Minutes - 08-28-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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about who would ca-locate on their towers. Commissioner Brown asked for a list of all the towers and a map. She asked about how these towers were being located. She asked if the trend was for the towers to go along the interstates and major highways and Craig Benedict said yes. Commissioner Brown is interested in having the County Commissioners review the requests for telecommunications towers. Karen Barrows said that she would like for the County Commissioners to take over the telecommunications tower process. She said that she feels the County should have an independent engineer who is familiar with this process to advise the County Commissioners. Howard McAdams said that the Board of Adjustment has had six applications with two denied. For one application, 500 notification letters were sent out and no one spoke against the tower. Bob Strayhorn said that a lot of pain needs to be taken to be sure that the towers are located appropriately. He feels it should be a high priority to put the towers in conservation districts. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the contract with Metrosite or any contract with a comparable company. Craig Benedict said that Metrosite was sanctioned with the North Carolina Association of Counties and there is a standardized contract that can be used around the country. He will bring forward a contract for the County Commissioners' consideration. PUBLIC COMMENT Sharlene Pilkey, member of the Board of Adjustment, said that there were forty-one towers in this County. The problem is that the range is two miles and this is not far enough. Grey Styers spoke an behalf of Bell South Mobility DCS and American Tower Corporation. He said that he has spoken with all of the towers companies operating in North Carolina and most carriers, and they are very interested in the proposal tonight. He said that his law firm worked with the County in 1995 and 1996 in drafting the current ordinance. They would like to be involved in the process to explain and provide illustrations. He said that wireless communication was becoming a fact of life. He agrees that it is bad when two towers are located next to each other. He said that ordinances are needed that encourage and require co-location and minimize the number of towers. He does have answers to some of the questions raised about accessory uses, stealth, etc. MOTION A motion was made by Commissioner Gordan, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to discuss the telecommunication towers and antenna amendments at a work session. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 3. ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL LANDFILL (MODIFICATION) SPECIAL USE PERMIT, CLASS "A" Commissioner Halkiotis explained that the process for receiving public comment on a Special Use Permit is different in that it is an evidentiary hearing where evidence is heard. An explanation of this type of hearing was available at the back table. Evidentiary zoning hearings, unlike legislative hearings, are not designed to solicit broad public opinion about how the Board should vote on a matter before it. Rather, evidentiary zoning hearings provide an opportunity for the Board to gather the facts it needs to apply policies already set in the ordinance. Therefore, the standards and gathering evidence are much stricter than they are for legislative hearings. The Clerk gave an oath to Planner Eddie Kirk and Landfill Engineer Mike Meagher. Planner Eddie Kirk explained the proposed modification. The particular property is located immediately west of the existing landfill on the north side of Eubanks Raad, on a 12.76- acre tract of land. The existing special use permit was approved on May 5, 1997. This included a construction of a 4,000-square foot vehicle maintenance building, with the processing of yard waste and stone debris on an ongoing basis. A modification to the special use permit was approved on November 17, 1998 by the Board of County Commissioners to add an area to be used for recycling glass and metal cans. The expansion included a 7,500-square foot concrete