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 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION  445  12  th  STREET,  S.  W. 
 WASHINGTON,  DC  20554 
 July  7,  2005  DA  05-  1943 
 In  Reply  Refer  to:  1800B3 


 James  P.  Riley,  Esq.  Fletcher,  Heald  &  Hildreth  PLC 
 1300  North  17  th  Street  Arlington,  VA  22209 


 In  re:  NEW(  AM),  Baldwin,  FL  Permit  No.  BNP-  20010817AAF 
 Northeast  Florida  Radio,  LLC  Facility  ID  No.  136128 
 File  No.  BMAP-  20050110AAY 
 Dear  Mr.  Riley: 
 This  letter  refers  to  the  captioned  major  change  application  filed  on  behalf  of  Northeast  Florida  Radio,  LLC  (“  Northeast”),  proposing  to  relocate  an  unbuilt  construction  permit  for  a  new  AM  station  1 
 from  Nassau  Village-  Ratliff  to  Baldwin,  Florida.  For  the  reasons  set  forth  below,  the  application  is  dismissed. 


 Pursuant  to  Section  307(  b)  of  the  Communications  Act,  we  are  required  to  determine  whether  the  relocation  of  a  facility  to  another  community  will  “provide  a  fair,  efficient,  and  equitable  distribution  of 
 radio  service  .  .  .  .”  Thus,  whenever  an  applicant  seeks  to  change  its  community  of  license,  the  Commission  compares  the  relative  needs  of  the  existing  and  proposed  communities  for  radio  service.  2 
 The  Commission’s  service  priorities  when  making  a  Section  307(  b)  determination  are:  (1)  first  full-  time  aural  service;  (2)  second  full-  time  aural  service;  (3)  first  local  service;  and  (4)  other  public  interest 
 matters.  Priorities  (2)  and  (3)  are  given  equal  weight.  3 
 In  support  of  its  application,  Northeast  submits  the  following  Section  307(  b)  showing: 
 The  existing  construction  permit  authorizes  a  first  local  service  to  the  CDP  of  Nassau  Village-Ratliff,  Florida,  which  the  2000  Census  reflects  has  a  population  of  4,667.  This  application 
 proposed  modification  of  the  construction  permit  to  authorize  a  second  local  service  to  the  town 


 1  Permit  No.  BNP-  20010817AAF. 
 2  See  Ark-  Valley  Broadcasting  Company,  Inc.,  15  FCC  818,  820  (1951). 
 3  Second  Report  and  Order,  FM  Channel  Policies/  Procedures,  90  F.  C.  C.  2d  88,  90-  93  (1982);  recon.  denied,  56 
 R.  R.  2d  448  (1984).  These  priorities  were  first  applied  in  Section  307(  b)  determinations  in  the  AM  context  by  the  Review  Board  in  Alessandro  Broadcasting  Co.,  56  R.  R.  2d  1569  (Rev.  Bd.  1984). 
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 of  Baldwin,  Florida,  which  the  2000  Census  reflects  has  a  population  of  1,634.  4  Grant  of  the  modification  would  leave  Nassau  Village-  Ratliff  without  a  local  transmission  service.  However, 
 loss  of  local  transmission  service  to  Nassau  Village-  Ratliff  is  not  relevant  as  the  facility  authorized  by  the  construction  permit  at  Nassau  Village-  Ratliff  has  never  been  constructed  and  no 
 first  local  service  yet  exists  at  Nassau  Village-  Ratliff.  5 
 We  have  reviewed  Northeast’s  Section  307(  b)  showing  and  find  it  insufficient  to  support  a  determination  that  the  proposed  relocation  from  Nassau  Village-  Ratcliff  to  Baldwin  would  further  the 
 public  interest,  convenience,  and  necessity.  We  agree  with  Northeast  that  the  removal  of  an  unbuilt  new  station  does  not  raise  the  same  concerns  as  would  the  removal  of  an  operating  station.  6  Nevertheless,  it 
 is  not  the  case,  as  Northeast  contends,  that  the  loss  of  an  unbuilt  station  is  not  “relevant”  for  our  Section  307(  b)  analysis.  In  every  city  of  license  modification  proposed  through  either  rulemaking  or  application, 
 we  compare  the  relative  needs  of  the  two  communities  for  radio  service.  Thus,  each  AM  “singleton”  applicant  is  required  to  submit  a  Section  307(  b)  showing  with  its  application.  7  In  this  case,  grant  of  the 
 Northeast  proposal  would  impermissibly  result  in  the  loss  of  Nassau  Village-  Ratliff’s  sole  local  service  (Priority  3)  and  would  provide  only  a  second  local  service  at  Baldwin  (Priority  4).  Priority  3  is  implicated 
 where  the  lost  local  service  is  “merely”  an  unbuilt  construction  permit.  8 
 Accordingly,  we  cannot  find  that  Northeast’s  application  will  provide  for  a  “fair,  efficient,  and  equitable”  distribution  of  AM  radio  service,  nor  can  we  find  that  grant  of  the  proposal  will  further  the 
 public  interest,  convenience,  and  necessity.  9  Accordingly,  the  application  (File  No.  BMAP-20050110AAY)  of  Northeast  Florida  Radio,  LLC  for  major  modification  of  unbuilt  construction  permit 
 BNP-  20010817AAF  IS  DISMISSED. 
 Sincerely, 


 Peter  H.  Doyle,  Chief  Audio  Division 
 Media  Bureau 
 cc:  Northeast  Florida  Radio,  LLC 


 4  Class  C3  station  WHJX(  FM)  is  currently  licensed  to  Baldwin,  Florida. 
 5  Application  No.  BMAP-  20050110AAY,  Exhibit  11. 
 6  Pawley’s  Island  and  Atlantic  Beach,  South  Carolina,  8  FCC  Rcd  8657  (MMB  1993). 
 7  See,  e.  g.,  Implementation  of  Section  309(  j)  of  the  Communications  Act  –  Competitive  Bidding  for  Commercial 
 Broadcast  and  Instructional  Television  Fixed  Service  Licenses,  13  FCC  Rcd  15920,  15964  (1998);  North  Texas  Radio,  Inc.,  11  FCC  Rcd  8531,  8536  (1996);  Ark  Valley,  15  F.  C.  C.  at  820. 


 8  E.  g.,  Dos  Palos,  Chualar,  and  Big  Sur,  California,  19  FCC  Rcd  1826,  1831  (MB  2004). 
 9  See  47  C.  F.  R.  §  307(  b),  309(  a). 
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