DATE: Sunday, August 17, 1997               TAG: 9708170090

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER    

DATELINE: POWELL'S POINT                    LENGTH:   71 lines

COMMUNICATION TOWER UNDER DEBATE BUSINESS WANTS LOCAL ZONING RULES ALTERED; SOME RESIDENTS ARE SKEPTICAL OF TOWER

A local communications firm's plan to erect a 1,000-foot tower in south Currituck County has charged up angry Pinewood Acres residents.

Ray-D-O Biz Inc. wants the county commissioners to reduce the setback - or distance from nearby structures - required in local zoning ordinances. Even with the reduced setback, they say, there is no danger to nearby homes.

Five groups, including one headed by Ray-D-O Biz President Bill Ray, are competing for an FCC telecommunications license for the Outer Banks' first local television station. One of Ray's competitors already has put up a tower about two miles away. That drew no protests from Currituck residents.

But some residents who live near the proposed site say changing the zoning ordinance will cause a potential safety and health risk, and will hurt property values.

The existing ordinance requires a 1-foot setback from the base of the tower for every foot of the tower's height above 35 feet. It requires an additional 20-foot setback at the front of the property, a 15-foot buffer on the sides and 25 feet at the back. An 88.9-acre lot would be needed for the proposed tower to meet those requirements.

Ray-D-O Biz wants the commission to change the setback requirement to 60 percent of the overall height, covering all directions from the base of the tower. That means it wants a 600-foot setback. The change has already been approved by the Currituck Planning Board.

Ray sought to assure the public that the tower is safe. He's so confident of the tower's strength that he and his wife plan to build a house on the 90.5 acre site, which will include the tower and offices for WCXL-FM. He also bought 7.5 acres for more buffers. A thicket of trees and vegetation surrounds the property.

``My family is going to be the closest one to this tower on the southwest corner of the property,'' Ray said. ``I can assure you, I wouldn't build a home for my wife and 12-year-old daughter in a hazard under any circumstances.

``Nor do I want to do anything that's going to endanger our neighbors. This is going to be a really, really stout tower. The guy wires are going to be very large.''

Central Tower, the Newburgh, Ind., company that will build the tower if it is approved, says that newer towers, if they fall, don't come down like a newly cut tree. Instead, they typically collapse inward within a radius of 30 percent to 50 percent of the tower's total height.

``We've not had a tower fail in about 15 years in the business,'' Charles Coffey, a civil engineer with the company.

But the proposed change doesn't sit well with some residents of Pinewood Acres. Fifteen families call the subdivision home.

``No one wants a 1,000-foot tower in the back of their house,'' said Dan Turner, 41, who lives in Pinewood Acres, a 31-lot subdivision, where houses range from $120,000 to $180,000. ``Currituck County is either going to be the suburbs of the Outer Banks, or it can be the trash heap.''

Residents also are concerned about radiation, Turner said, as well as interference with appliances and medical equipment. Engineers hired by the residents say Ray's proposal is not safe.

But one homeowner, who lives only 1,100 feet from the tower site, supports construction.

``I think it's a good idea,'' 71-year-old Helen Johnson said. Johnson said she doesn't worry about the tower collapsing.

``I don't see anything wrong with the tower,'' she said. ``I don't have any trouble with it. I think it's a good thing.''

Attorneys and engineers for both sides, as well as the president of Central Tower, will be on hand at the 7:30 p.m. commissioner's meeting Monday in the Currituck County Courthouse. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

BOTH SIDES WILL BE ON HAND MONDAY AT A 7:30 P.M. COMMISSIONERS'

MEETING IN THE CURRITUCK COUNTY COURTHOUSE.

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