P ORD-2002-030 Telecommunications Tower Ordinance Amendments

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Tom King - August262002.doc Page 4 RE 4 site so that farmers could continue their farming operation. The staff is going to look at public competition. Commissioner Brown wanted to clarify the process of notification of the balloon test for locating towers. She asked if the applicant pays for this to make sure that the residents are notified. Craig Benedict said that the applicant provides a mailing list of residents within a certain radius. The staff sends letters to the applicant. The ordinance does not say that if the balloon can be seen, the tower is turned down. The balloon test gives a perspective about where the tower will be. Commissioner Brown asked about the 150 -foot cut off with the Board of Adjustment and stated that the public is concerned about hour to present their concerns to the Board of Adjustment. Craig Benedict said that the majority of the towers over the past couple of years have been between 150 and 200 feet. The 150 feet is a number that would seem to capture the majority of the applications and allow them to be heard by the Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Gordon asked if the Board decided to change from 150 feet or lower would there have to a public hearing? County Attorney Geoffrey Gledhill said that it would have to be 75-100 feet as the lower limit. He said that as long as the special use permit process is above 75 feet, we are within the range of the present ordinance. Commissioner Gordon asked about the visual intrusiveness of a tower and the Board of County Commissioners may have to decide whether something is intrusive. She would hope that the Planning Board would think about this. She wants to encourage co- location and something that is not visually intrusive. Geoffrey Gledhill said that there is no difference between a Gass A and a class B special use permit as far as the standards. The only difference is with the process and the audience. Commissioner Brown said that to her the standards would be not to be able to see any of these facilities. She would like them to be constructed in a way that is not visible because they are eyesores. Craig Benedict said that there are federal government requirements regarding cell tower communication. Commissioner Brown asked why the towers could not be covered. Craig said that in the future the towers might be as tall as the utility poles. The height of the towers is coming down, as there are more users. (Questions from Piannina Board Bart' Katz asked about the companies that build these sites and if there is any concern about these companies, which are now going bankrupt. Craig Benedict said that there have been changes in the industry and we are trying to counteract the change by having a strong co- location ordinance to keep the tower builders in the process and bring other users in. Barry Katz asked Craig Benedict if he knew about how many would apply for these telecommunications towers in January. Craig Benedict stated that normally there are only 3-4 applications per year. He does not see a major rush of more or less applications in the coming year. Barry Katz asked about item V in number four. He said that there is no cover about these buildings and asked if this is something to consider. Craig Benedict will look at landscaping standards of these poles and structures. Barry Katz made reference to the Master Telecommunications Plan and asked if publicly owned land would also have to pay an application fee. Craig Benedict said that they would try to keep the process as equitable as possible. Bart' Katz asked if a resident sees the balloon during a test would the application be denied and Craig Benedict said no. The balloon test is more of a perspective of where the tower will lie. Barry Katz asked if the balloon tests could be done when the leaves are off the trees. Craig Benedict said that maybe they would look at this possibility in January. Barry Katz made reference to page 9 and appearance issues. He said that the final decision rests on the Planning Director or his designee. He asked if someone else could see this through. Craig Benedict said that there are parts of the ordinance that are more subjective than objective. At this time, there is no architectural review commission about how antennas can be incorporated into buildings.