The CVS Cell Tower Saga

In December 2000, a communications tower was errected on the roof of the CVS building in the Williamsburg shopping center. The neighbors were not informed in advance. It took several hours of long-distance phone calls to track down the owner of the land and the communications company that deployed the equipment (Voice Stream Communications).

This tower was constructed with the full permission of Arlington County. Why? County staff has decided to use "administrative procedures" to handle cell tower requests. The Staff has also decided to treat cell towers (which are not currently covered in zoning code) as radio towers for zoning purposes. Current zoning code permits radio towers up to 23 feet on commercial structures, above and beyond the 35 foot building height limit. There is no restriction on the width of these items.

What this means is that decisions on construction of these towers are made by Arlington County staffers without participation by the neighbors. In other words, the tower on CVS (which could be just the first of many) is there because of a large loop-hole in County regulations.

Arlington County clearly needs a policy on cell towers that makes sure that close neighbors and civic associations are informed about - and play a role in - the decisionmaking involved in any new placement of cell towers. This policy must reflect the interests of the neighbors, their property values, aesthetic values, and the as-yet-unknown health hazards to those who are forced to live in close proximity to cell towers or (as in the case of the CVS employees) forced to work a few feet from one. Until this policy is adopted, there should be a moratorium on cell tower permits.

How You Can Help: If you find the prospect of a veritable jungle of towers on the local CVS unappealing, share your views with our elected officials on the Arlington County Board, which welcomes "citizen participation." Their phone number is 703-228-3130; the e-mail address is countyboard@co.arlington.va.us.

CVS Cell Tower - Health Issues

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