ORD-2006-086 - Piedmont Electric Membership Corporation (PEMC) Planned Development (PD-OI) and Special Use Permit, Class A

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significant impact on the ability to serve.large quantities o cus omers or an a en e time. These damages would have a detrimental impact to the reliability or operability of the energy grid, and could cause significant risk to public health, safety and welfare. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has permitted three new radio frequencies to the facility. That permit expires on October 5 and PEMC has requested an extension. (Please refer to pages 89 and 92 for the FAA and FCC approval.) SUP approval will facilitate the processing of the PEMC FAA and FCC approvals of the tower construction. When this new PEMC tower is operational, the LAWS tower, located in the Hurdle Mills neighborhood in the northern part of the County, will be available for other public and private communication antennas. The North Carolina Highway Patrol VIPER 800 mega hertz communication system has requested co- location of the LAWS tower.. This will allow multiple public agencies, such as the NC Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff's Department, and EMS to better communicate during emergencies such as hurricanes and ice storms. PEMC has offered its existing tower, after de- construction, to the Orange County EMS facility on New Hope Church Road. If this happens, it would be a cost savings to the County. PEMC has also offered free co- location space on the replacement tower to the County Sheriffs Office and to EMS. EMS needs to improve its communications system to better use the VIPER system tower on Eno Mountain. The County Information Technology Department is interested in establishing campus -to- campus network connections using tower - mounted equipment. The use of the existing tower for County purposes could be an important first step in acquiring tower access rights. As access rights are negotiated for other towers in the County, the Information Technology Department could replace leased fiber lines and provide more reliable network availability during emergencies. Ordinance references Article 7.2.3 of the Orange County Zoning Regulations states that "if the petitioner elects to apply for a Planned Development District the petition must specify the actual use(s) intended for the property specified in the petition and the intended use(s) must be permitted in the corresponding general use district" and that "in the petition for a Planned Development District, the County Commissioners are to approve, approve with conditions or disapprove the petition on the basis of the proposed site plan and the specific proposed use." The petitioner has designated Offices and Telecommunications Tower (greater than 150 feet in height) as the principal uses. Pursuant to Article 7.2.3, "any change in the use shown on the plan will be treated as an amendment to the Planned Development as set forth in Article 7.8." The PD-01 District is being amended by adding the use of Telecommunication Tower (greater than 150' in height) and also by adding the acre parcel that was not a part of the original legal description. Consistently, Article 7.2.5 of the Zoning Ordinance states that "within the Planned Development District only those uses authorized by Article 4 as permitted in the zoning district with which the PD corresponds shall be permitted, and all other requirements of the corresponding district shall be met." Only the two petitioned uses are proposed; all other district requirements will be met. Furthermore the Article specifies, "Within a PD no use shall be permitted except pursuant to a Special Use Permit authorized by the County Commissioners which shall specify the use or