More cell-tower antennas are approved,
But who benefits?

by Don Audette, Fall 2006

The Rappahannock County Planning Commission recently recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a request by the mobile-phone company Cingular Wireless and by Velocitel, Inc., a cellular-tower construction company, to add antennas to two of Sprint PCS's existing monopole cellular towers. With some modifications, they are expected also to obtain approval to add antennas to Sprint PCS's Rose Hill silo antenna along Route 211.

At this point in the short history of mobile-phone service in the county, it might be good to look at why the telecommunication antennas are located only in the eastern and northern sections of Rappahannock County.

	Cellular Telephone Antenna Sites in Rappahannock County. Map prepared by Piedmont Research Institute, September 3, 2006. Source: Rappahannock County.

Cell tower location

A considerable part of the population of Rappahannock County is concentrated in the eastern part. It is the growth area, and more people means more mobile-phone usage, which in turn means more revenue for mobile-phone companies. In terms of population density, it's obvious why mobile-phone coverage is concentrated in the east, but what about potential users who drive through the county?

Virginia Department of Transpor­tation traffic counts show that fewer people travel in the western and southern portions than in the eastern and northern portions. In fact, the east has two to three times as much traffic as the west.

According to VDOT's 2005 traffic count, traffic on Route 211 from the Town of Washington going toward Warrenton was between 6,600 and 6,700 vehicles per day. Traffic on Route 522 toward Front Royal was about 3,600 to 4,000 vehicles per day. Conversely, traffic west of Sperryville was only 2,500 vehicles per day.

Traffic in 2005 on Route 522 from Sperryville going south toward Culpeper, according to VDOT counts, was about 2,200 vehicles per day. Traffic on Route 231 in F.T. Valley was a mere 1,500 vehicles per day. [Compare these counts to the 2003 counts to see significant two-year growth.]

RLEP's position on cell towers

With more mobile-phone companies potentially interested in putting up or collocating their antennas in the county, what position does RLEP take on the issue? The county's comprehensive plan says that "we the people of Rappahannock declare it to be a 'scenic county' and all goals, principles, and policies will reflect and devolve from this fundamental recognition." RLEP is not against cell towers, but we want to ensure that the location and visibility of the towers do not violate this stated intent of the plan.

In July 1994, when the mobile-phone company Cellular One submitted the first proposal for a cellular tower in the county—a proposed a 250-foot-high tower behind the jail in the Town of Washington—the scene was set for the crafting of a telecommunications ordinance by Rappahannock County. The Cellular One proposal was rejected because of its incompatibility with the historic nature of the Town of Washington.

In the summer of 2000, another mobile-phone company, Sprint PCS, submitted an application for a set of 199-foot cell towers in the county. Since the application did not sufficiently consider the impact these towers could have on the aesthetics, tourism, and real-estate values of the county, RLEP joined an ad hoc "Cellular Coalition" in the fall of 2000 and worked with Sprint PCS and the county toward a solution.

That solution was using "stealth monopoles" disguised as trees in woods and as grain silos. The resulting county Telecommunications Ordinance was put in place in July 2001. Sprint PCS adhered to the ordinance, modified its applications, and won acceptance for seven cell-tower sites—all in the eastern portion of the county. (See the map above, which includes the preexisting tower at Chester Gap.)

With the trail blazed before them, companies such as Cingular Wireless were bound to follow.