Orange County NC Website
Approved 9/10/2013 <br /> <br />OC Board of Adjustment – 7/8/2013 Page 7 of 82 <br /> <br /> 1 <br />Helen Figueror: I live right next to power lines. When I moved here I had very few houses to buy and I only had two 2 <br />weeks to buy a house and the house was new construction and it was the best house to buy but I was not aware of all 3 <br />these problems of trying to sell houses. I have here at least four things I pulled out of my old files, when I had the 4 <br />house on the market, they don’t want to live next to power lines. I have heard people say I am afraid that I don’t want 5 <br />to take a risk for my children to get leukemia; I don’t want to take that risk. Those few studies were out there. 6 <br /> 7 <br />Samantha Cabe: Have you had any direct experience with cellular communication towers because what you have told 8 <br />us is about your experience, difficulties about selling a home or witnessed difficulties with a home selling that are next 9 <br />to power lines but do you have direct knowledge of difficulty of selling a home within the proximity of a cellular tower? 10 <br /> 11 <br />Helen Figueror: I have been told by other agents…. 12 <br /> 13 <br />Samantha Cabe: For you? 14 <br /> 15 <br />Helen Figueror: For me, it is still the same perception, you still have that radiation, you still have the noise and if you 16 <br />are very close and the value goes down. If you can buy a house on property that is away from those things, people 17 <br />will go there. If you have two houses of equal property and equal price, they are not going to buy next to a power line. 18 <br /> I know when I sell my house, it will be less than other people would get if they were in a different neighborhood 19 <br />without the power lines. 20 <br /> 21 <br />Mark Micol: I will ask you the same question, do your customers ask you about the availability of high speed internet 22 <br />and accessibility when you are selling a home? 23 <br /> 24 <br />Helen Figueror: Sure. Everybody likes it. 25 <br /> 26 <br />Mark Micol: If you don’t have internet accessibility, is that a negative? 27 <br /> 28 <br />Helen Figueror: It is a negative. There was one in the country. It is a negative but I think they need to be somewhere 29 <br />you are not going to be looking out your window….and also I know from a business standpoint that people will not buy 30 <br />the house if it has that in your backyard and I do have it in my backyard. Luckily, I don’t have the big tower but the 31 <br />other house that sold for a lot less had it right there. 32 <br /> 33 <br />Mark Micol: For the record, you don’t have any comps, comparable home prices that show the degradation in price? 34 <br /> 35 <br />Helen Figueror: I could have brought them but I didn’t bring them because everyone said it was the same perception, 36 <br />people don’t want to live next to them. Actually, I have been out to the Sesame Street Road, it is also a small road so 37 <br />the values still are affected. 38 <br /> 39 <br />Michael Harvey: For the record, we are labeling Mr. Dixon’s handout as Exhibit One. I would like the county’s 40 <br />telecommunication consultant, Mr. Rusty Monroe, to address comments made with relations to emissions. 41 <br /> 42 <br />Karen Kemerait: I believe the Mr. Campanili is in New York. 43 <br /> 44 <br />Rusty Monroe: I am Rusty Monroe, the county’s consultant on this issue. Federal Law prohibits the use of information 45 <br />relating to RF Emissions, radiation, as being grounds from denial unless they do not comply with the FCCs regulations 46 <br />or guidelines. State law also prohibits the county from requiring the provision of that information or taking RF 47 <br />Emissions into account. You can argue both sides of the case, there is ample evidence. People make like, may not 48 <br />like, but the fact is that you are not allowed, unless you can prove they are not complying with the FCC standards. 49 <br /> 50 <br />Karen Barrows: That is because they consider it safe? 51