Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
153 <br />The Zoning Ordinance requires that abandoned, derelict, or unused towers be removed. It <br />requires collocation and collocation capacity of a minimum of two antenna arrays for <br />monopole towers and three antenna arrays for self-supportllattice or guyed towers, <br />Applications f'or towers greater than I50 feet in height must be approved through a Class <br />A Special Use Permit process. The Ordinance also requires that towers not be artificially <br />Lighted unless required by the FAA, FCC or other federal or state agency, The Ordinance <br />mandates that the tower siting application show that the equipment planned for a <br />proposed tower cannot be accommodated on an existing facility, It includes preferences <br />for the siting of telecommunications equipment on existing towers or utility poles. There <br />are two existing antenna farms in the County, but new antenna farms are discouraged, <br />New monopole, lattice or guyed telecommunications towers are not permitted within''/z <br />mile of any existing tower, unless,justification is provided, <br />Pursuant to the Ordinance, an applicant may be required to submit an Environmental <br />Impact Assessment and "all applications [must) contain a demonstration that the tower is <br />sited so as to have the least visually intrusive effect reasonably possible and thereby have <br />the least adverse visual effect on the environment and its character, on existing <br />vegetation, and on the residences in the area of the telecommunications tower." If the <br />Board of County Commissioners so directs, text amendments may be considered in the <br />future to adopt additional substantive requirements to further address these environmental <br />issues as they relate to the public health, safety and general welfare. <br />Use of The Master Telecommunication Plan Map <br />The four plan figures and text will be imported onto the Orange County Website so that <br />industry representatives who are looking for potential tower sites and the public have <br />direct access to these public documents.. The map illustrates factors that may impact the <br />suitability of proposed telecommunication tower locations, by: <br />1. Identifying sites with the potential to contain archaeological artifacts and if the <br />site were pursued, a more detailed study would be required, <br />2. Identifying sites not containing prime agricultural lands. Orange County prime <br />agricultural soils typically have small areas. Few prime soils completely cover an entire <br />parceh Specific tower sites on selected parcels could be shifted internally to avoid <br />removing prime soils from farm production. <br />3, Identifying scenic road corridors, Selected parcels, which abut scenic road <br />corridors or abut parcels along such corridors, must describe how the tower facility will <br />not degrade the rural, scenic qualities of the road corridor, <br />4. Identifying all existing tower facilities and each tower's two-mile buffer, Any <br />tower proposal located within such tower buffer must provide additional ,justification for <br />the location. <br />5. Identifying other obvious natural features that may not be good tower <br />locations, such as wetlands, floodways and flood fringe areas, natural areas /wildlife <br />habitats and corridors, and permanent conservation easements. <br />Within the land area remaining, this protocol locates: <br />1, Pazcels still under consideration as tower sites, <br />2. Parcels zoned commercially or industrially, <br />13 <br />