PB Agenda Packet - June 4 2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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17 606 607 Patrick Mallett: We would have some sort of meeting to have a meeting but if I'm honest every year in some 608 shape or form, either with the Planning Department or with IT, but participation was some years 609 heavy some years not so heavy. I would also add that in the timeframe that I've been here,we've 610 had on average, over 3 dozen co-locations and switch outs on existing towers, and we do a lot of 611 little stealth towers. We've only had one special use permit, new tower. We've had a lot start and 612 then pull out and withdraw the request, but only one new tower 10 years. That's kind of 613 extraordinary. And we're realizing that if you weed through the co-locations and the switch-out, 614 we're kind of reaching a point where saturation is probably occurring and there is a need for new 615 towers if you want to provide incentives for people to go out to say the Hurdle Mills area and 616 service that. 617 618 Beth Bronson: You have to create friendly regulations. 619 620 Patrick Mallett: Not a cart blanche open door, but a minimal amount of barriers to entry. 621 622 Beth Bronson: Understandable. 623 624 Patrick Mallett: That's what we're trying to achieve is that balance that's not intrusive. 625 626 Beth Bronson: Out on New Sharon Church Road, there's an AT&T tower. It's been abandoned for however 627 many years, but it hasn't gone anywhere, or is it still managed by AT&T? 628 629 Patrick Mallett: I think they still have one antenna there. If they have no antennas,they have to take it down. 630 631 Beth Bronson: I guess enforcement of abandonment. 632 633 Patrick Mallett: Sure. But that can be achieved outside of an annual meeting. 634 635 Beth Bronson: For sure,yes,separate from the meeting. 636 637 Patrick Mallett: You've heard this before. We have a new Energov central permitting system that,the tracking 638 ability for this is ten times better than it was years ago. 639 640 Cy Stober: One thing I would add is that the original texts that we are proposing to amend and replace 641 presumes that planning is the primary point of contact on this land use matter. Well,wireless 642 communications is much more of a public service than it was when this was adopted and we, 643 Kirby is in regular communication for emergency services purposes, our information technologies 644 directors and regular communication as part of the Lumos project,as well as above-ground 645 facilities that are being installed to support that. So the County, much more broadly than our 646 department and the LIDO, is in dialogue with the providers on a very regular basis and having 647 conversations about emergency services and reservation of facilities for public need and 648 particularly for the sheriffs office and emergency services to be able to respond to calls 649 throughout the County and there are some struggles currently, so as Pat said,we are likely going 650 to be seeing a few new towers in the next 10 years go up to respond to that need. But this is 651 larger than a planning matter at this point. It's a public service and emergency matter, and so we 652 don't need an annual meeting because we're in regular conversation with the providers. 653 654 Beth Bronson: Okay. But there was no consideration for something that was, like, 5 or 10 years and I would 655 agree with you that I feel like this is something that would be more appropriately added to 656 something like a comprehensive plan or long-range goals. 657 658 Cy Stober: I am very pleased with the language that Al and Lydia had provided with us for enforcement of 659 retired and abandoned facilities, and I think we have a clear path of action both through the 660 enforcement and remedies but also through civil litigation if we have to go that approach.We have