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146 <br />M. PLAN ELEMENTS <br />Inventory <br />In Orange County and the four incorporated towns there are presently 67 known <br />telecommunication tower sites, and local governments continue to receive permission to <br />locate additional towers. The average tower height is 222 feet with a range between 60 <br />and 1,144 feet. (Appendix C provides a summary of each tower site.) As of November <br />1998 within North Carolina, four percent of the 1,663 telecommunication towers were at <br />least 800 feet high, five per cent were between 500 and 800 feet tall, nearly half were <br />between 300 and 500 feet, and 42 per cent were under 300 feet tall. Thirteen of the <br />telecommunication towers in Orange County are over 200 feet in height. All but three ` <br />towers over 200 feet are guyed. From these figures and mortality studies conducted by <br />the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, since 1986 the number of bird deaths attributed to <br />telecommunication towers in Orange County is estimated to range from 230,000 to <br />320,000 birds, or about 13,000 annually. However, no one has conducted local studies to <br />confirm these mortality estimates. <br />Guyed towers were all constructed before 1992 and all but one of the monopole towers <br />were built after 1995. At least twenty of the towers have co- located antenna arrays. <br />Since January 2003 there has been only one building permit for a new tower facility <br />issued, while sixteen permits were issued for co- located facilities. Thus, except for <br />towers on electric power poles or poles mounted on a municipal water tower, all towers <br />constructed after 1995 were monopole or lattice -tower construction, due to technology <br />demands and new federal regulations. <br />Figure 1 charts the 67 known tower sites listed in Table 1, including five, which have <br />been permitted, but not constructed or removed. Also listed in Figure 2 are towers in <br />other adjoining counties, which may affect wireless coverage within Orange County. <br />Table 1. Telecommunication Facilities within Orange County, 2004. <br />2 <br />Township <br />Constructed <br />(in feet) Construction <br />Number <br />Jurisdiction <br />City/ <br />Year <br />Height Type of <br />Owner <br />Case <br />1 <br />Little River <br />Township <br />1990 <br />737 Guyed <br />* Alltel <br />2 <br />Little River <br />Township <br />1990 <br />290 Guyed <br />* Crown Castle Atlantic <br />A -3 -94 <br />4 <br />Hillsborough <br />Township <br />1996 <br />157 Guyed <br />* Crown Castle Atlantic <br />A -11 -93 <br />5 <br />Hillsborough <br />City <br />178 Monopole <br />* Crown Castle Atlantic <br />6 <br />Cheeks <br />Township <br />1989 <br />400 Guyed <br />* Crown Castle Atlantic <br />A -8 -89 <br />7 <br />Cheeks <br />Township <br />1995 <br />200 Guyed <br />Sprint PCS <br />A -8 -95 <br />8 <br />Bingham <br />Township <br />1992 <br />300 Guyed <br />Sprint PCS <br />A -3 -92 <br />9 <br />Chapel Hill <br />Township <br />1992 <br />300 Guyed <br />Sprint PCS <br />A -2 -92 <br />10 <br />Chapel Hill <br />City <br />2002 <br />Water Tower <br />Sprint PCS <br />11 <br />Chapel Hill <br />Carrboro <br />1985 <br />220 Lattice <br />* Crown. Castle Atlantic <br />SUP- B -3 -85 <br />12 <br />Chapel Hill <br />City <br />2002 <br />Rooftop <br />GTE Wireless <br />13 <br />Chapel Hill <br />Carrboro <br />180 Monopole <br />Sprint PCS <br />14 <br />Bingham <br />Township <br />1984 <br />1,144 Guyed <br />* Clear Channel <br />SUP- B -3 -84 <br />15 <br />Chapel Hill <br />Township <br />1995 <br />195 Monopole <br />* Crown Castle Atlantic <br />A -1 -95 <br />16 <br />Cheeks <br />Township <br />1995 <br />375 Guyed <br />* Spectra Site <br />A -2 -95 <br />2 <br />