Commissioners approve rezoning for 255-foot telecom tower near Mooresboro

The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a limited rezoning that will allow a 255-foot lattice telecommunications tower on a 75-by-75-foot portion of a 7.022-acre tract along Highway 74 near Mooresboro.

Chris Martin of the planning office explained the request was to rezone 0.13 acres of the parcel from regular residential to neighborhood business conditional use so a telecom tower may be sited. The planning board recommended approval, noting the county land-use plan supports broadband improvements that benefit residents, businesses and first responders.

Anthony Balerne, an attorney with Williams Mullen representing Network Towers 2 LLC, and a company representative described the proposal: the tower will include a 4-foot lightning rod (total height 259 feet), capacity for four colocations with Verizon as the anchor tenant, and a compound designed to accommodate future colocations.

Commissioners pressed on safety and setback questions. One commissioner raised the risk of extreme weather and whether a failed tower could fall onto Highway 74. Balerne responded that modern tower design accounts for engineered fall zones and planned break points so that, if failure occurs, the structure is more likely to fail in sections rather than tipping across a long span; he also noted the proposed tower exceeds required setbacks and that the nearest residence is roughly 564.5 feet away per the applicant’s plan.

After discussion and no speakers from the public signed up for comment, a motion to approve the rezoning limited to the tower footprint passed by voice vote.