The York County Planning Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve a proposal for a 199-foot cell phone tower on Penniman Road.
The tower would be built near the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation on the 1700 block of Penniman Road. It would be set on a wooded parcel of land along that road, adjacent to homes that exist on the land, which is all zoned for rural residential construction.
Due to that designation, the York County Planning Division — which is tasked with analyzing proposals that go before the county — recommended a number of modifications to the proposal, all of which were accepted by the commission.
Those changes include a curved road to obscure the sight of the base of the tower from Penniman Road and the requirement of a letter of approval from the adjacent Yorktown Naval Weapons Station that the telecommunications equipment on the tower would not interfere with on-base activities.
Commissioner Tim McCulloch was the lone dissenting voice, saying the proposal was a “no-brainer” until a homeowner who lives next to the proposed site spoke during the public hearing. Felicia Brady said she was concerned with the sight of the tower and how that would affect the value of her home. She said she brought in a real-estate broker to analyze her property who said her house would become much more difficult to sell if the tower was built.
The applicant, Beacon Towers, showed a number of images of what the tower would look like once it was in place. From many points along Penniman Road, the tower was not visible due to the existing treeline, which planner Amy Parker described as “heavily forested with evergreen trees” along the frontage of the property on Penniman Road. In the few cases where the tower was visible, only the tip of the tower could be seen above the trees. The tower is below the 200-foot requirement for lighting to warn aircraft.
Parker said there are about 40 cell phone towers in York County, 12 of which are in residential areas. Commissioner Richard Myer brought up the possibility of the tower suffering a catastrophic failure and falling on an adjacent residence because the tower is higher than the footage between it and two of the nearby houses. When asked how many towers were in that position throughout the county, Parker said three.
Jonathan Yates, a spokesperson for the applicant, said the tower is designed with a fall zone in mind that is not wider than 50 feet.
“Towers don’t fall like Christmas trees,” Yates said. He said the tower begins to give way at 150 feet up and that the tower is designed to sustain 100 mph winds. He said towers from his company along the Gulf Coast were not affected by winds from Hurricane Katrina except for when those winds picked up parts of bridges and boats and slammed them into the tower.
Commissioner Glenn Brazelton asked how the cell service was both for the residences and for the adjacent Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and Cheatham Annex. Brady said she receives 4G coverage at her home from Verizon, while Drew Robins of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station said the coverage at Cheatham Annex is “pretty terrible.” Yates said AT&T wants to set up equipment on the tower and that the frequency which AT&T uses is less powerful than the one Verizon has, necessitating the placement of the tower in that area.
Yates went on to underscore the importance of cell towers during emergency events. He said an emergency generator and backup battery would be built on site to keep the equipment running during an emergency event.
Brazelton asked if it would be possible to install the tower on military property.
“There’s a process to do that,” Robins said. “It’s long. It takes several years. It’s not a pretty process, but it’s a process.”
During his speech to the commissioners, the spokesperson for the applicant praised the York County Planning Division.
“Never have I encountered the quality, professionalism and good people to work with exhibited by Amy Parker and your staff,” Yates said.
The matter will likely go before the York County Board of Supervisors in October.
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York Planners to Consider Proposed Cell Phone Tower Off Penniman Road
