Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

SE-99-07-016 — Richland Towers, Inc.

Request: For Special Exception in A-2 zone to erect a 1,683 ft. high communication tower (guyed) and Variance to be 3,130 ft. in lieu of 5,000 ft. from another tower.

Decision: Approved

Hearing: "The Staff Report is located on pages . One abutting property owner to the south expressed concern in opposition. He owns a large A-2 zoned parcel to the south; he felt the 1,500 ft. residential separation requirement should apply to his property because the Comprehensive Policy Plan designates it ¿one dwelling unit per ten acres¿. He also felt there were too many towers out here already. BZA recognized, however, the residential separation requirement applies to residential uses and residential zones, and not CPP future land use designations. With respect to the speculative tower¿ concern raised by Staff, the applicant assured the Board of the need and market demand for DTV towers and space for radio providers who may be ¿bumped¿ off existing towers for DTV service. He stated the proposed tower will be built to accommodate 3-4 DTV providers, 3-4 analogue (regular TV) providers and 3-4 AM/FM radios. The representative for public hearing #17 (American Tower Corp.) addressed the BZA. He disagreed with the applicant¿s statements on the need for multiple users, expressing his opinion the market demand doesn¿t exist. The applicant requested a modification to condition #4; he stated Richland desired flexibility on the lease agreements, by requiring only one ¿up front¿ provider prior to construction permits, and the second prior to building the actual tower. The BZA did not agree with the modification. The BZA was not only concerned with the ¿spec tower¿ issue, but also wanted assurance that such tall towers be specifically required to install the DTV service for which the applicant testified the primary use was requested. The BZA, therefore, modified the condition to require two DTV lease agreements before permits are requested."