Amherst County approves two 199-foot cell towers after public hearing despite resident health concerns

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors voted to approve special exceptions for two 199-foot wireless communication towers proposed for sites in Madison Heights and along Kempmore Farm Road, despite sustained public opposition about potential health and environmental effects.

At a meeting on Feb. 25, 2026, the board approved a Cellco Partnership (doing business as Verizon Wireless) application for a monopole at 257 Trojan Road (tax map 148-A-65) and a separate application from The Towers LLC for a second 199-foot tower (tax map 150-A-19). Both approvals were voice votes recorded 4–1.

The Verizon site at Manelison Middle School was described in staff materials as a 199-foot monopole within a 50-by-50-foot fenced equipment compound and a 75-by-75-foot lease area on a roughly 41.788-acre parcel. Staff said the county requires a setback equal to the structure height (a 1:1 ratio), and that the closest property line was 225 feet from the proposed facility while the nearest unrelated structure would be about 730 feet away. The…