Supervisors Act on Zoning Requests and Appointments
By DAVID QUESENBERRY
Patriot Publishing
The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors at its June meeting Monday night took action on several zoning requests and made appointments to two positions.
The Board heard a rezoning request from Leah Wietrzykowski for a rezoning of her property at 6308 Parrott Mountain Road from Low Density Residential (LR) to Agriculture.
Markie Saunders, Zoning Administrator provided the staff report which found no objections or factors in opposition to the request and noted the Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval.
During the public hearing Ms. Wietrzykowski told the Board that she sought the rezoning for a small self-sustaining homestead family farm to raise her children in the same environment in which she was raised.
There being no other comments, the hearing was closed followed by the unanimous approval of the Board of the request and an amendment to the Future Land Use Map.
Next considered by the Board was a rezoning request from Appalachian Power for a rezoning of approximately 15.92 acres at 4682 Newbern Road from Low Density Residential to Industrial.
Purpose of the rezoning was to place a training facility on the site adjacent to the current Appalachian facility on Newbern Road. The site would be used for an outdoor training facility which would consist of various electrical training structures and a storage building.
Jay Collins of Appalachian Power told the Board the intent was to leave as much vegetation on the site as possible for a visual barrier. The facility would use the same entrance street as the existing facility. He said that the facility would be drawing people into the county adding to the County’s economy.
John Early, training officer, told the Board that training would be conducted twice each year with classes of approximately 80 apprentices, half of which would be traveling to the site from out of the community.
With no other comments received, the Board unanimously approved both the rezoning and the amendment of the Future Land Use Map showing the new zoning designation.
The Board then heard a rezoning request from Sydney Burton on behalf of Theodore Prol for a rezoning of 6.64 acres at 5633 Thornspring Road from Low Density Residential to Agriculture. The rezoning was sought for the property to allow the owner the flexibility to use the property in the manner of surrounding lots of similar character.
The Board voted unanimously, after a public hearing which received no comments, to grant the rezoning and the amendment of the Future Land Use Map to reflect the rezoning of the parcel.
The final zoning request considered by the Board was a request for a special use permit by Brian Prater and William Mullen on behalf of The Towers LLC to place a cell tower facility in an agriculture district at 5579 Buena Vista Road.
In her staff report, Mrs. Saunders noted the request complied with five different sections of the County’s Comprehensive Plan. Both the Va. Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Health had no exceptions to the request. The facility would be placed on a 10,000 square foot lot on a 314 acre parcel.
Both staff and the Planning Commission felt there was grounds for approval as submitted.
Brian Prater addressed the Board telling them that Verizon Wireless was part of the joint venture with The Towers LLC. He said the site was chosen after an evaluation process for finding a site location. The process involved computer modeling, identification of gaps in service coverage, creation of a search area, and evaluation of that area for power lines, existing tower structures, etc.
The design for the site is a 150-foot monopole tower with an additional four foot lighting rod on top. A security fence would surround the bottom of the tower with appropriate landscaping installed as required. While the tower is intended for Verizon Wireless, opportunities for co-location of other carriers on the tower is available minimizing the need for other structures in the area.
Access to the site, he said, would be off Vista Road. In case of tower collapse, a fall zone was shown which would cause the tower to “self-contain” at the site not threatening adjacent property owners. The site greatly exceeded the required setbacks in the Zoning Ordinance and met several provisions of the Comprehensive Plan.
During the public hearing Robert Beville spoke on behalf of some property owners who were opposed to the location of the tower. He said he felt it was too close to the subdivision and was visible from some homes on his street, and that the tower should be closer to the Robinson Tract community since it was designed to serve that community. He said there are alternate locations such as silos and existing water tanks where the facility could be located. Other concerns he mentioned to the board involved health concerns, setting a precedent for future towers and a reduction in property values.
Betsy Mabry spoke asking how much health issues concerning the areas around these towers had been investigated. Her research showed that there were health concerns for consideration. She also said given her 20 plus years of real estate experience, the towers would have an effect on property values.
After the public hearing, the Board voted unanimously to approve the special use permit for the tower at the requested site.
In other action, the final drawing for $100 gift cards from the One Bag Challenge was held with Delbert Ray Bolt, Gayle Straight and Amanda Dishon being the winners. Chairman Walters said that this year the challenge collected 1,963 bags of garbage, and 556 tires with 228 citizens participating.
The Board also made two appointments, reappointing Tim Kirtner at County Attorney and appointing Mary Cheverton to the New River Valley Community Services board.
The Board of Supervisors meets the 4th Monday of every month, with the next scheduled meeting being at 7:00 pm on Monday, July 27, 2026 in the Council Chambers of the County Administration Building at 143 Third St. N.W. in Pulaski, Virginia.