By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — After more than six hours of testimony Monday, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners will continue a hearing at 2 p.m. today about a proposed radio tower in Mount Ulla.
The board’s meeting room was nearly full at 4 p.m. when the hearing began, but members of the public hoping to speak were asked to wait until this afternoon.
After only two witnesses had testified by 8:30 p.m., Chairman Chad Mitchell allowed both sides to call their aviation expert witnesses out of turn.
The board then called for a recess around midnight.
Greely “Gig” Hilton, president of Davidson County Broadcasting, has applied for a conditional use permit to build a 1,200-foot broadcast tower on property owned by Richard L. and Dorcas Parker.
Opposing the request is a citizens’ group made up of the Miller Airpark Association, the Mount Ulla Historic Preservation Society and James and Marian Rollans.
At the hearing Monday, County Planning Director Ed Muire testified that planning staff determined the application is complete and valid.
Attorney Richard Reamer, who represents the citizens’ group, challenged that determination. He said parts of the application were turned in several months after it was submitted.
For a conditional-use permit to be approved in Rowan County, the proposed use must not create significant visual impacts for adjoining properties or passersby, detract significantly from the character of the area or result in hazardous safety conditions.
The county requires that a new broadcast tower should limit visual impacts to historical properties and the North Carolina Scenic Byway, which is located near the Parkers’ property.
The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office has determined that the tower would not adversely affect historic properties in the area.
But Muire said the application “does not adequately address how the visual impacts of the proposed tower will be limited considering its visibility along the Millbridge Scenic Byway.”
Attorney Stephen Holton, who represents Davidson County Broadcasting, called Hilton as his first witness.
During his testimony, Hilton said Davidson County Broadcasting wants to build the new tower to increase the coverage area of its WWLV station in Lexington, serve more people and reduce interference.
The county requires new broadcast tower applicants to first explore co-locating their antennas on existing towers.
“You want to own this tower, don’t you?” Reamer asked Hilton during cross-examination. “You don’t want to co-locate.”
“I’d love to locate on another tower, because it’s a lot less expensive than spending the money to build one,” Hilton said.
He said he sent multiple letters to owners of Rowan County towers, includ-ing the former WFMX tower owned by American Tower in the Cool Springs community, about co-location and did not receive any responses.
Attorney Anthony Fox, who represents the county on this issue, said the county requires an effort — not a desire — to co-locate.
Reamer also asked Hilton if the application was the same, aside from the tower height, as the one he submitted to the county in 2005. Hilton replied that the site plan, fall zone and other aspects are also different in the 2010 application.
Two aviation experts testified that the tower would not create a safety hazard, but two more testified that it would.