Orange County NC Website
<br />OC Board of Adjustment – 6/8/2015 Page 34 of 68 <br />Tom Johnson: It says height obstructer 213.9 feet. 1 <br /> 2 <br />Bob Hornik: Somewhere in your report it said 170 feet. 3 <br /> 4 <br />Tom Johnson: I’m reading the report you presented to the board which was in Mr. Smith’s report. It says structure 5 <br />characteristics ground elevation 548.3 feet height obstructer 213.9 feet overall height 762.2 feet. 6 <br /> 7 <br />Bob Hornik: I saw it somewhere. 8 <br /> 9 <br />Larry Wright: Ready to call your witness. 10 <br /> 11 <br />Bob Hornik: Ann Hall please. 12 <br /> 13 <br />Ann Hall: My name is Ann Hall, I live 5916 Mr. Sinai Road, Durham, NC 27705. 14 <br /> 15 <br />Larry Wright: Have you been duly sworn? 16 <br /> 17 <br />Ann Hall: Yes I have. I’m Rebecca Ann Hall speaking as an adjacent property at 5916 Mr. Sinai Road. My husband 18 <br />and I live next door to the Bergman property where T-Mobile proposes to build a 125 foot cell tower. One of our 19 <br />daughter’s lives next door at 5912 Mt. Sinai Road and the adjoining property beside 5906 Mt. Sinai also belongs to us. 20 <br />All three of these properties and an additional tract at 5900 all adjoin the B ergman property on the back of the tracts of 21 <br />land. I have lived here since 1957. All homes were built on the tracts of land in the 1930s on land purchased from the 22 <br />Crabtree Farm which the Bergman property is part of his farm. Over the course of the past 58 years having been 23 <br />raised on a large farm myself on the Orange County/Alamance County line in my younger years, I have seen and 24 <br />enjoyed the farm, the horses and the rural agriculture setting her e at where I now reside. I can walk out my door in the 25 <br />morning and listen to all and watch the horses and enjoy the perfect quiet character of the community. The cell tower 26 <br />will intrude on the enjoyment of my property and surrounding property in our neighborhood. The plan for the tower I 27 <br />have seen places it in the middle of an open field next door to our house. It will loom overhead just 137 feet from our 28 <br />property line and maybe 150 feet from our house. There is no question that the cell tower will change the character for 29 <br />this area and not in a positive way. People who visit their loved ones in the nursing home and those for an afternoon in 30 <br />the area will be looking at an ugly metal tower, out of place instead of the beautiful countryside setting. The pictures 31 <br />have been taken and are available to be seen. Since there is a tower behind the nursing home and have them told it is 32 <br />not high enough to do the job. Why build a tower on the front side of the n ursing home where the property elevation is 33 <br />not any higher. Grove Road at the top of the hill has a much higher elevation, which seems to me they would be 34 <br />looking for a tract of land of this nature. At the top of the hill, on Kerley Road, you can see bui ldings at Duke University, 35 <br />South Square Mall and buildings around the hospital in Chapel Hill from that point on the road. I feel there are other 36 <br />locations that could be used that are more suitable with higher elevation. If the tower needs to be in this area for 37 <br />whatever reasons, there are other locations where the tower can be built which would have less impact on us and the 38 <br />community. There is a big open field behind our house as stated earlier. There is a copy of the Orange County GIS 39 <br />aerial photograph which shows it. Our house is outlined in red. The open field is just above our property in the photo. 40 <br />It is surrounded by trees that could be used as a buffer and has higher elevation located on the Ber gman property. This 41 <br />seems a better location, less of an eyesore and much less of an impact on our property as well as not affecting a 42 <br />neighborhood along a main road. We and others in surrounding areas even though it still joins our property if the tower 43 <br />was there instead of in the field to the side of the house. We feel that being in a different location will not affect the 44 <br />property value of our property if the tower is not built on Mt. Sinai Road. My husband and I will be the ones most 45 <br />directly affected by the cell tower. We have worked very hard through the years for something of this nature to cause 46 <br />our property to be of less value and we are opposed to the tower being built at this location on Mr. Sinai Road. It would 47 <br />not be compatible and harmonious with the rural residential and agricultural c haracter around us which we feel is very 48 <br />important in our lives. We appreciate your consideration in this matter and thank you. 49 <br /> 50