Commissioners Regulate Towers

A presentation by Craig Benedict, Orange County's planning director, outlined the ways in which a Master Telecommunications Plan would aid the county.

Board members initially were supportive of the proposal and voted to refer it to the Orange County Planning Board for further analysis.

"(The telecommunications plan) is already a regular occurrence throughout North Carolina and other states," Benedict said.

He said coverage is weak in some areas of the county and listed 10-12 county areas that support the program as well as construction of a tower in their areas.

The plan would allow for regulation of new towers built in the county but would require an amendment of the county zoning ordinance to allow for its creation.

Benedict said the plan could help to balance the community with telecommunications carriers, providing a better telecommunications infrastructure without sacrificing the character of the community.

He added that the towers would generate a large amount of non-tax revenue for the county.

The board also discussed a proposal to create a Secondary Development Area south of Interstate 85 in the I-85/Buckhorn Road Economic Development District and decided to leave the matter open for further discussion and an analysis of the district as a whole.

The secondary area would permit residential development just south of business development on the stretch of I-85.

Commissioner Margaret Brown said the proposal appeared to need more analysis, as it sounded as if the county was giving up on the uses of the primary area to the north.

"We're not thinking ahead about what the impacts are," she said. "I think we would be remiss in not observing our own planning commitments."

Commissioner Moses Carey replied that the secondary area could be as beneficial as it was in Chapel Hill.

He said the proximity of work to residences spurs economic growth, citing the boom in property values around UNC after implementation of the secondary area as people could walk from their dwellings to work.

Benedict also prepared a presentation proposing uniform standards of notification for major subdivision development in the rural buffer as well as in the rest of the county.

The rural buffer is the only zoning area in the county recognized by all three local governments -- Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough -- requiring consensus from all three in zoning matters.

Benedict said development in the buffer, as in the rest of the county's jurisdiction, should require notification of adjacent property owners, posting of a sign on property proposed for major subdivision development and a neighborhood information meeting for all concept plan applications for major development.

The board agreed to refer the amendment to the planning board for further discussion.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.