camouflaged tower" under current county LDRs and that a re -design is necessary. The applicant then appealed staff s decision to the Planning and Zoning Commission. At its meeting of February 10, 2000 the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 to deny the appeal and uphold staffs determination that the tower and proposed modifications do not constitute a "camouflaged" commercial communications tower as defined in the county LDRs (see attachment #8). 21' Century now has appealed the Planning and Zoning Commission's denial to the Board of County Commissioners (see attachment #9). In addition to filing this appeal to the Board, 21' Century has also filed with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a Petition for Declaratory Ruling and Preemption seeking federal "relief' from county tower regulations (see attachment #10). Staffs review of the petition indicates that the petition contains false "statements of fact". APRIL 49 2000 J pp FAL t -87_