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Supervisors approve Apex Towers monopole after amending planning conditions
Summary
Rockbridge County approved a special exception for a new monopole telecommunications tower near the travel plaza off I-81, agreeing to remove a restriction on antenna standoff and to approve the carrier design as presented.
The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Oct. 14 to approve a special-exception application from Apex Tower to construct a new monopole telecommunications tower near the truck-stop/travel-plaza area along I‑81.
Apex representative Dale Hill told the board the site is intended to improve cellular capacity around the travel center and nearby stretches of Interstate 81. “There’s a capacity need. There’s just there’s not enough capacity in that area,” Hill said during the presentation.
The approved project will be a 195-foot monopole with an approximately 4–5-foot lightning rod, for a total height near 199 feet. The tower site design provides a compound with a six-foot chain-link fence topped by two feet of barbed wire, parking and an access road; the applicant said the tower is engineered to collapse within the fenced compound in a worst-case failure scenario. The applicant said the facility is designed to accept up to five carriers.
Planning staff initially recommended approval with five conditions, including (1) substantial compliance with schematic plans dated May 2, 2025 and revision date Sept. 9, 2025; (2) a maximum antenna standoff of 28 inches for all antennas; (3) a dull gray galvanized finish; (4) tree clearing restrictions between April 1 and Nov. 14 (per the NEPA report); and (5) approvals from VDOT, the county building department and erosion and sediment control permitting.
During the meeting Apex asked the board to remove condition 2 (the 28-inch standoff limit) and to approve the standard-array antenna design rather than a close-mount design; the applicant said close-mount designs would not provide sufficient angularity for the 6-foot antennas to serve the travel-plaza and truck-stop areas because of Rockbridge County’s peaks and valleys. The board amended the planning commission recommendation by striking the Sept. 9, 2025 revision date from condition 1 and removing condition 2, then approved the application with those changes.
Photo simulations shown to the board (performed at the 199-foot height) indicated the tower would be visible from a limited set of vantage points; the applicant noted the closest existing off-site dwelling is approximately 846 feet from the proposed tower. The applicant also presented a carrier commitment letter from AT&T.
Supervisor Lewis moved to approve the application with the read changes; the amended motion passed unanimously (5–0). The approval is contingent on required state and federal permits and VDOT and local building and erosion-control approvals, as noted by staff.
Staff recorded that the balloon test and photo simulations had been completed at the 199-foot height and with the standard-array antennas; the board’s amendment removed the county’s 28-inch standoff limit so the applicant may install a standard-mount array as presented.
