Board denies permit for another NK cell tower
By AMY JO MARTIN
Staff Writer

NEW KENT – A long string of communication tower approvals have come to a halt, thanks to action taken by the Board of Supervisors Monday night.

In its first live broadcast, the board voted 4-1 to deny National Communication Towers’ (NCT) Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application to construct a 195-foot lattice communications tower on Topeka Road.

The vote came after the board voted down a proposal deferral, as requested by NCT President Elliott Harrigan.

Although the Planning Commission had unanimously forwarded the application to Supervisors with a favorable recommendation in July, a vote had previously been delayed following the May public hearing due to questions raised about the legality of road access to 9501 Topeka Road.

According to County Attorney Michele Gowdy, documentation was submitted proving that the applicants, Wade and Kathleen Moore, have legal rights to access the 0.36-acre tower site.

Residents Debbie Gingras, of Quinton, as well as other co-owners of the private road, spoke adamantly against approving the application, due to ownership conflict.

“Topeka Road is not a public road. It’s under private ownership,” said Gingras, who also insisted that neither she nor any of her family had received letters about the county’s public hearings.

“Because we won’t grant access to the road, National Communication Towers will never be able to meet the standards.”

Gingras’ sister spoke on behalf of the estate, telling the board that the proposal is “an application to nowhere” because NCT does not and will never have legal access to the ingress and egress to Topeka Road.

“Every private landowner should be placed on high alert if government wields such high authority that they feel they can ignore the fifth and 14th amendments of the U.S. and Virginia code,” she said.

Adjacent landowner Tim Young echoed the residents’ sentiments, adding that the Moores had signed documentation stating that they would use the property for residential purposes.

“When I bought land to build here, I did not plan on building a house and looking at a tower,” said Young.

“How many more cell phone towers do we need in this county?”

Within the past several months, communication towers have been approved and proposed on:
•Farmer’s Drive (Barhamsville)
•New Kent Highway and Paige Road (New Kent)
•New Kent Highway (behind Blue’s Café - New Kent)
•Quaker Road (Quinton)
•New Kent Highway (behind George Watkins Elementary School - Quinton)

The majority of communication towers that have been recently approved are able to hold six users. This would mean that New Kent County, as well as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and similar companies could share a tower, rather than build separately.

Supervisor Stran Trout explained to the residents and applicants that supervisors do not determine legal access rights.

Supervisors also raised concern about a 2002 tower proposal approved near the Moore’s property.

Although planners were unable to determine if the Quinton “Shiflett” tower application is null or inactive, planner Matthew Ebinger stated that the project is unlikely to come to fruition due to time lapsed.

Harrigan asked the board to defer the proposal until NCT could review the Shiflett property and construction status before coming back to the board.

Board members were concerned that if NCT constructed a tower on the Moore property, the Shiflett tower would be impossible. County code states that towers must be at least two miles apart.

“We’ve got to look out for the citizens of the county, and I don’t know if putting up cell towers everywhere is what’s best,” said Supervisor Thomas Evelyn.

The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be held on Monday, September 13 at 6 p.m. in the Administration Building Boardroom. Public hearings begin at 7 p.m.