[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6304625,"mediaKeyId","2458745-f10e2a8a623aa5dd06f1fcd686edde41","parentId",2458745,"title","Votes at a glance: Nottoway supervisors approve telecom tower, emergency declaration and grants; multiple land-use items advanced or tabled","audioSeconds",517,"startMs",115000,"endMs",632000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2458745-f10e2a8a623aa5dd06f1fcd686edde41&start=115&end=632","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2458745-f10e2a8a623aa5dd06f1fcd686edde41/thumbnail_115000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6304625/Nottoway-County/Virginia/Votes-at-a-glance-Nottoway-supervisors-approve-telecom-tower-emergency-declaration-and-grants-multiple-land-use-items-advanced-or-tabled","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6304625-c7eec1bd244d0005e2e9a9f99e1fba1c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156977&Signature=cZq4W64PoRk4W2Ar2T5-MUJldz9bolU3~jrm963ZvUbLJwLPKyfpH7H6owpWH37Oz1Y1ZKNV3Bs8~4kU~4JpIeLLN30NCs0vHWQ7dxyx~EsnoJWZPFytA~kpmbry0rdOgtFZWDruNDX1mRKeopFpgUIFXM2AHogzGM1iWN79ZBssmiXDu~D~-junU93xbJOUq8uccfWAdqr2lep6XuWokt0fQlLuLVWusF~Y3Y3V2zmmVn~fjPE4-KS6MlLVTIGF4HmISZnfqeNgUKcEua3LN5go7pnbV20O2-fquPgTw5fCPFJVEbTXOE3rLGCSY90j2HuWnpcsTq~HcfUw-IeVGQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nottoway County, VA","date","2025-02-28T15:46:27Z","article","The Nottoway County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday took several formal actions after public hearings and staff presentations, including approval of a telecommunications special exception, acceptance of hazard-mitigation grants, a declaration of local emergency following a winter storm and multiple land-use and appointment votes.

Why it matters: The actions affect county emergency communications capacity (the tower), immediate disaster response and recovery eligibility (local emergency and FEMA/VDEM mitigation grants), and local land use and housing policy (manufactured-home and duplex special exceptions). Several actions will trigger follow-up permitting, regulatory reviews and staff work to implement conditions and grant-administration requirements.

Key votes and outcomes

- Telecommunications tower: Approved. The board granted a special exception to build a 300-foot self-supporting telecommunications tower at the county health department site to host the county\u0000s P25 emergency radio network, subject to staff conditions including marking the drain field and propane slab and a 10-foot construction setback from the active drain field. The planning commission had recommended approval 5-1.

- ATAM Services manufactured-home special exception (Colonial Highway / Long Hill Trail): Approved. The board accepted the planning commission recommendation and staff conditions allowing demolition of a blighted structure on 0.8 acres and placement of a double-wide manufactured home; required demolition permit and well/septic/VDOT driveway approvals were attached as conditions.

- Tropical Treehouse (Cross Creek Nursery) special-exception amendment: Tabled for additional public hearing and planning-commission documentation. Staff had recommended approval of amendments to permit rental of one duplex unit to non-nursery tenants; the planning commission recorded a denial by vote (transcript references a denial and one recusal), and several supervisors expressed concern about precedent and neighborhood objections. The board closed the hearing and agreed to re-advertise and hold a public hearing after planning commission review.

- Declaration of local emergency: Approved. The board declared a local emergency to cover storm damage over a specified period to enable eligibility for state and federal assistance and to open mitigation grant streams; staff said the declaration runs through March 11, 2026. The declaration followed a February state declaration that included multiple weather events.

- FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program awards: Accepted. The board authorized staff to accept two mitigation grant awards administered through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for emergency generators (health department and landfill/dispatch critical facilities) and protective measures for windows/doors in critical facilities. Staff said the two awards together total about $180,000 with county match roughly $8,600; funding is reimbursable and work must be completed by the grant expiration date.

- School budget adjustments (pass-through funds): Approved. The board approved budget adjustments for the school division that staff described as no-match pass-through money.

- Appointments and committee changes: Approved. The board rescinded a prior steps-board appointment, appointed Nathaniel Miller to the Industrial Development Authority (term through 09/18/2025), appointed county administrator Steve Bowen as an alternate to the STEPS board, and removed the county administrator from the courthouse revitalization committee; supervisors also adjusted finance-committee membership.

- Animal-confinement public notice (seasonal): Approved. The board authorized publishing a public notice to require dog confinement from April 1 through May 31.

- Consent agenda: Approved. The board approved routine consent items and interlocal pass-throughs noted in the meeting packet.

What the board directed next

Staff was instructed to prepare the required planning-commission materials and to re-advertise the Tropical Treehouse item for public hearing; to proceed with grant-acceptance paperwork and to coordinate county budgeting and reimbursement timing with the treasurer\u0000s office; and to proceed with regulatory filings and permitting for the approved telecommunications tower.

What wasn\u0000t decided or remains pending

Several items will require additional federal or state approvals (FAA for tower lighting, SHPO/Section 106 and NEPA review where applicable, and FEMA/VDEM reimbursement timelines). The Tropical Treehouse amendment will return after planning-commission review and additional public notice. Staff did not provide binding construction schedules or total project cost estimates for some items during the hearing.

Votes were taken by voice; the meeting record lists approvals and motions but does not include a roll-call tally for each action in the public transcript.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","February 27, 2025 Board of Supervisors Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","At its meeting the Board of Supervisors approved a 300-foot communications tower, accepted FEMA hazard-mitigation grant awards, declared a local emergency for recent storms and took a series of land-use and appointment votes including approval of a manufactured-home special exception and tabling a duplex special-exception amendment.","taxTitle","Nottoway County, Virginia","taxId",37849,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6304630,"Nottoway approves 300-foot radio tower at health department site for county emergency radio system",2582,1928000,4510000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2458745-f10e2a8a623aa5dd06f1fcd686edde41&start=1928&end=4510","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2458745-f10e2a8a623aa5dd06f1fcd686edde41/thumbnail_1928000.jpg","/articles/6304630/Nottoway-County/Virginia/Nottoway-approves-300-foot-radio-tower-at-health-department-site-for-county-emergency-radio-system","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6304630-e0f64fedb447175e17d4279661007dcd/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156977&Signature=I6Bbl0UFdAUxX-c2D0DmPJUQ27sBtrcZ1CcW8G1BHJpZCATnWZvRjoT-SLeCjtJV2A1D-qRzCYb~0eVbGD~nwlaidZv7Uc5cRyZQdrMGGGEPfq1eWjD3RYuotanIzFQjXbLqmBgANPCYBNs5D~BaD9kEGWnf02of0S-wq21xLlRDp~cJ8Weg9Fv6sEq0lrGGF6WtUnXKFJG~jQplRHxVh4vD1aMvGEoVzW5Ks9Ex-VlxJrPbFgbcBJNCKvDrB15~1Nz0g49Nzy2hPVhfgt0jbDKBtM0psgunNWbo3YOlEgVA-1UK3jfjdDUMyz0F5~~N3pYVm2SF0p25Hdflo2wIiA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Nottoway County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a special-exception request to build a 300-foot self-supporting communications tower at the county health department site to host the county\u0000s P25 public-safety radio network.

County staff and consultants said the tower is critical to linking dispatch into the new radio system and to improving coverage across central and southeastern portions of the county. The project drew public comment and technical questions about visibility, setback waivers and safety before the board voted to grant the requested relief with staff conditions.

Greg Zote, county planning staff, told the board the proposal would place the tower on the health department parcel and asked the board to waive portions of the zoning setbacks under section 4-13-10 of the county zoning ordinance so the tower could sit closer to the existing dispatch complex. Zote said staff recommended approval with conditions including marking the propane tank slab and the drain field in the field and on construction plans and requiring a 10-foot construction setback from the active drain field.

Brian Thomas, a Crewe resident and planning commissioner who spoke during public comment, urged the board to consider alternative sites and to weigh the tower's visual impact. \"I feel that the county might be making an egregious mistake in where they're placing this tower,\" Thomas said, citing examples of existing towers set back well from roadways and neighborhoods and asking the board to avoid a site that would be highly visible from Old Nottoway Road and West Courthouse Road.

Jeremiah Knowles of CTA Consultants, the county's radio-system consultant, said the selected location reduces the need for an additional microwave link and lowers project costs by enabling a fiber connection directly from dispatch to the tower. \"This 300 foot tower not only serves as interconnection between the rest of the radio system, but it also will provide coverage to a large area of central and southeastern part of the county,\" Knowles said. He added engineers have designed the tower to collapse within its own footprint and provided a firm\u0000s letter that the structure would fall within a roughly 40-foot radius of the tower center.

Level Up Towers representative Steve Money Brown described the Federal Aviation Administration filing that will follow and said the tower would carry a medium dual-intensity lighting system (red night beacon, white day beacon) pending FAA determination. Brown said the FAA filing is expected and that lighting is standard for towers of this size.

Board members pressed staff and consultants on alternatives, on whether the county had examined sites set farther back from roadways or school property, and on the project\u0000s potential impact on nearby historic properties. Zote and county staff said they had considered other options but that locations closer to dispatch reduce both equipment and construction costs and avoid the expense of an additional microwave shot and tower. Staff said adjacent property owners were notified for both the planning commission hearing and the board public hearing; Zote said no written objections were received from nearby property owners.

The project includes a secured compound roughly 60 by 80 feet, an equipment shelter to house base-station equipment, a propane generator and an 8-foot anti-climb fence with green slats to soften visual impact. Consultants said the design allows room for up to three additional colocating carriers in the compound, and they emphasized the tower is a self-supporting structure that does not use guy wires. The planning commission recommended approval by a 5-1 vote; the board approved the special exception at the public meeting.

The board\u0000s approval is subject to the staff\u0000s recommended conditions, and the tower will require subsequent regulatory clearances including FAA notification/approval and other federal and state reviews as applicable (for example, SHPO/Section 106/NEPA processes where required). Construction and final siting must respect the marked drain-field setbacks and other field markings required by the approval.

The tower is intended to become the primary hub in the county\u0000s planned microwave chain linking existing towers and to house the county\u0000s dispatch radio base stations and emergency antennas. The consultant team said the site choice reduces project complexity and cost compared with using a remote microwave hop or modifying a distant taller tower.

Board members and staff said they will work with the project team to finalize construction documents and regulatory filings before issuing permits. No construction schedule was specified in the public hearing record.","The Board of Supervisors approved a special-exception request to build a 300-foot self-supporting radio tower at the county health department site to host the county\u0000s P25 public-safety radio equipment, with conditions around setbacks, drain-field protection and security.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Nottoway supervisors approve telecom tower, emergency declaration and grants; multiple land-use items advanced or tabled

Nottoway approves 300-foot radio tower at health department site for county emergency radio system