MVCCA Planning & Zoning Passes Cell Tower Resolution, Hears County Reports

The MVCCA Planning and Zoning Committee passed a resolution Tuesday night that would limit the installation of cell phone towers to distributed antenna systems when possible.

The resolution— in residential and historic areas—passed unanimously, 15 to 0. Telecommunications committee representative Aimee Davis said the  is less noticeable.

"The DAS is less intrusive when installed correctly and is harder to see,” Davis said. “And, it is capable of providing 4G service, which everyone seems to be hankering for.”

Mark Looney from Cooley LLP also discussed plans for a proposed Belvoir Corporate Campus in the Lee District.

“We’re anticipating the site to be filled with government offices or private contractors and we want to have the site developed for their specific security requirements,” Looney said. “We’re working on the best transportation plan and will have a shuttles to the Metro and other near by locations, depending on the tenant.”

The LEED Silver campus will cover 15 of the available 24 acres and include over 200,000 square feet of office space as well as a 10 foot wide multi use trail along the front of the property.

“We’ll limit the amount of clearing and retain as many trees as possible,” Looney said. “We have agreed to contribute additional funds for two turn lanes and additional intersection improvements.”

The MVCCA refrained from taking a stand on the Belvoir Corporate Campus, but some members seemed to approve of the development while others expressed concerns about traffic and loss of trees. Looney reported that the community directly behind the Campus requested a study to determine if speed tables would deter residents from cutting through the property and offered to subsidize their installation.

Meghan Van Dam from Fairfax County’s Planning and Zoning Division spoke to attendees about their opinions of the APR nomination process from 2009.

Participants discussed the lack of efficiency and suggested improvements to the system that would cut the review time and allow for more communication between the county and communities.

“The comprehensive plan is a living document is available for residents to revise,” Van Dam said. “Anyone can submit a nomination for plan changes, like individual citizens, community associations and property owners.”

For the first time since the APR process was implemented Mount Vernon submitted 40% of the nominations received from lower Farifax County. The final nominations are under review and a meeting in the Spring of 2012 will discuss more information, including the Penn Daw area development affecting the Kings Highway and Richmond Highway intersection.

The next MVCCA Planning and Zoning meeting will be on Tuesday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m.