A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY OF COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, IN SUPPORT OF THE NEED OF AND INSTALLATION OF A CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS TOWER ALONG THE JULIA TUTTLE CAUSEWAY, IN ORDER TO IMPROVE AND ENHANCE CELLULAR RECEPTION ALONG THE CAUSEWAY.

At its October 13, 2021, the City Commissioner held a discussion with regards to cellular service coverage along the Julia Tuttle Causeway.  The discussion originated from resident emails, voicing their concerns about spotty and/or deficient cellular coverage along the causeway.

At the meeting, sponsoring Commissioner Arriola voiced the same concern, including having experienced dropped calls during phone call City meetings while driving along the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur Causeways.  At the end of the discussion, a motion was made to have City staff reach out to cell phone providers to discuss options for service improvement.  Cell phone towers on the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur Causeways fall within the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) jurisdiction.

Public Works has reached out to FDOT's District 6 Headquarters in Miami, and FDOT’s Central Office in Tallahassee to seek guidance on procedures for a possible cell tower installation on the Julia Tuttle Causeway.  The following was provided:   

FDOT has an exclusive agreement with ROWSTAR, a Boca Raton based company, a subsidiary of Vertical Bridge. These companies work with carriers and companies to locate sites where telecommunication towers are needed.  Once a site is located, ROWSTAR looks within a few miles’ radius for FDOT fee owned right of ways.   Once a suitable site is found, they make a preliminary request to lease, which reviews can take anywhere from 9 months to 2 years, depending on logistics and scheduling.

The City has reached out to ROWSTAR to discuss a possible location and height of the proposed tower along the Julia Tuttle Causeway due to the poor cell coverage experienced by our residents and visitors (map and photos of possible location attached).  They will be performing a site assessment and if approved by all parties  will then submit a request for approval to have their contractor build the tower. ROWSTAR will negotiate with carriers to set up their facilities on the pole.  The higher the pole the more carriers that may want to participate. 

It is important to note that the land along the causeway falls under jurisdiction of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida's (TIITFF).  As such, the City of Miami Beach is issuing a Resolution in support of and justifying a legitimate need (cell coverage, communications) for this infrastructure.