Orange County NC Website
Approved 9/10/2013 <br /> <br />OC Board of Adjustment – 7/8/2013 Page 22 of 82 <br /> <br />test that it was a reliable report. As far as the safety of the tower, we are required to provide a fall zone for the 199 1 <br />foot tower which is 110% of the tower and the fall zone is 219 feet so no structures or property lines can be located 2 <br />within 219 feet of the tower and that has been complied with. In addition, Sesame Road with the neighborhood 3 <br />directly to the east of Sesame Road is located 375 feet away from the tower. 4 <br /> 5 <br />Samantha Cabe: On the notes on your map submitted as Applicant’s Exhibit 2 and note 5 indicates that the tower is 6 <br />located such that there are none existing within 500 feet of the tower center? 7 <br /> 8 <br />Karen Kemerait: I assume that it is accurate. I mean 375 feet from Sesame Road is the location of the Road. 9 <br /> 10 <br />Samantha Cabe: From the centerline of Sesame Road? 11 <br /> 12 <br />Karen Kemerait: Yes. I did want to mention about the report provided by the New York attorney and I wanted to 13 <br />mention that the law that was presented in that report is based on Circuit Federal Law and what has been discussed, 14 <br />to some extent, was discussion about how an applicant must find the least intrusive means to fill a gap in coverage. 15 <br />That is not the law in the Fourth Circuit that North Carolina would be if we were in Federal Court we would be the 16 <br />fourth circuit. The Fourth Circuit has a case, T-Mobile versus Fairfax Board which was decided in 2012, specifically 17 <br />rejected that the least intrusive means test and stated that is not the law of the Fourth Circuit. Even if it were the law, 18 <br />the Orange County UDO essentially has a standard similar to that. It requires an applicant to evaluate less intrusive 19 <br />options for any tower placement and this is according to Section 5.10.8.b.4.b and the hierarchy of sites is number one 20 <br />to consider locating the antennas on an existing county owned facility in which the height will not have to be increased. 21 <br />The second criteria are to consider an existing facility such as an existing tower without increasing the height. The 22 <br />third is on county properties and the fourth is on properties zoned for commercial or industrial use and American Tower 23 <br />and AT&T considered each of those options and as noted in the application none of those options were available that 24 <br />is the reason they have come forward with an application to lease property from Mr. & Mrs. Yow. We are asking that 25 <br />the application be approved because we have met all the technical requirements for telecommunications towers and 26 <br />all the general standards for special use. Thank you. 27 <br /> 28 <br />Larry Wright: Mr. Dixon, do you have a summary statement? 29 <br /> 30 <br />Gary Dixon: I would like to go back to the map and reiterate that each one of the plots or squares represents a family 31 <br />with real people and real children. Thirty females constitute well over 100 people that will be greatly impacted by 32 <br />something that is the maximum height. They have not looked for anything less intrusive. I understand there are no 33 <br />other structures that will support a 20 story tall tower. They have to have this much space for something that big that 34 <br />towers over everything. Leaving those trees that are half the height of a 20 story tower will not hide this tower. They 35 <br />will not camouflage this at all. The second picture is nearly twice as tall as the existing trees. I walked it off this 36 <br />morning and from the center of Sesame Road, it is approximately 250 feet from the front yard of the closest house. 37 <br />There is very little room if anything at all goes wrong. I would also like you to consider how much traffic it will create 38 <br />with the trucks, the school buses on an 18 foot wide road. It will be very dangerous. At the speed limit of 25. This 39 <br />road has one way in and one way out. Where will they turn around at? These are real people with families. 40 <br /> 41 <br />Michael Harvey: In your application packet, tab 6, the site plan, sheet 5 provides you with the location of the proposed 42 <br />tower, it provides documentation that the tower is well within the required fall zone and then scaling out the boundary 43 <br />from the identified fall zone is approximately another 190 feet so it is 218 feet plus another 190 feet is where the tower 44 <br />is setback from Sesame Road. The applicant has provided, in attachment 3 of this packet, the detailed narrative 45 <br />referring to all the various attachments outlining how they comply with the code. On page 100, we have provided what 46 <br />we believe are some linkages to the Orange County 2030 Comprehensive Plan that demonstrate compliance with 47 <br />various goals and policies as adopted by County Commissioners. Staff typically provides you with the 48 <br />recommendations on specific findings that are contained within the Unified Development Ordinance. Specifically the 49 <br />applicant has submitted the completed application form, the necessary number of documents, has paid the required 50 <br />application fee and beginning on page 132 we have found the applicant has complied with Sections 2.2 and 2.73 51