County Implements Moratorium To Look At Tower Ordinance

Stephens County moves forward with a temporary moratorium on tower and telecommunication applications.

The county commissioners unanimously approved a motion to adopt a 90-day moratorium on those at its meeting on Tuesday.

Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said it is being done to allow the county to re-visit its tower ordinance to better match its land use ordinance.

Ayers says there have been several applications that have come before the Stephens County Planning Commission to place towers for fixed wireless Internet service throughout the county.

She explains that the county’s current land use ordinance in many cases required a denial of those structures at this time and the county’s current tower ordinance does not address this technology.

According to Ayers, Stephens County is working with a third party that has expertise in this area to re-write the county’s tower ordinance in order to fit with the land use ordinance so that going forward, these tower requests do not become cumbersome for the applicant, Planning Commission, or Stephens County Board of Commissioners.