Walton County board approves conditional use for 245-foot Verizon cell tower near Goodwin Creek Road

The Walton County Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a conditional‑use permit for a telecommunications tower proposed at 688 Goodwin Creek Road in Freeport, a 240‑foot self‑support tower with a 5‑foot lightning rod (245 feet overall) that developer Freebird Communications said is being built for Verizon Wireless and designed to accommodate additional carriers.

The board’s conditional‑use approval follows a presentation from the applicant and several public comments expressing concerns about property values, wetlands, electromagnetic radiation and whether the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies would clear the site.

The tower would sit inside a 100‑by‑100‑foot compound, the developer said, and is engineered to allow three carriers on the structure. “We’re looking to construct a 240 foot cell tower with a 5 foot lightning rod self support structure,” Greg Spence said. Spence identified himself as representing Freebird Communications and as the developer for the Verizon site.

Why it matters: county staff and the developer said the tower will fill a coverage gap and support voice, data and emergency services in the Freeport area; neighbors said the site will be visible from nearby homes and could lower property values, harm wetlands habitat and raise long‑term health questions about radiofrequency emissions.

Details and discussion Greg Spence told the board the site meets setbacks and other requirements in the county’s approval process, and that the tower was…