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STAFF COMMENT: Per Section 5.3.2 (A) (2) of the UDO the applicant has the burden of establishing by competent material and substantial evidence the use will ‘maintain or enhance’ the value of contiguous property. Please refer to Tab(s) 1 and 32 for the applicant’s response to this requirement. As of the writing of this abstract no evidence has been presented to staff demonstrating the proposed telecommunication facility will neither ‘maintain or enhance’ the value of contiguous property. b. Questions were asked about the impacts electromagnetic radiation emitted from the proposed tower on the public’s health/safety. STAFF COMMENT: The Federal government has found there is no conclusive evidence demonstrating telecommunication towers generate harmful radiation or have an impact on an individual’s overall health. Section 5.10.8 (4) (v) requires all special use permits to include a condition that the: ‘electromagnetic radiation levels maintain compliance with requirements of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regarding emission of electromagnetic radiation’. This is a recommended condition of approval for the project as required by the UDO. The County’s telecommunication consultant, Ms. Jackie Hicks, will be available at the meeting and can offer additional comment on this matter. c. It was suggested the applicant erect a ‘stealth’ tower on this site. The example used by many individuals was the disguising of the tower as a ‘pine tree’ or other similar construction to assist in ‘hiding’ the structure from view. STAFF COMMENT: A stealth tower is defined within Article 10 Definitions of the UDO as: A design or treatment that minimizes adverse aesthetic and visual impacts on the land, property, buildings, and other facilities adjacent to, surrounding, and in generally the same area as the requested location of such wireless support structures, which shall mean building the least visually and physically intrusive facility that is not technologically or commercially impracticable under the facts and circumstances. Stealth technology includes such technology as Distributed Antenna System (DAS) or its functional equivalent or camouflage where the structure is disguised to make it less visually obtrusive and not recognized to the average person as a wireless support structure. While staff is supportive of the use of stealth technology, and the UDO encourages same, we cannot compel and/or mandate this proposed telecommunication facility be designed as a stealth tower. Having said that the applicant is responsible for demonstrating the tower will not have a significant visual impact in the area (Section 5.10.8 (A) (3) (k)). In order to meet this requirement, the applicant may have to employee stealth technology. 122