July 12, 2022 PZ Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Neighborhood Meeting Minutes 4300 Gold Hill Road East May 31, 2022 On Tuesday May 31, Cabarrus County Staff held a meeting for adjacent property owners. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information about the County’s request for a variance and special use permit to construct a Wireless Telecommunications (WTC) Tower. The meeting was held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and was a drop-in format. Staff members from Planning & Development, the Sheriff’s Department and the County Manager’s Office were in attendance to answer questions related to the proposed variance and special use request. Five copies of the attached letter and map were sent out. One property owner attended the meeting. The purpose of the request was explained to the attendee. The attendee expressed concern over whether the tower would have 5G technology and what the potential for harmful radiation would be. It was explained to the attendee that Cabarrus County is constructing this tower initially as a public safety tower using equipment that will operate within the 800 MHz frequency range, far lower than those for cell carrier 5G technology. Staff further explained that the kind of technology that would potentially create the health hazard are devices like X-Ray machines that operate at much higher frequencies. It is not clear at this point when and if private co-locators will place technology on the tower and that Cabarrus County will evaluate at that point any available information regarding the safety of 5G. The effects of radiation from WTC Towers with 5G technology is currently being studied by many groups, but some such as the CDC and FDA deem it as safe, however it is still a relatively new technology. The attendee also questioned the potential effects of the tower on real estate values for surrounding properties. It was explained that no one at the meeting was qualified to speak about the effects of the tower on surrounding property values, therefore, staff refrained from making any statements about the effect of the tower on surrounding property values.