BOA minutes 061013 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Approved 7/8/2013 OC Board of Adjustment – 6/10/2013 Page 86 of 92 Desiree Goldman: I have been duly sworn. I have lived in Orange County for 17 years. I am here 1 representing the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtors and their 500 members. We are in 2 support of the two cell phone towers and this one is even more important than the last one given the 3 density of the traffic that comes into this area. We have people that commute from Burlington that 4 come along Old 54 and Old Greensboro. Northern Chatham is growing. Jones Ferry is going to be 5 used more. I have hit a deer out there. You do not want to be out there hitting a deer in a car and 6 not be able to make a phone call. That is very dangerous and there are not lights on the streets. We 7 have to be able to communicate. The National Association of Realtors not only supports broadband 8 infrastructure but has commissioned its own studies showing that communities that have access to a 9 broadband have a six percent higher property value. I also have clients check to see whether or not 10 they can get cell connection. That is something that is now a part of what people look for when they 11 move to the area. Security systems are using cell phones instead of land lines. Most people I sell 12 homes to do not put land lines in anymore. This is really important and so many people work from 13 home and they like to move to the Chapel Hill, Durham, Carrboro, all of this is because of the 14 heightened technology and the ability to commute. This keeps people off the roads. We say we want 15 to improve our carbon footprint so having people be able to work from homes using broadband is a 16 way to do that. The other thing I think is important is safety. In real estate, one of the things we don’t 17 think about is it is dangerous. I go out and show properties to people I don’t know too well. If I am 18 out in an area that doesn’t have cell phone coverage, that is a problem. We have a code at our 19 office. I am out with somebody, I call and say please look for the red file. They know I am in trouble. 20 If I can’t reach them, that is a problem. There are times I have actually had to have someone drive 21 with me when I go out into an area that I can’t get good coverage to make sure I am safe. Bad things 22 do happen to realtors. So I really think that this is incredibly important so given how much we want to 23 have our small businesses grow into this area, I really support you in approving those towers and all 24 those white areas in the future. We need it all covered. 25 26 Michael Harvey: Aaron Nelson. 27 28 Aaron Nelson: I rise before you in approving this and to say a personal thank to Jeremy Browner for 29 coming out on his birthday. I say this in jest, our kids have all gone to bed without a kiss by their 30 parents here and so we are all here because this is really important to us so we appreciate you taking 31 the time to be here and listen to this. I represent the Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce and been 32 their CEO for thirteen years and for thirteen years counseled businesses and home based 33 businesses about how to grow and thrive in the greater Chapel Hill Carrboro community. We have 34 1,000 small to mid-size businesses as well as 500 realtors that are members of our chamber so 35 collectively they put about 80,000 people and over the last thirteen years had lots of conversations 36 with lots of people about how to grow and have their business thrive. More and more of those 37 conversations are happening to business persons on their cell phone. They are calling me from their 38 phone in the car hands free; we hope they are in the passenger seat doing email, communicating, 39 pulling down data. At home, kids are on the smart phone or tablet connecting to the school system. 40 More and more, this is becoming a critical infrastructure just like when we widen roads that neighbors 41 are unhappy about widening or when we string cable along underground and disturb the right of way 42 and do the digging or put telephone wires out to places. At first, our communities’ reaction to those 43 have been negative, but over time, these cell towers are just a critical part of the infrastructure we are 44 going to have throughout our community and it is our organizations’ priority that we extend more and 45 more so I want to say a thank you and for the record to AT&T for responding. They don’t put up 46 towers if no one wants them. That is a waste of their time and money. They are going to pay a lot of 47 money to make this happen over lots of years and they are doing so at the request of Orange County 48 citizens and Orange County businesses and we appreciate their responsiveness and we ask the 49 same of you that you respond to that request and begin to extend this infrastructure. Business need 50 access to this broadband and internet so they can do text, talk on the phone, use data and use the 51 internet at home as well as on the go. They communicate with their clients and customers and take 52 orders. I have had conversations with the businesses so we called our members along this corridor, 53