Federal Court Rules Against County Denial Of Cell Tower Permit

As a result of a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Verizon Wireless will be able to build a cell tower on 42 acres on McRees Mill Road off Barnett Shoals Road despite denial of a permit for the tower by Oconee County in 2014.

Oconee County Commission Chair John Daniell announced the court ruling and subsequent negotiations at the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday night, just before the Board approved a change to its Utility Accommodation Ordinance to regulate small cell telecommunications technology.

The Appeals Court reversal of a U.S. District Court ruling in favor of the county means the county must issue a permit for Verizon to build the cell tower, Daniell said, but Verizon has agreed not to construct the tower until 2022 at the earliest.

In other action at its Tuesday meeting, the Board agreed to allocate Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax monies to protect four farms from development as part of the county’s Farmland Protection Program and initiated action to abandon a portion of Peck Circle in the south of the county at the request of a farmer.

The Commissioners also heard a proposal to identify inflow and infiltration problems with the county’s sewer lines and received a positive financial update for the final quarter of Fiscal Year 2018.

For more on the story, with a video of the Commission meeting, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: John Daniell