Minutes 05-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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What proof do you have that guarantees they will do exactly what they say they will do? I have commercial property in Guilford County that I do lease to a cell tower company, Crown Castle. Guilford County requires a buffer similar to what Orange County does, a natural buffer. When Crown Castle was required to do the plants, and the plants did not meet the screening standards, the gentlemen in charge of zoning in Guilford County had full authority to immediately turn the power off to the cell tower and shut it down until Crown Castle complied. When these plants and shrubs die due to inadequate care, who will be accountable for enforcing Orange County requirements? How long will we have to suffer to see this monstrosity in our neighborhood, and what recourse and what compensation will we have when this happens? These sites have not been around long enough to know the damage they can and will cause on humans and animals living in such close proximity to an electrical field of this size. I realize that sensitivity to this field will vary between individuals. I happen to live with someone that is highly sensitive to these frequencies. We have neighbors that are also sensitive to these frequencies. In our home, we keep appliances unplugged. We don't watch television. We take every precaution we can to ensure the wellbeing of everyone in our home. If you approve this, who will take responsibility for taking our well being from us? The bottom line is, are you willing to vote yes on something that is already causing harm to citizens of this community? Orange County is one of the best places to live in in North Carolina. Everyone here chose to live here, except for the company that is proposing to build a power plant in our neighborhood. Would they like to buy all of our homes on Cascade Drive and live beside what they are proposing to build? Would you? David Rooks: Mr. Fox. Michael Fox: I don't have any questions for this witness. David Rooks: Those are all of our witnesses Mr. Chairman. At this point I will make a brief closing statement. I'll focus really on two findings, two of the three findings you have to make. The first one being that the proposed use will maintain or enhance the value of contiguous properties. You've heard evidence on that. I submit to you that when it comes time to make a decision, you need to ask yourself whether in your own mind if you were going to buy the property owned by Bob Cantwell and Lydia Wegman, which is right there—that first property in the right coming in —would you discount it because there is a solar array behind it that is visible to you? If the answer to that is yes, then you have to answer no to the second finding. You have to say the property—the use will not maintain or enhance contiguous property values. The third finding is actually a little more interesting because we have competing valuable interests here. Obviously everybody values single family residential use and home ownership. Everybody values energy efficiency and solar power. In your ordinance, you have said both can exist in the rural buffer. However, you have decided that a solar utility has to be a class a special use permit, and it has to come to you, and you have to make the findings that let it be there. And one of those findings is that it be in harmony. When you decide whether that use is in harmony with the uses in the area, you have to figure out a way how to resolve conflicts between those two uses. I would look, quite frankly, to the law of uses where you have competing, valid, lawful uses that conflict with each other. The law says —gives you a road map