Middleburg opposes 185-ft tall cell tower
Loudoun County School Board: Brenda Sheridan, Chair; Atoosa Reaser, Vice-Chair; Denise Corbo, At-Large Member; Harris Mahedavi, Ashburn District; Ian Serotkin, Blue Ridge District; Leslee King, Broad Run District; John Beatty, Catoctin District; Jeff Morse, Dulles District; Beth Barts, Leesburg District:
Dear Madam Chair and Members of the Loudoun County School Board,
I am writing on behalf of the Town of Middleburg and the greater Middleburg community to share many serious concerns we have received in the last two weeks regarding the potential approval for a 185-foot-tall telecommunications tower at Mickie Gordon Park. To put it simply, there is unanimous and strong opposition to this proposal in its current form.
This opposition has been centered on the oversized nature of this project and its proximity to Rt. 50 as the central gateway to Middleburg.
We fully understand the need for connectivity and access to good infrastructure, but it must always be tempered in a way which balances the services it provides with the adverse effects it has on those living in that community. One of the key elements that makes Middleburg, and the Blue Ridge District a welcoming and unique destination is that we have not, to this point, littered our rural character with cell towers. The community fears this is the beginning of a dangerous trend. Change always comes, but it is how we manage that change which will define our future.
We are particularly concerned with the siting photographs used in the applicant’s presentation. They do not provide a true and accurate representation of the impacts for many key areas. Most of the photographs were taken at predetermined locations with the least visual impact being shown. Unfortunately, what should also be provide to the public and to you are those locations which have the most impact. This is how you will be able to make a truly informed decision in terms of the good and negative.
Given these concerns, we feel that the Board would be ill advised to approve this application until further work can be done to fully understand where the best siting could be placed (i.e., farther from Rt. 50) and the cell coverage that would be achieved from a variety of shorter tower options, none of which has been provided. While the applicant wants the most height possible, it is our jobs as elected officials to not simply accept their proposal at face value but to do our own assessment to strike a balance where both sides’ concerns and needs are accommodated.
We must find this optimal balance to protect the rights and respect the views of our citizens. The Town of Middleburg stands ready to assist you in this endeavor, as we have the shared goals of the School Board to do what is best for our citizens.
Sincerely
Trowbridge M. Littleton, Mayor, Town of Middleburg
Beth Barts, Leesburg District and
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Dear Mayor, While I was chair of the school board we had a request to place cell towers on all the schools offering a few dollars for our trouble. When they refused to answer some simple initial questions we did not forward their request for a vote as it seemed unfair to the constituents in general and to the students specifically. Here are a few issues you might want to ask: Are they prepared to hold the county and the school board harmless if any child is claimed to have gotten any form of cancer from the ionized sound waves? Are they prepared to hold the county and the school board harmless if any resident. sues on the basis of a zoning violation as this would be a commercial use on a school site in a residential zone. Are they willing to provide a fixed payment as well as a percentage of their gross revenue from the use of the tower for as long as the tower is there regardless of whether it is used or not? Will they remove the tower and return the property to its natural state if the tower is not used at the request of the school board?