Morrisville Unified Development Ordinance - June 2023.1

Article 4: Use Standards Section 4.2. Principal Uses 4.2.5. Principal Use-Specific Standards

(13) Balloon Test

(A) A balloon test shall be required subsequent to the receipt of the photo simulations in order to demonstrate the proposed height of the tower. The applicant shall arrange to raise a colored balloon no less than three feet in diameter at the maximum height of the proposed tower, and within 50 horizontal feet of the center of the proposed tower. (i) Inform the Planning Department and all property owners within 500 feet in writing of the date and times, including alternative date and times, of the test at least 14 days in advance. The letter shall include an alternative date if inclement weather occurs. (ii) The balloon shall be flown for at least four (4) consecutive hours during daylight hours on the date chosen. The applicant shall record the weather during the balloon test. (B) The applicant shall comply with the following balloon test requirements:

(14) Site Grading

Grading shall be minimized and limited to the development area necessary for the new tower, equipment compound, and any applicable access drive.

(15) Landscape Buffers

Landscaping shall be provided within a minimum 10 foot wide buffer around the perimeter of the equipment compound. The following planting standards shall apply:

(A) All plants and trees shall be indigenous to this part of North Carolina.

(B) Existing trees and shrubs on the site should be preserved and may be used in lieu of required landscaping as approved by the Planning Department. (C) One continuous row of evergreen trees surrounding the compound area, excluding the entry gate. The evergreen trees shall be a minimum 2.5 inch caliper, and 10 feet in height at the time of planting, and spaced 25 feet on center. (D) One continuous row of evergreen shrubs capable of creating a continuous hedge surrounding the compound area, excluding the entry gate. The evergreen shrubs shall be a minimum 3 gallon or 24 inches tall at the time of planting, and spaced 5 feet on center. (E) Alternative landscaping plans may be considered and approved by the Planning Department, provided the proposed alternative proposes an equivalent opacity and density of landscape screening as provided above, and is otherwise consistent with the requirements of this section. (F) Generators within the compound area shall be screened with an opaque row of evergreen landscaping planted outside the compound area to screen the generator from the view from nearby streets, sidewalks, greenways and residential areas. The evergreen landscaping shall screen both the height and width of the generator. Existing vegetation may be used to satisfy the generator screening requirement.

(Ord. No. 2016-001, 05/10/2016)

f. Distributed Antenna System (DAS) Nodes

DAS Nodes may be mounted onto a building, support structure, utility distribution pole, transmission tower structure or other similar structure, which is not primarily constructed for holding antennas but on which one or more antennas may be mounted. DAS Nodes shall be subject to the following:

Morrisville, NC

October 1, 2021

Unified Development Ordinance

Page 4-22