Albemarle board narrows historic protections, adopts revised cell-tower rules after months of debate

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted Sept. 4 to update its personal wireless facilities ordinance, adopting staff recommendations with amendments the board said balance improved cell coverage in rural areas with protections for selected natural and historic resources. The vote follows months of staff work and an extended public hearing that drew preservation groups, environmental advocates, industry attorneys and many residents.

Under the board's action, areas within 1,500 feet of parcels listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of Sept. 4, 2024, are designated avoidance areas, with a carve-out that excludes parcels identified only by virtue of a historic district listing. The ordinance also adopts a forest-block alternative (Forest Alternative B) that treats higher-scoring contiguous forest areas as avoidance areas (staff recommended a score threshold of 4.1 or greater). The changes revise where administrative review is allowed and where special-use permits are required.

Development Process Manager Bill Fritz told the board staff had tried to reconcile state and federal guidance with local conservation priorities. "We're recommending the mountain protection areas as a proxy not only for protecting ridgelines but to capture significant forest and biodiversity areas," Fritz said during the presentation. He highlighted that some mapping datasets are dated and urged the board to treat the proposals as an initial framework that can be refined.

Preservation groups warned the staff draft would reduce scrutiny for areas that are not individually listed on the National Register. Genevieve Keller, president of Preservation Piedmont, said removing historic districts from avoidance areas risks treating historically significant landscapes as secondary. "Most county properties lying within historic districts are not individually listed, yet they contribute to a landscape that deserves protection," she said in public comment.

Industry counsel and some landowners urged fewer restrictions to speed deployment. Valerie Long of Williams Mullen, representing applicants, argued the ordinance already requires minimizing visibility and that federal Section 106 review will flag significant historic impacts. Several rural residents, however, said special-use requirements discourage carriers from building needed coverage; Phyllis Ripper of Whitehall described frequent situations where her family relies on ham radio at remote events for safety because there is no cell service.

Board members wrestled with trade-offs between coverage and preservation. Supervisor Mike Pruitt said he wanted to avoid creating a local process that effectively freezes landowners' development rights by expanding avoidance layers. Other supervisors noted public-safety and economic concerns tied to lack of coverage in portions of the county.

The final motion, advanced by Supervisor Pruitt and seconded by Supervisor Lupisto Kirtley, adopted Attachment B (staff's recommended ordinance) as amended to: (1) designate avoidance areas within 1,500 feet of National Register-listed parcels as of Sept. 4, 2024 (excluding parcels listed only because they lie within a historic district); and (2) adopt Forest Alternative B with a score threshold of 4.1 or greater. The motion passed on a recorded roll call.

The new ordinance preserves the county's ability to require special-use permit review in mountain protection areas for proposals that present significant visibility or environmental impacts, while allowing more administrative review in lower-risk locations. Staff said the changes will be implemented with GIS mapping updates and that the board could revisit thresholds as new biodiversity mapping becomes available.