DATE: Tuesday, November 11, 1997            TAG: 9711110271

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   45 lines

PORTSMOUTH CONSIDERING ORDINANCE TO CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS TOWERS

Following the lead of a number of Hampton Roads cities that are grappling with the proliferation of communications towers, the City Council is considering an ordinance to control them.

On Monday, the council unanimously endorsed an amendment to the city's zoning ordinance that would promote tougher restrictions for constructing the towers. The amendment will be considered for final adoption at the next meeting.

With the boom of the wireless industry, Portsmouth has witnessed a boom in towers. Planning Director James J. Gildea said the city has about 30.

The amendment proposals include:

Creating an administrative review process for proposed placement of antennas on top of existing towers and buildings.

Revising guidelines to encourage antenna placement on existing towers in commercial and industrial areas and only responsible placement in residential districts.

Providing the city with the ability to pre-approve towers on city-owned property.

The amendment also would require applicants to provide details on the structure's height and location. And special scrutiny would be given to towers planned for residential neighborhoods.

Responding to citizen protest about the aesthetics of the tall towers, Portsmouth joins other cities that are trying to find ways to control them. Most Hampton Roads cities are encouraging the communications industry to co-locate antennas on existing towers, instead of constructing new ones.

Earlier this year, the Suffolk Planning Department drafted a policy that would allow it to review all proposals to attach antennas to towers. To reduce the need for new towers, the staff also removed the requirement that applicants must apply for a conditional use permit to attach an antenna to an existing tower. Similar provisions were also made in Chesapeake.

However, Virginia Beach officials couldn't prevent AT&T Wireless and PrimeCo from building two towers on the Little Neck peninsula. The companies sued Virginia Beach after the City Council denied Lynnhaven United Methodist Church's request for a conditional use permit to allow construction on its property of two, 135-foot towers for the two companies.

Last month, a federal judge ruled that the city must allow the companies to build the towers.

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