Board approves 99-foot monopole near Toy Town Road after hearing on coverage and viewshed impact

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors approved a special exception to permit a monopole communications facility on a property at 299 Toy Town Road (tax map 83-1-2). Planning staff and the applicant told the board the site addresses gaps in wireless coverage in the area; staff also noted potential impacts to local viewsheds.

Staff said the parcel is roughly 23.9 acres with an existing sawmill and that the county’s ordinance treats personal wireless service facilities as a special exception in the A-1 district. The applicant representative, Jonathan Yates of Arcola Towers, said the proposed monopole is a 97-foot structure with a 2-foot lightning rod and that it will be configured to host Verizon plus up to three additional broadband carriers. Yates said Verizon has a defined need in the vicinity and that routine maintenance visits would be infrequent (he estimated roughly five to eight times a year).

Planning staff noted the ordinance allows new antenna mounts up to 199 feet in some circumstances and described setback and technical requirements; staff said the applicant proposed a design incorporating break-point technology to keep a fall radius within 65 feet where internal property lines are close. The planning commission recommended approval (6–0) and added a condition requiring documentation to be recorded in the courthouse notifying future owners of the break-point setback on the adjacent Parcel 2A.

The applicant said the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed the proposal and determined no lighting was required because the structure is under the FAA threshold that triggers lighting. The applicant and staff said the tower would not generate noise, odor, or regular traffic; VDOT review raised no entrance concerns.

Board action and a note on height: Supervisor Marty Martin moved to approve the planning commission’s recommendation with conditions; the motion passed unanimously. The staff presentation included language about the county ordinance’s 199-foot threshold for certain special exceptions; the applicant specified the monopole he proposed would be 97 feet plus a 2-foot lightning rod. Those two numbers were both stated on the record at the hearing; the transcript contains both representations. The planning commission’s additional condition and the recorded documentation requirement were included in the approval.

Votes at this hearing: Motion to approve special exception for monopole at 299 Toy Town Road (mover: Marty Martin). Outcome: approved unanimously.