Residents urged them to reject the project. The commissioners listened.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: May 28, 2025
Host: Amid the devastation that will come with big new development, Sarasota County’s oldest rural community celebrated a small victory. Ramon Lopez has this story.
Existing view facing west on Myakka Road.
Ramon Lopez: Tall cellphone towers continue to be erected in area acreage. But one proposed at a particular spot in Old Miakka and before the Sarasota County Commission last week won’t be disturbing that area’s scenic landscape. That’s a minor victory for those who want to “Keep the Country Country.”
A special exception petition was filed with the county commission by Verizon Communications and SCI Partners. The plan called for a 200-foot telecommunications tower on the Old Miakka Church property at 1620 Miakka Rd.
The companies said there’s a coverage gap there, and the tower is much needed to improve cell phone service in the area. And it said the leased church property was the optimum spot for the tower.
But opponents to the towering structure are concerned about the tower hurting the “Old Florida” feel of the area. They are also worried about the environmental impact.
We hear from Neraj Tuli:
Neraj Tuli: I come before you today to urge this commission to reject the application for a special exception that would allow this industrial tower to be built in the heart of one of Sarasota County’s last and most treasured rural areas.
View facing west on Myakka Road featuring a mockup of the proposed tower.
There is no need for this tower. I understand the motivations that drive companies like SCI partners to pursue these projects, but I also know, both professionally and personally, that approving this exception will cause direct, measurable and irreversible harm to the residents who live near the site, myself included. I have helped families move into the community because they wanted what Old Miakka uniquely offers: open space, peace, history and a deep connection to the land. They’re not looking for great cell phone coverage. A 200 foot steel tower does not belong there.
RL: But in the end, the county commissioners unanimously rejected the telecom tower in the heart of Old Miakka. We hear from Commissioner Mark Smith and Chairman Joe Neunder.
Mark Smith: I’ve had this discussion before about cell towers. The determining factor to me in every special exception or rezone or what have you is compatibility, and being how this is smack dab in the middle of a historic area, I find it very difficult to support it. So I can’t support the special exception.
Joe Neunder: I agree with both you and Commissioner Mast on this for sure. I cannot also support this particular application for a special exception.
RL: Community activist Susan Schoettle says the commission is finally listening to the well-founded concerns and objections of county residents.
She said the cellphone tower snub, along with the unanimous denial of DH Horton’s rezone request to build 125 dwelling units on Smith Farm adjacent to the Celery Fields, shows the county politicians are finally willing to listen to residents and not just to developers. Schoettle believes, for the first time in decades, the public has a role to play in what happens in our community.
This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.