DATE: Friday, June 20, 1997                 TAG: 9706200704

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  102 lines

SUFFOLK HALTS AT&T WORK ON ANTENNA ALONG I-664 CITIES DIDN'T APPROVE TOWERS BEING BUILT UNDER PACT WITH STATE.

City officials on Thursday morning issued a stop-work order for a telecommunications antenna being built along a highway in the northern section of the city.

The tower, near the Route 17 interchange along Interstate 664, is being built under an agreement between AT&T Wireless and the state to construct nearly two dozen such structures along highways in the region.

The towers will be used to handle the region's growing number of cellular calls. They will also serve as platforms for a new regional traffic-management system.

But none of the towers has been approved by a planning commission or city council. Neighbors have had no opportunity to contest the aesthetic or practical effects of the structures - even if they violate local regulations.

And that has some local officials concerned.

Suffolk discovered the I-664 tower being built Wednesday night and issued the stop-work order around 11 a.m. Thursday.

City Manager Myles E. Standish contends that because the tower will be used commercially by AT&T, it requires a conditional use permit from the city, for which AT&T never applied.

``The issue before us is: does the tower have any commercial use?'' Standish said. ``And the apparent answer is yes. And in that case, it requires a conditional use permit from the city of Suffolk.''

The conflict is part of a growing concern among local cities about the affect of communications towers springing up in the region.

Under the agreement struck in October between AT&T and Virginia transportation officials, 14 such towers are to go up this summer along Interstate 64, six along Interstate 664, and three along Interstate 264 and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway.

A 150-foot communications tower sprouted this week along Interstate 64 near I-464 in Chesapeake.

The arrangement, under a state policy called ``resource sharing,'' allows the telecommunications giant to build towers along the state's right-of-way without seeking zoning permission from local cities.

As part of the agreement, AT&T will place about $25,000 worth of cameras and other traffic-management equipment on each tower.

State transportation officials view the deal as a win-win situation - no hassle or delay from local governments for the cellular operators and a huge savings for state taxpayers for a highway-monitoring system that is two years behind schedule.

``We have a siting policy to locate on existing structures first, then government property, and finally individual property,'' said Paul L. Pachuta, site development manager for AT&T Wireless Services. ``Locating on the state right-of-way was just a win-win for everybody. The towers are going to show up anyway without our assistance. And in the end, the taxpayers benefit, there's a safety benefit, there's all sorts of positives from this.''

For local planners and city officials, however, it's been a major headache.

The October deal wasn't revealed to localities until January. Worse yet, the officials were informed of the agreement by AT&T Wireless, not the state.

Some of the towers may violate city ordinances passed to preserve vistas and protect residents.

Suffolk has decided not to go along.

Standish said Suffolk was not informed about the tower before construction began. And he said the tower was no different than any other commercial structure.

``They cannot build a shopping center there, they cannot build a foundry there, they cannot build an airport there without a conditional use permit,'' said Standish. ``They can't do commercial things in their right-of-way, in my opinion, without local land-use approval.''

AT&T officials said Thursday they are acting as contractors for the Virginia Department of Transportation and have not hung their antennas yet.

The state is standing by its right to allow the towers on its property.

``We have towers all over the place in Hampton Roads,'' said Stephany Hanshaw, the state traffic operations engineer heading the project. ``It's nothing that's out of its environment.''

The deal is especially unsettling to officials in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach who are trying to control the ``porcupine effect'' that towers can have on the local landscape.

In the last year, many of the region's cities have created detailed ordinances to control the locations of communications towers. Chesapeake has gone so far as to offer city-owned land to telecommunication providers to keep the towers away from residential districts.

``Suffice it to say that if they were following our ordinance, a number of these towers could not be built in the locations that they are,'' said Joan McDowell, Chesapeake city planner.

At least one tower, along Interstate 664 in Chesapeake, will be closer to nearby residences than the local ordinance allows.

Last week James City County issued stop-work orders for the two towers being built on a right-of-way there.

County Planner John Horne said Wednesday that VDOT plans to locate traffic cameras at 100 feet on the 185-foot towers. The county contends, therefore, that the top 85 feet of the tower is for private purposes and not exempt from local regulation.

Horne said the county intends to take appropriate legal action if construction begins again.

``We happen to be one of the most important historic areas in the country. broader public good. If this was a 100-foot VDOT tower, we wouldn't be saying a thing.''

The General Assembly is considering a law that would allow leasing any state-owned property - not just highway right-of-way - to telecommunication companies for towers.

Localities have until today to give their comments to the state on that measure.

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