Background Info
How Do Kingsmill and Cell Towers Fit?
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BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
We hope that you will find the
information we have placed here informative and that you might take some action
to encourage the choice of superior alternatives to the placement of cell towers
in our residential neighborhoods.
The Kingsmill Wireless
Communications Advocacy Group (KWCAG) strongly supports improving cell phone
service in Kingsmill. However, we are
opposed to the two cell towers that have been proposed for our community. Kingsmill does not need two 120 foot towers
with space for a total of six providers. These towers do not meet county ordinances, would not necessarily
improve service for as many as twenty percent of Kingsmill residents and, if
approved, would generate rental income primarily for the owners of the Kingsmill
Resort rather than the community.
The James City County Board of
Zoning Appeals (BZA) found in December 2008 that the proposed towers did not
comply with current wireless ordinances. THIS DECISION WAS CORRECT.
Verizon, AT&T, James City
County, Busch Properties Inc, and the Kingsmill Community Services Association,
whose board Busch Properties controls, is appealing
the BZA’s decision at the circuit court level.
The county has stacked the deck
against the BZA by denying them funds for legal representation. An effort is being made to help provide this
representation. Please see the “How Can
I Help” section for details.
THE CASE FOR DISAPPROVING THE TOWERS IS STRONG. There also are alternatives to improve cell service
in Kingsmill that do not include building towers in residential
neighborhoods. These alternatives
include modifying the Verizon and AT&T cell towers located in the nearby
county complex on Mount’s
Bay Road
, constructing the promised
tower in a non-residential area on the eastern side of Kingsmill and locating a
flag pole tower near the Kingsmill Resort to service dead spots.
For further information about
the proposed cell towers, you may find these items useful-
-The primary purpose of the
proposed towers is to fill gaps in Verizon’s and
AT&T’s networks. Improvements
in our cell phone service is only a secondary consideration.
-The proposed Verizon tower is
within 400 feet of some residents in violation of county ordinances.
-Kingsmill was designed as a
low-rise community. The proposed towers
will not blend in with this environment. They would mar one of the most
picturesque holes on the
championship
River
Course. They would also destroy an archaeological
site with historic artifacts so significant that, according to the Virginia
Department of Historic Resources, that it is eligible for listing on the
National Register of Historic Places.
-Other communities have successfully
used cell phone towers disguised as flag poles in place of towers disguised as
“trees.”
-The KCSA Residents’ Survey of May
2007 presented the proposed towers as the ONLY way to improve cell phone service inside Kingsmill-it was “all” or “nothing.”
-Local management, wearing dual
hats for KCSA and Busch Properties, has consistently demurred to Verizon and
AT&T and refused to engage residents.
-Newer and more sensitive cell
phone may improve cell phone service for residents who are experiencing
problems.
An independent survey of cell
phone service in Kingsmill has never been conducted. The only recommendations have come from
wireless companies that are proponents of cell towers and that stand to gain
financially from their installation. |
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