Agenda - 05-24-2004-D.1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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146 III. PLAN ELEMENTS Inventory In Orange County and the four incorporated towns there aze presently 67 known telecommunication tower sites, and local governments continue to receive permission to locate additional towers. The average tower height is 222 feet with a range between 60 and 1,144 feet. (Appendix C provides a summary of each tower site,) As of November 1998 within North Cazolina, four percent of the 1,663 telecommunication towers were at least 800 feet high, five per cent were between 500 and 800 feet tall, nearly half were between 300 and 500 feet, and 42 per cent were under 300 feet tall. Thirteen of the telecommunication towers in Orange County are over 200 feet in height. All but three towers over 200 feet are guyed. From these figures and mortality studies conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, since 1986 the number of bird deaths attributed to telecommunication towers in Orange County is estimated to range from 230,000 to 320,000 birds, or about 13,000 annually. However, no one has conducted local studies to confirm these mortality estimates. Guyed towers were all constructed before 1992 and all but one of the monopole towers were built after 1995. At least twenty of the towers have co-located antenna arrays. Since Ianuary 2003 there has been only one building perrrrit for' a new tower facility issued, while sixteen permits were issued for co-located facilities. Thus, except for Cowers on electric power poles or poles mounted on a municipal water tower, all towers constructed after 1995 were monopole or lattice-tower construction, due to technology demands and new federal regulations. Figure 1 charts the 67 known tower sites listed in Table 1, including five, which have been perrrritted, but not constructed or removed. Also listed in Figure 2 aze towers in other adjoining counties, which may affect wireless coverage within Orange County. Tabte 1. Telecommunication Facilities within Orange County, 2004. Township Constructed (in feet) Construction Number Jurisdiction City/ Year Height Type of Owner Case 1 Little River Township 1990 737 Guyed * Alltel 2 Little River Township 1990 290 Guyed * Crown Castle Atlantic A-3-94 4 Hillsborough Township 1996 157 Guyetl 5 Hillsboroughr City 178 Monopole 6 Cheeks Township 1989 400 Guyed 7 Cheeks Township 1995 200 Guyed 8 Bingham Township 1992 300 Guyed 9 Chapel Hill Township 1992 300 Guyed 10 Chapel Hill City 2002 Water Tower 11 Chapel Hill Carrboro 1985 220 Lattice 12 Chapel HiII City 2002 Rooftop 13 Chapel Hill Carrboro 180 Monopole 14 Bingham Township 1984 1,144 Guyed 15 Chapel Hill Township 1995 195 Monopole 16 Cheeks Township 1995 375 Guyed ' Crown Castle Atlantic A-11-93 ' Crown Castle Atlantic * Crown Castle Atlantic A-8-89 Sprint PCS A-8-95 Sprint PCS A-3-92 Sprint PCS A-2-92 Sprint PCS ' Crown Castle Atlantic SUP-B-3-85 GTE Wireless Sprint PCS * Clear Channel SUP-B-3-84 ' Crown Castle Atlantic A-1-95 * Spectra Site A-2-95 6