Board updates wireless-telecom ordinance to match state law; caps co-location permit fee at $500
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Summary
The county amended Article 25 (wireless-telecom facilities) to comply with Virginia code changes and set the administrative colocation permit fee to $500, as required by state law; the Planning Commission recommended approval 5-0.
Lancaster County supervisors approved updates to Article 25 of the zoning ordinance that align the county's wireless-telecommunications permitting with recent amendments to Virginia state law.
Planning staff said the 2018 General Assembly changes and subsequent clarifications require (among other items) removal of the county's special-exception requirement for certain co-locations where tower height is not increased and limit administrative-review fees to no more than $500 for colocation. The Planning Commission recommended the changes 5-0 and staff provided a revised ordinance draft to the board.
Supervisors voted to adopt the ordinance revisions. Separately, the board approved a motion to reduce the county's colocation administrative review fee from $2,000 to $500 to conform with the state code cap.
Why this matters: Changes to state law narrowed local discretion over small modifications to existing wireless-supporting structures and limited what local fees may be charged for administrative colocation approvals. The county amendment brings Lancaster into full compliance with the state statute and reduces the cost of administrative colocation review to applicants.
What comes next: Staff will update code language in the county code and the fee schedule to reflect the new $500 administrative colocation fee and will apply the updated standards when processing co-location requests.