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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                )
                                )
Amendment of Section 73.202(b), )  MM Docket No.  99-73
Table of Allotments,            )  RM-9348
FM Broadcast Stations.          )
(Gulf Hammock, Florida )        )
                                 

                       REPORT AND ORDER 
                    (Proceeding Terminated)


   Adopted: August 11, 1999             
     Released: August 13, 1999   

 By the Chief, Allocations Branch:
 
 1.  In response to a Petition for Rule Making filed by Levy County Broadcasting ("Levy"), the
 Commission has before it for consideration the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 14 FCC Rcd 3595
 (1998), requesting the allotment of Channel 257A at Gulf Hammock, Florida, as that community's
 first local FM broadcast service.  Levy filed comments supporting the allotment of Channel 257A
 at Gulf Hammock.   No other comments were received at the Commission in response to the Notice
 in this proceeding.
 
 2.  In the Notice, Levy was requested to furnish sufficient information to support a finding that
 Gulf Hammock is a community for allotment purposes since it is not listed in the U.S. Census. 
 Commission research found that Gulf Hammock is an unincorporated community located in Levy
 County, has a population of 250 people according to the 1998 Rand McNally Commercial Atlas
 and  has a post office and zip code (32639). Levy  was requested to provide specific information
 as to the social, economic, cultural or governmental indicia to determine whether Gulf Hammock
 is a community for allotment purposes.  In response,  Levy provided excerpts from a publication
 entitled "Florida Place Names" which gives some history of the Gulf Hammock area that indicates
 Gulf Hammock is located in an area of Levy County that had dense hardwood stands, much of
 which have been timbered, and borders the Gulf of Mexico.  Levy also provided a copy of a one-
 page brochure from The Waccasassa Marina and Fish Camp, indicating that it is located in Gulf
 Hammock along with petitions from 26 people stating that they are residents of Gulf Hammock. 
 
 
 3.  Based on the totality of the evidence submitted by Levy, we believe it has failed to establish
 that Gulf Hammock qualifies as a community for allotment purposes and that it would not serve
 the public interest to allot a channel.  See Mokelumme Hill, California, 4 FCC Rcd 7108 (1989) and
 Avon, North Carolina, 14 FCC Rcd 3939 (1999).   While Levy has alleged that there are some local
 businesses and churches, it has not shown that they are intended to serve Gulf Hammock as
 opposed to other areas.  This is a critical deficiency because in past cases, we have rejected claims
 of community status where a nexus has not been shown between the political, social and
 commercial organizations and the community in question.  See Gretna, Marianna, Quincy and
 Tallahassee, Florida, 6 FCC Rcd 633 (1991) and cases cited therein.   We have determined that
 although Gulf Hammock does have a post office, it is with box service only with no residential
 delivery service.  Further, the signed petitions supplied by Levy provide only a post office box
 address in Gulf Hammock rather than an actual street address as do the business addresses supplied
 by Levy.  Levy has not provided the names or addresses of any social or civic organizations,
 schools, libraries or other governmental services which are located within Gulf Hammock.   Lastly,
 the printed material supplied by Levy provides information about the history of an area and a
 community called Gulf Hammock  established after the Civil War, up until 1940, but  the material
 fails to provide information supporting the current status of Gulf Hammock as a community for
 allotment purposes.  
 
 4.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, That the petition of Levy County Broadcasting, proposing
 the allotment of Channel 257A at Gulf Hammock, Florida, IS HEREBY DISMISSED.
 
 5.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS TERMINATED.
 
 6.  For further information concerning this proceeding, contact Kathleen Scheuerle, Mass
 Media Bureau, (202) 418-2180.               
     
     
                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
 
 
 
                              John A. Karousos
                              Chief, Allocations Branch
                              Policy and Rules Division
                              Mass Media Bureau