Mount Vernon has already accepted 72 telecommunication facilities for wireless service, said Planning Commissioner Earl Flanagan. Verizon is currently installing them on top of utility poles, he said.
The latest one, with a pair of panel antennas enclosed by a “stealth canister,” will be approved for 6065 Richmond Highway to improve connectivity for a half-mile stretch. Flanagan said it is the first one of its kind to be approved on Richmond Highway.
Verizon will pay for Virginia Dominion Power to replace an existing 35 foot high utility pole with a 47.5 foot high pole on the south side of Richmond Highway north of its intersection with Fairhaven Avenue, according to Planning Commission documents. With the two antenna on top, the new facility will be approximately 15 feet higher with the new proposed replacement pole.
Should utility poles be undergrounded in the future, Verizon will have to take its equipment down and relocate its equipment elsewhere, according to planning staff and Verizon’s agent at the hearing.
The Planning Commission recommended approval on Jan. 26. The Board of Supervisors will make final decision later this year.