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Summary Staff Report:
Recently, the Fauquier County Circuit Court overruled a
Zoning Administrator interpretation of Section 11-102.2(a)
issued to Verizon Wireless. The Zoning Administrator opined
that Verizon could not construct an 80-foot tall commercial
wireless facility between Interstate 66 and Route 55 near
Thoroughfare Gap because the property was within a VDOT
right-of-way and, therefore, could not meet the 100-foot
setback from a public highway, street or road. Although the
Circuit Court declined to establish precisely from where the
setback should be measured, the Court found that the area of
trees between the two paved road surfaces was not “public
highway, street or road” for the purposes of Section
11-102.2(a). The Court noted that the Ordinance was
ambiguous as to what line should be used to measure the
setback and suggested that the County revise this Ordinance.
The proposed text amendment clearly defines that towers must
be setback “100 feet from the public highway, street or
road, measured from the right-of-way line as shown within a
State Highway Plat Book, subdivision plat, or 15 feet from
the centerline of a prescriptive right-of-way, when the
facility is centered and surrounded by preserved woodland
with a minimum radius depth of 100 feet.” Staff has
also taken this opportunity to clarify the meaning of
“preserved woodland” by adding the following language to the
provision: “The terms “woodland” and “wooded areas” shall
mean growth of deciduous or conifer trees at a minimum
density of 80 wooden stems per acre of trees that measure at
least four inches in diameter breast high (DBH) or four and
one half feet.”
In addition to making the substantive changes, the order of
the provisions was modified to make their application more
clear. As a result of that change, two internal citations
within the Telecommunications Ordinance also had to be
changed.
The Board of Supervisors initiated this Text Amendment on
November 8, 2007. The Planning Commission held a public
hearing on the proposal on November 29, 2007 and unanimously
voted to recommend approval of the Text Amendment.
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