Orange County NC Website
18 <br /> 1 The Board received the Planning Board recommendation, closed the public hearing, and made a <br /> 2 decision on an owner-initiated Zoning Atlas Amendment to rezone a 3.36 acre parcel of property from EDE- <br /> 3 1 (Economic Development Eno Lower Intensity) to EDE-2 (Economic Development Eno Higher Intensity) in <br /> 4 accordance with the provisions of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). <br /> 5 Michael Harvey reviewed the maps of the parcel and said the Baldwins have indicated the EDE-2 <br /> 6 zoning would be more acceptable, and staff has concurred. He referred to the abstract and concerns of <br /> 7 impact on properties to the south. He said there will be no impact to this area. He said the planning board <br /> 8 has voted unanimously that this is consistent with the comprehensive plan and should be approved. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to close the <br /> 11 public hearing. <br /> 12 <br /> 13 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 14 <br /> 15 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to adopt <br /> 16 a. Attachment 3 — Ordinance Amending the Zoning Atlas <br /> 17 b. Attachment 5— Statement of Consistency authorizing the zoning atlas amendments as detailed herein. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 20 <br /> 21 b. Approval of Ground Lease Between Orange County and American Towers, LLC <br /> 22 The Board considered conducting a public hearing on a potential Ground Lease Agreement with <br /> 23 American Towers, LLC, for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a communications tower in <br /> 24 northern Orange County; considered approving a Ground Lease Agreement with American Towers, LLC, <br /> 25 for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a communications tower in northern Orange County; and <br /> 26 contingent on Board approval, authorized the Chair to execute all necessary documents to effectuate the <br /> 27 Lease upon final review of the County Attorney. <br /> 28 Jeff Thompson reviewed the purpose of the hearing. He reviewed the site locator in the packets. <br /> 29 He said this tower with cable is capable of carrying commercial equipment, as well as emergency services <br /> 30 assets simultaneously. He referenced materials regarding ATT coverage, as well as balloon test <br /> 31 information. He said the lease contemplates a non exclusive easement which will not interfere with the <br /> 32 Walnut Grove Solid Waste Convenience Center (SWCC) operations. He said American Towers has <br /> 33 completed its site survey and is ready to continue the permit process, subject to this lease approval. <br /> 34 Michael Harvey said he is here to give some background on this project. He said the Orange <br /> 35 County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) creates a hierarchy for desired cell tower locations. He said <br /> 36 the first in the hierarchy is County owned property. He referenced that telecommunications master plan <br /> 37 map and said this map serves as a marketing tool to allow County staff to solicit from private and county <br /> 38 owned properties that are in essential locations. <br /> 39 He said he is aware of some concerns about this process. He referred to a timeline and said any <br /> 40 tower location on County property is subject to administrative approval. He said balloon tests must be <br /> 41 conducted, as well as neighborhood information meetings. He said a balloon test was conducted for this <br /> 42 site on August 18th, and he was personally present. He said certified letters were sent to neighbors, along <br /> 43 with a newspaper article and signs, informing nearby residents of the balloon test; however there were no <br /> 44 residents present, other than those who stopped when they saw the balloon. <br /> 45 Michael Harvey said once this lease is finalized the applicant will be submitting the final site plan, <br /> 46 and Orange County planning staff will complete the remaining environmental review. He said, because of <br /> 47 the process of expanding the SWCC, there have already been several environmental studies on this <br /> 48 property, and there are not anticipated problems. He noted that ATT had previously looked at a property <br /> 49 south of this location, and there were some neighborhood concerns. The County property was then <br /> 50 offered, and it was determined that this property would be appropriate. <br /> 51 John Roberts gave a review of the lease. He said the property is 1000 square feet, and the lease is <br /> 52 for an initial 9 year term and will automatically renew for 6, 5 year terms. He said either party is able to <br /> 53 terminate the lease prior to the conclusion of the initial term. He said the monthly fee will be a base fee of <br /> 54 $1800 per month, with 3% annual increases. He said ATT will be the anchor tenant on the tower, and there <br />