Cleveland County approves rezoning for Webb Road cell tower after safety questions

The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 6 to rezone a portion of Parcel 59471 at 422 Webb Road from residential to neighborhood business (conditional use) to allow construction of a 178-foot monopole-style telecommunications tower.

Planning Director Chris Barton told the board the roughly 40-acre parcel lies near the intersection of Beaver Dam Church Road and Bullen Springs and is vacant. Barton said the county’s land-use plan encourages improved broadband and noted the parcel sits in an airport overlay zone; staff calculated a maximum allowed height of 184 feet at that location, and the proposed 178-foot monopole would comply. The planning board recommended approval.

Jonathan Yates, the petitioner, said the tower is designed for Verizon Wireless and to accommodate three additional carriers in the future, adding it would ‘‘improve coverage, capacity’’ and help emergency communications in the area. Yates said the site’s timeline to construct the monopole would be about 45–60 days and that routine maintenance would require only occasional visits.

A nearby resident, Linda Steele, identified herself as a two-time cancer survivor and urged the board to consider health and safety risks of siting a tower near homes: "I'm a 2 time cancer survivor ... that's why I'm here tonight, my concern, because it is when the picture ... that's me, right there in my backyard," she said, describing worry about radiation and long-term health impacts.

Yates and his team responded with a safety presentation and cited analysis prepared by a radio-frequency engineer, saying the emissions from a fully loaded site would be a small fraction of federal limits. In the materials presented, the petitioner and consultant distinguished ionizing radiation (x-rays) from the non-ionizing radio-frequency energy used by cell sites, and said ground-level exposure below the tower would be a small fraction of antenna power. They offered to share the engineer’s report with concerned residents.

Commissioners asked about the engineered fall zone for the monopole, and staff said the design includes a 50-foot fall zone; petitioner provided a certification from a North Carolina professional engineer describing design to withstand high-wind events with a safety factor. The petitioner also said only a 60-by-60-foot area would be cleared, an 8-foot chain-link fence would secure equipment, and access would be improved by gravelling an existing rough road.

After questions and discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the planning petition (case 24-01) citing public-safety and broadband benefits; another commissioner seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Next steps: the rezoning/conditional-use approval allows the petitioner to pursue building permits and the tower’s construction schedule is expected to follow standard permitting and foundation curing times before tower erection.