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144 <br />application to site a new wireless telecommunications facility. To encourage prospective <br />telecommunication service providers to consider the placement of towers within <br />voluntary agricultural districts, including those identified in the MTP, the text of Section <br />8.817a.2 of the Zoning Ordinance is to be amended to include voluntary agricultural <br />districts as preferred priority four (4), and to reprioritize former priority four (4) and five <br />(5) to priority five (5) and six (6), respectively. Pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance an <br />application to site a communications facility may not be approved unless it demonstrates <br />that the telecommunication equipment may not be sited at a higher priority site because <br />of commercial impracticability or because no higher priority site is available. The MTP <br />will also help identify existing locations suitable for collocation including locations that <br />may also serve the public safety telecommunication network. <br />Another aspect of the MTP strikes a balance between the needs and concerns of the <br />general public and [hose of the telecommunication industry. Citizens have expressed <br />concerns r'egar'ding property values, aesthetics, safety and the environmental concerns <br />related to proposed tower facilities. Yet, with the changing wireless communications <br />technology and public demand for wireless services, a real need to provide wireless <br />communication services exists. <br />The MTP is an informational tool to assist with the reasonableness, orderliness and <br />rationality of the decision regarding the placement of wireless telecommunication towers, <br />accompanying equipment and infrastructure. Its objective is that Urange County citizens <br />benefit from an improved wireless infrastructure and service without sacrificing the <br />character of the rural community. <br />End Products <br />The MTP process will result in: <br />® A plan document, with accompanying data and illustrations, <br />• Both text and maps will be posted on the Orange County website, for better <br />communications opportunities with the interested public and those seeking to <br />expand the wireless network, <br />• Revisions to the Zoning Ordinance to incorporate the MTP reference tool into the <br />Ordinance. <br />IL PLANNING CONTEXT <br />Public Involvement <br />Land owners and county, school, telecommunication industry and semi-public facility <br />representatives were informed by letter and phone to attend and participate in the process <br />of planning and prepazing the MTP. Facilities in other Orange County communities are <br />part of this plan, but like Chapel Hill, the municipalities may have their own policies and <br />ordinances tv address issues related to the siting of telecommunication towers. Appendix <br />F summarizes the Chapel Hill policies on telecommunication towers. <br />4 <br />