VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED: - Sunday, October 28th - Jubilee House Steeplechase at Oak Ridge - 9am-1pm to help with parking. Rural Nelson will earn a donation for your work - please help out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPCOMING: - Thursday, November 15th BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2:00/7:30pm Courthouse (NOTE: This is a change to the normal meeting date) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, October 24, 2007 Present: Ms. Philippa Proulx, Ms. Emily Hunt, Mr. Mike Harman, Ms. Linda Russell, Mr. Mike Tapager and Mr. Tommy Harvey CLASS II TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER/VERIZON WIRELESS - Mr. Boger reported that the applicant wants to construct an 89' wooden pole with a lightning rod extending the height to 90' with three flush mounted antennas and associated equipment on property owned by Mr. David Miller located at 349 Cove Mountain Road in Lovingston. He noted that the lease area is 30'x 60' to allow for installation of a 12' x 30' equipment shelter. Mr. Boger said that the applicant plans to erect a wood security fence around the site and has requested a waiver of the landscaping requirements. He noted that there are three existing towers in that area, none of which have landscaping. Mr. Boger reported that the proposed pole will be exposed approximately 17.8 feet above the existing tree line on the ridge, noting that other poles have been approved that do not extend more than 10 feet. Ms. Hunt, referring to the existing sites that have not been landscaped, asked whether that was because they were approved prior to the adoption of the current ordinance. Mr. Boger said that some were adopted prior and some need to be evaluated for compliance. Ms. Laurie Scheller, an attorney representing Verizon, said that the requested waiver of the landscaping requirements is due to the fact that the site will not be visible from neighboring properties and that the applicant is willing to put in a wooden fence rather than a chainlink fence in lieu of the landscaping requirements. She noted that the ordinance allows Class II towers on a ridge to be 30' above any vegetation and that the proposed pole is 17.8' above the reference tree. Ms. Sheller explained that Cove Mountain Road runs roughly parallel to Rt. 29 with the proposed site on the right side of the road. She said that the signal has to be over the tall trees between Cove Mountain Road and Rt. 29. She noted that Verizon considered other sites on the left side of the road but they would have been more visible from Lovingston and Rt. 29, with more vegetation having to be disturbed for installation. Mr. Harman asked whether Verizon had considered co-locating antennas on the existing poles. Ms. Scheller said that that had been considered but that there was not space available. Ms. Russell, noting that this is the first of several applications for towers, asked Ms. Scheller about Verizon's future plans. Ms. Scheller said that the FCC has recently authorized Verizon to provide coverage for Central Virginia and that there will be other applications for telecommunications towers coming before the Planning Commission. She said that it is unclear how many poles will be proposed as each is dependent on the specifics of the others. Ms. Russell asked whether Verizon will begin construction on the Cove Mountain site prior to approval of the other sites and Ms. Scheller said that they would not begin until all are approved. She said that Verizon would want to be sure there would be comprehensive coverage prior to constructing any sites. Ms. Proulx then asked about the required bond, noting that she would not be comfortable with waiving the bond since if the county were ever required to remove the pole, the taxpayers would have to pay the bill. Ms. Kathy Faulkner with Verizon said that they would have no problem with posting a removal bond. Ms. Russell noted that the amount of the bond can be negotiated with the county to provide a reasonable removal bond. With no public comment, Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the application as noted above, grant a waiver of the landscaping requirement with the understanding that the natural vegetation will be maintained and replaced as needed and allowing the bond to be modified to reflect removal cost only. Meeting adjourned. Copyright 2000-2007 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OF INTEREST: - Wednesday, November 7th - the Nelson Center - Broadband Planning Process review. The project consultant will review the activities from Phase I - the needs assessment and broadband education components including idenitifying eductional institutions, businesses and health care providers as well as gaps in internet technologies. The Board of Supervisors will consider whether to continue with Phase 2 of the project at their November 15th meeting. Phase 2 will identify the kind of network and facilities that should be developed, general locations of a proposed network, last mile connectivity options, conceptual costs and recommended strategies and funding resources. - Saturday, November 10th - Rockfish Valley Community Center will be hosting their major fundraiser of the year - The 8th Annual RVCC Evening of Jazz and Silent Auction will feature the all-star jazz quartet of Robert Jospe, John D'earth, Bob Hallahan and Randall Pharr. The event will be catered by Claudia Gibson with coffee by Java Java, and the cash bar will feature Nelson County wines and Blue Mountain Brewery beer. The Auction features art, antiques and services from supporting individuals and businesses, as well as "The Best from the Chest" (from the Treasure Chest). Doors open at 5:30 PM to auction, bar and appetizers. A lite supper and music begin at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $30 a person (until November 3, $35 after). Advance tickets are being sold at Ambrosia, Basic Necessities, Garden Trade, Spruce Creek Gallery and Valley Video, as well as at the RVCC office and the Treasure Chest. All proceeds benefit RVCC's general fund. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This report, sent to over 600 Nelson County citizens, was made possible by the generous donations of Rural Nelson members and supporters. We need your help to continue this service. Please consider donating. Kim T. Cash Field Officer Rural Nelson, Inc. P. O. Box 401 Lovingston, VA 22949 434.263.5000 www.ruralnelson.org