Annexation a way to get radio tower

By Karissa Minn

kminn@salisburypost.com

Owners of a Mount Ulla property are asking the town of Mooresville to annex 18 acres of their 200-acre farm, which could allow the construction of a radio tower prohibited by Rowan County.

The Rowan County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution opposing the annexation at 7 p.m. Monday at the Cohen Administrative Offices Building, 130 W. Innes St.

Rowan County Manager Gary Page said property owners Richard L. and Dorcas Parker were denied a permit for a radio tower four years ago.

"Our board feels that this is an attempt of the property owners to ask the town of Mooresville to annex them as a way of circumventing the wishes of the Rowan County Commissioners and the Rowan County Zoning Ordinance," Page said.

In November 2006, commissioners voted to deny the permit for a 1,350-foot-tall broadcast tower on the property to serve Davidson County Broadcasting.

Gig Hilton, president of the broadcast company that operates 94.1 FM in Lexington, appealed the county's decision. In September 2007, a three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals upheld the denial, saying the county acted appropriately in its decision that the tower would present a hazard to a nearby private airstrip, Miller Airpark.

The resolution states that the board has gone on record opposing annexations that are controversial or harmful in nature, as well as North Carolina's "outdated and inherently unfair" annexation law.

"We recognize that general statutes allow for voluntary and satellite annexations," Page said. "What our board is saying is that it crosses the county line and it would not be good for that area of the county."

In other news, the board plans to approve a resolution Monday calling for the prohibition of illegal immigrants from attending North Carolina's community colleges.

"That resolution, other than the name, is a copy that we received last week from Brunswick County," Page said. "Brunswick County Commissioners adopted that, and then they e-mailed it to all 99 other counties asking everybody to consider it."

Page said he is not aware of any other counties that have approved the resolution so far.

The resolution is a response to a decision by the State Board of Community Colleges in September 2009 allowing illegal immigrants to enroll. Commissioners are requesting the N.C. General Assembly not allow this policy.

Also at Monday's meeting, commissioners plan to:

- Hold a public hearing for the Cabarrus/Iredell/ Rowan HOME Consortium's fiscal year 2010-11 action plan. The program will focus exclusively on housing rehabilitation in the county, excluding municipal jurisdictions.

- Consider a request from the N.C. Army National Guard for additional leased property to secure the perimeter of the Salisbury guardhouse.

- Consider budget amendments that would distribute nearly $80,000 in profits from the ABC board to the county and its municipalities.