DATE: Friday, September 19, 1997            TAG: 9709190995

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CURRITUCK                         LENGTH:   30 lines

CURRITUCK BOARD APPROVES TOWER AND REDUCES ITS HEIGHT BY 50 FEET

Despite protests from neighbors, a local radio executive will get his tower, only it will be 50 feet shorter than the 1,000 feet he originally requested.

The Currituck Board of Adjustments approved Wednesday the request of Bill Ray, president of Ray-D-O-Biz Inc., to build a telecommunications tower in Mamie.

In its shadow will be residents of Pinewood Acres Subdivision, who have protested since May when Ray first proposed the plan.

Ray is competing against four other companies for an FCC license to start the first television station on the Outer Banks. Currituck already has 19 other communication towers. The only 1,000-foot tower in the county stands in Moyock.

Most residents near Ray's property have named a range of concerns, including fears that it may topple in a strong wind, lower property values, create radiation and interfere with home electronic equipment.

Ray originally proposed a 1,000-foot tower but did not have enough land to meet zoning regulations. He met the requirements by leasing more land to the south of his 83 acres and shortening the tower by 50 feet.

The decision by the Board of Adjustments does not have to be approved by the Currituck County Board of Commissioners. Residents plan to appeal the decision to Superior Court.

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