A 199-foot-tall wireless service cell tower has received a special exception permit from Amherst County to locate on a property close to the intersection of U.S. 29 and Virginia 151.
The Amherst County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 17 to approve the permit for Arcola Towers 2, LLP to place the communications tower at 299 Toytown Road on 23 acres zoned A-1, agricultural residential. A sawmill also is located on the property in northern Amherst County just outside the town of Amherst limits.
Tyler Creasy, director of community development, said the board should consider two major factors in reviewing the tower: the efforts to improve the county's information technology and wireless communication coverage infrastructure and the effects on residents' scenic views.
"These towers are fairly tall, so they will have a detriment on viewsheds," Creasy said.
The proposed tower is a low-intensity commercial use that does not conflict with the A1 district and will support emergency services, businesses, residents and travelers in the area, Arcola Towers states in its application.
"The applicant has indicated the need for the tower due to poor coverage in the vicinity," Creasy said. "However, it is expected the viewshed of the surrounding community will be impacted by this proposal."
Jonathan Yates, of Arcola Towers, said Verizon Wireless has a definite need to boost coverage in that general area and the tower is set back off the sawmill operation that has been in place for decades and will continue.
"It's the perfect piece of property," Yates said. "It is right where Verizon needed to be ... It's just a win-win."
Much of the equipment on the tower is monitored remotely for the most part and it will not cause any noise, odor or lighting issues, Yates said. The tower is crucial for emergency calls and communications between the public and first responders in a busy stretch of U.S. 29 and surrounding areas, he said.
"Sometimes wireless is now called the fourth utility -- we've become ubiquitous," Yates said. "It connects people, it gives them access to other people and help when they need it."
The monopole initially will be equipped with panel antennas, radios and associated components for Verizon Wireless's use, according to a project narrative from Arcola Towers. The tower will expand Verizon's network of services into a part of the county that currently has "low to marginal levels of wireless coverage" while also meeting the needs for increased network capacity in the surrounding areas that being served by existing, neighboring facilities that are currently overstressed, Arcola Towers wrote in the application.
The proposed facility will not be artificially lit and will include a 50-by-50-foot compound containing cabinets, utility stands, emergency backup power generators and equipment that will not exceed 12 feet in height.
No one spoke for or against the zoning request during a public hearing on Dec. 17.
Supervisor Tom Martin, who represents that part of the county, said he thinks the most "intrusive" effects on views will be along U.S. 29 and weighed the need for good infrastructure in voicing support for it. He said he appreciates a balloon test that was done to show how the tower's height would be noticeable.
"...There's competing interests here with protecting our viewsheds and having good wireless communications," Martin said.
In a separate matter during the board's final meeting of 2024, Chairman Drew Wade spoke of attending a Dec. 5 open house Appalachian Power Company held on plans to bring a small modular reactor (SMRs) project to Campbell County, a few miles down the James River from Lynchburg.
The open house attracted close to a hundred people to the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance building in downtown Lynchburg where the public learned about SMR technology, how the spent nuclear fuel from the reactors would be stored onsite, and the project's estimated economic impact on Campbell County and the Lynchburg area.
The SMR project would be built on company-owned property in the Joshua Falls area of Campbell County. This site, off Mt. Athos Road, already houses a 765-kilovolt substation and nearby roadways that can support moving the necessary equipment on site, according to APCo.
Wade said he thought the company did a great job walking people through the process and noted the project's importance to the region. He asked county staff to inquire about having a presentation done in early 2025 on the plan during a county board meeting.
"Nuclear is, in my opinion, the future for energy," Wade said.
Justin Faulconer, (434) 473-2607
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