County planners hear from wireless industry representatives

By Lisa Majors-Duff

Planners were assigned the task earlier this month after commissioners approved a 90-day moratorium on wireless telecommunication tower construction. That action followed complaints from several Cashiers residents who said a tower being erected in their community would adversely affect the natural surroundings and harm plans to develop the area.

Meeting with planners Tuesday were Gary Pennington, a lawyer representing Crown Castle International; Jim Miller, vice president and general manager of Duke Communication Services; and Susan Rabold, manager of MetroSite Management. Both Pennington and Miller explained that the companies they represent are in the business of building and managing cell towers, a practice once carried out by the various communication companies.

Rabold, on the other hand, said her company works exclusively with local governments as a resource and educational link to the wireless industry and to assist governments with crafting ordinances designed to regulate tower construction. Endorsed by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, MetroSite Management generates its revenues when public land is used to site a tower. The lease fee is split between the government and MetroSite, she said, usually with one-third of the fee going to the management company.

"The wireless industry is exploding," Pennington told the planning board. "The industry is experiencing a 40 percent growth rate in wireless subscribers."

As the technology continues to improve and more people come to depend on it and demand it, more towers will be needed, said Pennington, who even went as far as to predict a future free of "land lines."

"In order to support that type of growth, the infrastructure has to be there," he said. And while existing structures such as billboards, water towers and church steeples can sometimes be utilized for wireless antennas, "in most instances, especially in the mountains, a tall structure is needed to accommodate the technology."

Crown Castle, which Pennington said is currently interested in three additional cell tower sites within Jackson County to satisfy its customers, who include companies like Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, Cingular, Nextel and AT&T Wireless, builds its towers to accommodate from three to five carriers. This co-location is "cheaper and faster," Pennington said.

As for the county's effort to adopt cell tower regulations, Pennington said Crown Castle "likes good ordinances that put the rules out and allows us to play by the rules. What we don't like is subjective, open-ended ordinances."

Duke Communication Services, a division of Duke Power, offers communities an alternative to traditional cell tower construction through use of Duke's electric transmission facilities already in place. Some 120 such sites currently exist in Jackson County, Miller said, though he was quick to admit that not all would be feasible.

Duke Communication also builds new towers, Miller said, with many of the same wireless companies, including BellSouth, 360 Communications and Alltel, leasing space on these structures. Miller also pointed out that the wireless industry is not limited to personal cell phones, but also encompasses wireless Internet, paging and emergency services, and wireless cable television. As additional applications go wireless, he said, more towers will be required to meet the public's needs.

MetroSite, the company county planners recommended to commissioners in 1999, is available through a contract with the N.C. Association of County Commissioners to assist local government determine which tower restrictions would fit best in a given community. A review of available publicly-owned lands is included in the review, Rabold said. These lands are then marketed to cell tower companies, though they are often not appropriate or abundant enough for this use, she said.

The federal telecommunication act prohibits local governments from keeping the wireless industry out of its jurisdiction, but it does allow for regulations on cell tower construction, including height, co-location, appearance and landscaping.

"I believe we have an obligation to the citizens who want cell phone services," said planning board member Page Bernstein. "But I also believe we have an obligation to the aesthetics of cell towers."

Under the pressure of a 90-day deadline, planners will meet again Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 6 p.m. to continue their discussion, Chairman Jack Debnam said. Industry representatives will be invited back to the board's next regular meeting Tuesday, Aug. 28, Debnam said.

Back to Archive: 08/16/01.