New location proposed for cell tower near Woodville
Balloon simulation set for 9 a.m. Saturday along Sperryville Pike
A second public balloon flight is set for this Saturday, May 18, to assess the height and location of one of two proposed 199-foot lattice cell towers an Arlington company wants to build within four miles of each other to the north and south of Woodville along Sperryville Pike.
However, since its previous balloon test last month, Community Wireless Structures — the same company that erected a large monopole tower several weeks ago in Sperryville — has chosen a “revised location” for the northernmost lattice tower, midway between Woodville and Sperryville.
“In an effort to minimize the visual impact, the location of the proposed structure has been shifted approximately 760 feet to the southwest of its original location, set back an additional 750 feet from Route 522,” says CWS.
The red balloon will soar above the site from 9 a.m. and noon.
“The upcoming balloon flight will provide an opportunity for the community to make a visual assessment of the proposed structure at this new location,” says the company. “We value your input, and hope that you will view the balloon and reach out with any questions or feedback.”
After the test, CWS says it plans to file applications for Wireless Facility Permits for both towers — the one north of Woodville near the intersection of Route 522 and Barrett Lane, which is on Eldon Farms property; the southern tower near the intersection of Route 522 and Scrabble Road.
The original site for the northern tower raised immediate concerns among those residents who spoke to this newspaper during the previous balloon flight, given it is located in one of the more prized viewsheds of Rappahannock County.
CWS is accustomed to such controversy, with one Bloomberg business snapshot pointing out that the company specializes in developing tower structures “in difficult zoning areas.”
In 2017 testimony on Capitol Hill, CWS founder and managing member Thomas A. “Tam” Murray spoke of eliminating government-imposed barriers to broadband infrastructure deployment, including in localities like Rappahannock.
“We have built 50 towers in northern and central Virginia,” said Murray, who has also been the board chairman of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), representing companies that build, design, own and manage wireless broadband facilities throughout the United States.
Murray testified that as “a small business owner, every day I see the challenges posed by unreasonable deployment barriers at federal, state and local levels.”
“While we often work well with local authorities, if a local zoning regulation or entity imposes unnecessary and costly delays or requirements, it impairs, postpones or prevents altogether our ability to deploy broadband,” he told the House subcommittee on Communications and Technology. “Fortunately, many localities increasingly recognize the importance of wireless broadband for their economic development and general wellbeing, and many work as partners with industry.
“Still, some localities resist and impose costly and/or time consuming barriers to deployment.”
If history is any indication, it won’t so much be the Rappahannock County government as its environmentally conscious residents weighing in on the proposed lattice towers. During previous public hearings over the years, the few towers that did get approved in the county — none of them lattice towers — were made to blend in with the landscape, including what resembles a farm silo near the county seat of Washington.
That said, a tall “sky blue” monopole erected recently in Sperryville, the first of its kind in Rappahannock, does anything but blend in with its Shenandoah Park backdrop.
According to the Piedmont Environmental Council, cell towers can be designed in a variety of ways to better suit the landscape, from silos to evergreen trees to poles purposely painted to blend into a forest background.
“Topography and forested areas can be used effectively to conceal large towers but sites have to be carefully evaluated,” the PEC notes.
CWS is accustomed to such controversy, with one Bloomberg business snapshot pointing out that the company specializes in developing tower structures “in difficult zoning areas.”