ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Texas-based company Anthemnet is applying to build a cell tower near State Road 207 and Interstate 95 in St. Johns County, on the property of the Hughes Cemetery.
Some people living in the Fort Peyton neighborhood, right next to the cemetery, tell Action News Jax that if a cell tower moves in, they might move out.
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“We said ‘no way,’ right off the bat,” said Bob Chalmers, whose house borders the cemetery property. “If it comes here, my wife wants to move. This was supposed to be our forever home.”
The documents for the cell tower proposal say the construction wouldn’t affect the cemetery if the cell tower were to be approved. They also say Verizon would be the primary carrier using the cell tower.
Verizon’s coverage map shows there is already 5G coverage in the area around the Hughes Cemetery, though Anthemnet argues service can be poor nearby and a tower would help boost it for homeowners.
Chalmers tells Action News Jax better service would be nice, but he still doesn’t want to see a 150-foot-tall cell tower from his backyard.
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“It’s just unbelievable they want to put a cell tower that close to homes,” Chalmers said. “To see that tower would just be an eyesore.”
This is the fourth cell tower proposal in St. Johns County that Action News Jax has reported within the last year, and the second one near SR-207 and I-95 in the last five months. A petition has been started to protest this new cell tower, which already has more than 250 signatures.
County documents say this tower would be about 200 feet from the nearest home, closer than the 400-foot minimum distance required by county law between cell towers and homes. Anthemnet is applying for a permit to get around the rule to still be able to build the tower.
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Chalmers said he and his wife moved into their home to avoid construction and hopes the county puts a new tower somewhere else.
“We figured, there’s a cemetery by the backyard, there’s not going to be any development or anything like that. So we figured we’re safe from development and now they want to put a cell tower there. We’re just against that altogether,” Chalmers said.
The proposal is going before the St. Johns County planning and zoning agency Thursday afternoon to get a recommendation for approval or denial. Afterwards, it needs to go to the board of county commissioners for a final vote to decide whether it will be built. The board’s next meeting is next Tuesday, but the soonest this will go to the board will likely be during its meeting set for August 5.
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