County cell tower plan dismissed

Residents of Orange and Durham counties teamed up with lawyers to prevent a T-Mobile cell tower from being built.

Keep Kerley Country, the group that successfully opposed the building of the tower at a June 8 public hearing with the Orange County Board of Adjustment, was seeking to protect the rural area’s unique historical identity.

The Board of Adjustment ended up denying a special use permit for T-Mobile to construct a tower at the proposed site.

The proposal included the construction of a 129-foot cell tower approximately 1,200 feet from an existing tower in Durham at 5022 Kerley Road./

“We’re not against cell towers – it’s just that this one was so huge and intrusive to the neighborhood. It was way out of harmony with our area,” said Mark Waller, owner of the Waller Family Farm strawberry patch, which is located near the proposed site.

According to a 2015 FCC Broadband Progress Report that the group cites, the area of the proposed site already has complete cell service coverage.

Eve Olive, who lives near the proposed site, said she thought that the new tower would dominate the countryside character of the area.

“When it’s that visible, it also affects the property values of the area. We’re really trying to protect the property of the countryside and the rural experience,” Olive said.

The group objected to the design of the proposed tower, which would be a prominent tower located in an open field.

According to a press release sent out by the group, the proposed design would have been a cheap alternative to a more camouflaged design surrounded by trees or other types of foliage.

The group also said they had concerns about the possible negative effect of the tower on property values and business.

Robert Hornik, the residents’ Chapel Hill-based lawyer, raised concerns about the process of picking the site on Kerley Road.

He said that the proposed location was on the very western edge of the area where T-Mobile was considering building the tower.

“Ninety percent of the circle is in Durham County, but they chose the area just inside Orange County,” Hornick said. “We had questions about this that they wouldn’t answer.”

T-Mobile could not be reached for comment before time of press.

Carly Diette, a spokeswoman for the group, said that 67 people came to the public hearing to protest the tower.

But Olive believes there are many more people who are in support of Keep Kerley Country’s cause without realizing it.

“Not all the people who drive by know that the view could be disrupted,” she said.

The group members said the length of the public meeting was challenging, but they were pleased to have achieved what they set out to do.

“It was worth it,” Diette said.

“We knew we had achieved our goal, and we were very satisfied.”

city@dailytarheel.com