FCC to Host Meeting About Cell Towers at Kingsmill

By Amber Lester Kennedy Saturday, November 05, 2011

The Federal Communications Commission will solicit public opinion Thursday on a long-delayed plan to construct two cell towers in Kingsmill.

The meeting will be held primarily to discuss historic artifacts located at the proposed site for the towers. Representatives from the FCC, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, AT&T, Verizon and local archaeologists will be present at the meeting, where they’ll discuss a recent archaeological findings report. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Williamsburg Regional Library on Croaker Road.

AT&T and Verizon submitted plans by-right to construct two towers resembling loblolly pines in the community in 2007; the plan was approved by the James City County Planning Commission, then overturned by the Board of Zoning Appeals. In that case, a citizen group called the Kingsmill Wireless Communications Advocacy Group appealed the Planning Commission’s approval to the BZA on the basis the cell towers would be noticeable (which would violate county ordinance).

The approval of the appeal led to a long court battle, in which the county appealed the BZA’s decision due to its concern the quasi-judicial body was making a legislative decision. The BZA’s decision was further complicated by the fact the deciding vote had been cast by member Jack Fraley, who had earlier approved the plan as a member of the Planning Commission. In December 2009, Judge R. Bruce Long issued a judgment reversing the BZA’s decision, allowing the cell companies to move forward with their plans.

Before submitting a site plan to the Planning Commission for review, the cellular providers had to commission archaeological studies of the land to comply with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires Federal agencies to review all actions that might affect a property listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In accordance with section 106, VDHR named the KWCAG and the Friends of African American History consulting parties.

In April 2010, Cultural Resources, Inc. completed the Phase I and Phase II studies at the site and created a report on how the site should be treated. The late Bill Halteman, leader of KWCAG and a Kingsmill resident since 1992, asked archaeologists with the James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. to review the report and they expressed “grave concerns” about how the site was studied. Halteman died on April 29.

In his criticism of the CRI report, James River Institute Senior Archaeologist Garrett Fesler said CRI missed opportunities to put the site — which includes brick foundation remnants thought to date to the mid-19th century — in historical context. “In the end, CRI shows an astounding lack of interest in and grasp of the archaeological process,” Fesler wrote. He called the project a “travesty,” and implored FCC Federal Preservation Officer Stephen DelSordo to intervene and request another study.

A second report was produced by Environmental Resource Management on Oct. 27, and this time, JRI archaeologists said it was better reported, more balanced and more scholarly.

At Thursday’s meeting, the public will be invited to comment on the impact of the proposed cell towers and the mitigation plan for the historic site. “It’s not a matter of digging it up; it’s about knowing what really happened there,” said David Neiman, a longtime advocate against the cell towers in Kingsmill who now leads KWCAG. “I would assume the carriers will say, ‘We understand it’s a historic site.’ I’m sure they want to do the right thing, but the mitigation process has to satisfy reasonable objections.”

He is still pushing for the cell towers to be located on a different site. Although cell service is still spotty in Kingsmill, he said the technology of cell phones has much improved since the first plans were filed in 2007. Under his leadership, KWCAG submitted a 28-page letter to the FCC explaining the group’s position that the Kingsmill location is not appropriate for cell towers. In it, he notes Kingsmill Resort has activated a Cell Tower on a Light Truck (COLT) that has improved service for residents.

“Changes inside and on the periphery of Kingsmill, technological developments in the wireless field and available options have had a major positive impact and lessened, if not eliminated, the need for the two proposed towers,” Neiman wrote in the letter. “The result is that there are alternatives that should be considered to even further improve our wireless service, to fill gaps in the carriers’ networks and to preserve an ultra sensitive historic site per the James City County Comprehensive Plan.”