BEFORE THE ORIGINAL Jfrbrral C!tnututnnitatinns C!tnututissiPn WASHINGTON, D. C. 20554 C~~~D In the Matter of ) ) OF '~ __y Amendment of section 73.202(b), ) MM Docket No. Table of Allotments, ) RM- FM Broadcast stations. ) ~~~E1v~b (Bradenton, Florida) ) ) IFEB 12 1992 To: The Commission :EDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMlSSOO OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY PETITION FOR RULEMAKING Sunshine state Broadcasting Company, Inc., licensee of Radio station WDUV (FM), Bradenton, Florida ("WDUV"), hereby petitions the Federal Communications Commission ("Commission") to amend section 73.202(b) of its Rules and Regulations by sUbstituting Channel 278C for Channel 277C and modifying the permit of WDUV to specify operation on the new channel. In effect, the allocation of Channel 278C as requested will allow WDUV to upgrade its facilities, although, technically, WDUV is presently a Class C station. until the adoption of Docket 80- 90, Radio station WDUV met all the requirements for a Class C facility. However, with the adoption of that docket, existing Class C stations were given until March 1, 1987, to meet ERP and HAAT minimums, or be reclassified. On March 13, 1986, the licensee applied for a permit to modify its facilities to the Class C requirements. A necessary rule waiver was denied by the Chief of the Mass Media Bureau, and the licensee filed an Application for Review on June 23, 1988. That Application for Review is still pending. No. 01 COpies rec'd ()-f# UstABCOE 2 On March 23, 1989, WDUV supplemented its Application for Review and filed an amendment to its pending application for full Class C facilities to specify a new site that would remove the short-spacing. That Application was denied by the staff, and on June 22, 1989, WDUV's second Application for Review was filed, along with a motion for consolidation and expedited treatment. All the matters, the first Application for Review, the second Application for Review, and the Motion for consolidation and expedited treatment are pending. Also pending, in MM Docket Number 89-434, are various upgrade proposals by other applicants that are affected by WDUV's status. WDUV has filed comments in that proceeding in opposition to Litchfield Broadcasting company's proposed upgrade of its facilities from Channel 276A to Channel 276C3 at winter Park, FLorida, in RM-6830. That proceeding is pending. The parties in MM Docket Number 89-434, including WDUV, reached an agreement designed to remove the various conflicts. As part of that agreement, WDUV, on Channel 277C, would be allowed to move its facilities within a specified area, and the licensee of WLOQ under certain circumstances would be required to file an application with a directional antenna to implement its proposed Class C3 status to protect WDUV. Also, as part of the agreement, the Applications for Review filed by WDUV would be dismissed. That settlement agreement is pending. The substitution of Channel 278C for Channel 277C would remove WDUV as a factor in all of the pending matters. The Applications 3 for Review filed by WDUV would be moot, electrical interference or channel short-spacing between WLOQ and WDUV would be removed, and while the Commission still needs to resolve the settlement agreement as to the other parties in Docket Number 89-434, WDUV would be removed as a factor in that proceeding. As demonstrated in the engineering statement accompanying this petition, Channel 278C can be substituted for Channel 277C at Bradenton, Florida, in full compliance with the Commission's Rules and Regulations. WDUV, in this petition, requests a reference point that is located 43 kilometers northeast of Bradenton, Florida, at latitude 27 degrees 49 minutes 20 seconds, longitude 82 degrees 21 minutes 50 seconds. As is documented in the pending Applications for Review, airspace considerations in the Sarasota and Bradenton area are matters of considerable concern. The reference point is at a location near where the Federal Aviation Administration has permitted the construction of towers of sufficient height to allow WDUV to once again operate with full Class C facilities. As noted in the engineering proposal, WDUV, operating with full Class C facilities from the reference point specified herein, will provide a 3.16 mV/m contour over the entire community of Bradenton. It should be noted that the proposed allocation of Channel 278C in lieu of Channel 277C meets all of the minimum channel separation requirements to all allocations except Radio station WXKB operating on Channel 279C2 at Cape Coral, Florida. However, in MM Docket Number 88-512, the Commission has substituted Channel 4 280C1 for Channel 279C2 in Cape Coral, and has ordered WXKB to change channels. That order was effective on January 9, 1992, and no petition for reconsideration was filed. That change allows the Commission to substitute Channel 278C for Channel 277C in Bradenton, thereby removing the conflict noted above. This proposal is in the public interest, as it allows WDUV to continue its operations as a full Class C station in accordance with the public interest aims and goals set out in Docket 80-90, removes and resolves a number of matters pending before the Commission, and allows WDUV to operate in an area where its proposed tower would not be a hazard to air navigation. Further, WDUV presently serves 1,620,000 persons within its service area, and the proposed substitution and construction of the new facilities will allow WDUV to serve 2,274,000 persons, an increase of 654,000. Adoption of the proposal would effect the following change in the FM Table of Allotments: Channels City Existing Proposed Bradenton, Florida 277C 278C Should the Commission substitute Channel 278C for Channel 277C at Bradenton, Florida, as proposed, and modify the WDUV license to specify operation on the new channel, WDUV will promptly file an application for authorization with those facilities, and will, if its application is granted, construct and operate WDUV. It is therefore respectfully requested that the Commission amend its FM 5 Table of Allotments, as proposed, and modify the permit of WDUV to specify operation on the new channel. Respectfully submitted, SUNSHINE STATE BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. By: George R. Borsari, Jr Its Attorney BORSARI & PAXSON 2033 M Street, N.W. suite 630 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 296-4800 February 12, 1992 JOHN J. MULLANEY JOHN H. MULLANEY, P.E. MULLANEY ENGINEERING, INC. 9049 SHADY GROVE COURT GAITHERSBURG, MD 20877 301921-0115 ENGINEERING EXHIBIT RM: SUNSHINE STATE BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. RADIO STATION wnuv BRADENTON, FLORIDA SUBSTITUTION OF FM CHANNEL 278C FOR 277C JANUARY 30, 1992 ENGINEERING STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF A PETITION FOR RULE MAKING TO AIIEND THE FM TABLE OF ASSIGNMENTS ORIGINAL SIGNATURE MULLANEY ENGINEERING, INC. ENGINEERING EXHIBIT RM: SUNSHINE STATE BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. RADIO STATION WOUV BRADENTON, FLORIDA SUBSTITUTION OF FM CHANNEL 278C FOR 277C TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Declaration of Engineer 2. Narrative Statement. 3. Figure 1, Channel Allocation Study for Ch. 278C. from the Requested Reference Coordinates. 4. Figure 2, Area Map for Ch. 278C. MULLANEY ENGINEERING, INC. DECLARATION I, John J. Mullaney, declare and state that I am a graduate electrical engineer with a B.E.E. and my qualifications are known to the Federal Communications Commission, and that I am an enginee r in the firm of Mullaney Enginee ring, Inc., and that firm has been retained by Sunshine State Broadcasting Company, Inc., licensee of Radio Station WDUV in Bradenton, Florida, to prepare an engineering statement in support of a Petition to Amend the FM Table of Assignments. All facts contained herein are true of my own knowledge except where stated to be on information or belief, and as to those facts, I bel i eve them to be true. I declare unde r penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on the 30th day of January 1992. MULLANEY ENGINEERING, INC. ENGINEERING EXHIBIT RM: SUNSHINE STATE BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. RADIO STATION WDUV BRADENTON, FLORIDA SUBSTITUTION OF FM CHANNEL 278C FOR 277C NARRATIVE STATEMENT: I. GENERAL: This engineering statement has been prepared on behalf of Sunshine State Broadcasting Company, Inc., licensee of Radio Station WDUV at Bradenton, Florida. The purpose of this statement is to support a request that the FM Table of Assignments be amended to substitute Ch. 278C for 277C at Bradenton, Florida. WDUV is the 2nd commercial aural service licensed to Bradenton and the change in channel will enable WDUV to propose a transmitter site in a location that will permit it obtain FAA approval for a tower which will exceed the minimum height necessary for a full Class C station. WDUV wishes to point out that the upgrade it seeks is on its first adjacent channel and, therefore, it is not necessary to demonstrate the availability of an additional equivalent channel in this type of proceeding in accordance with Section 1.420(g) of the rules. It should be noted that the area in question is not within 290 kilometers (180 miles) of a U.S. Border and, therefore, foreign concurrence is not required. 1 Radio Station WDUV Substitution of Ch. 218C for 211C MULLANEY ENGINEERING, INC. II. ENGINEERING DISCUSSION: A. Proposed Site: WDUV proposes to erect a new tower approximately 37 KM (23 mi) northeast of their licensed tower site. Because of required separations and FAA constraints, WDUV requests that this site be used as a special reference point for the allocation. The following geographic coordinates are for a site which is 43 kilometers (26.7 miles) northeast of Bradenton, Florida: Latitude: 270 49' 20" Longitude: 820 21' 50" The proposed site will provide an unobstructed view of the Ci ty of Li cense, Bradenton, Florida and is located close enough to serve the enti re Communi ty with the required 3.16 mV/M contour.