| 112th Year, 32nd Issue | Thursday, March 22, 2001 | Sparta, North Carolina |
The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners agreed Monday that Carolina West Wireless has the right to continue with the construction of a cellular telephone tower, despite a countywide moratorium that was passed earlier this month.
The tower will measure about 150 feet and will be located on Kathren's Knob near Doughton Mountain, County Manager Don Adams said.
Adams said that the company is building the tower 150 feet tall to help it accommodate four other carriers.
The county manager also informed the commission that he asked the company if the tower can be shortened, but was told that it has already been ordered. The county has yet to set guidelines for communication towers, but height figures that have been presented to the board from other counties, including Watauga and Ashe, have ranged from 35 to 40 feet above the canopy (tree tops). If there is no canopy, the ordinance in those counties limits tower height to 35 to 40 feet.
Agreeing that the company has vested rights in the project, the commissioners noted that the tower should be "grandfathered in" because a building permit for the job was requested prior to the passage of the moratorium. In this way, the commissioners bypassed the possibility of having a public hearing on the tower and were able to take immediate action.
Prior to the commissioners' decision, County Manager Don Adams said he and the county attorney were not able to decide conclusively if the company has vested rights in the tower project. He said that the commissioners could ask the company to attend a public hearing to discuss their vested rights and explain "what they think their vested rights are," Adams said.
Chairman Ken Richardson asked Adams, "What kind of attitude have they had in talking to you? Do you feel good about recommending this?" Adams replied with a generalization, noting that the county has two reasons for looking at a tower ordinance: Safety and value of property.
In the safety issue, Adams said it is not a problem in this circumstance. He also noted that one question to ask is if the company has enough land around the tower to protect the public if it falls. He did not directly address the value of property question.
Commissioner Warren Taylor said that there is no point in bringing in
representatives of the company, since the county has yet to decide what
the local ordinance will be. "I don't know that we want to get into a
court situation," he said.
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