WASHINGTON-The National Park Service is weighing in on antenna-siting cases on land adjacent
to its parks.
In Cape Cod, Mass., Park Service officials commented a tower proposal probably won’t be a problem,
but did not comment on what would happen if the tower turns out to be bigger than current discussion. In another case,
the park superintendent of the Manassas Battlefield National Park has expressed concerns about a tower proposed
outside of park limits because the tower could be visible from the battlefield.
Seashore National Recreation
Area
The town of Truro, Mass., plans to build two towers to site wireless antennas for as many carriers as necessary
to provide competitive and adequate service to the area. For this reason, the tower to be built on NPS land and another
one outside park limits may end up being taller than currently proposed, said Bud Breault, Truro town administrator.
“We want to accommodate all operators. We don’t want to build any more towers,” Breault said.
But it
is unclear whether NPS officials would object to a 170-foot tower either replacing or adding to the 150-foot tower
currently in place behind the Truro public-safety station. Breault does not believe NPS can object to this tower. “I
would probably throw [the NPS] out if they tried” to oppose the tower at the public-safety station, he
said.
While Maria Burks, park superintendent, has not opposed the Truro towers, she said her responsibility was to
protect the integrity of the park. “We have an obligation to carry out the enabling legislation passed in 1961. The
intent of that legislation was to set aside the seashore, to freeze this park in time,” Burks said.
Manassas
National Battlefield
The Washington Post reported Jan. 3 that Elliott Harrigan of Virginia Tower L.C. is attempting
to get approval from Fairfax County, Va., to site a 199-foot-tall tower outside of park limits but visible from inside the
park. The Fairfax County Planning Commission is expected to vote Wednesday whether to send the proposal to the
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for approval.
Planning commission staff oppose the site, but not because of its
visibility from the battlefield. “If the applicant would justify [the height of the tower] the serious [opposition]
would go away. The visual impact is not a real issue. There is marginal visual impact on the battlefield,” said
David B. Marshall, assistant director of the planning division for Fairfax County.
However, the Park Service
believes the visual impact from the battlefield is an issue.
Virginia Towers has yet to file an application with the
Federal Communications Commission. Such an application would require a radio-frequency licensee to commit to site
its antenna on the tower.
Marshall said three entities, including the Fairfax County police department, have
indicated their interest in using the tower in Fairfax County.
Areas around the Manassas National Battlefield where
the Battles of First Manassas and Second Manassas-also known as the Battles of Bull Run-have been the site of many
controversies in an attempt to preserve the character of the area as it looked during the Civil War. These controversies
have included a shopping center, a housing development and a proposal from Disney to build a theme park. All of these
ideas have been killed by those wishing to preserve the historic character of the battlefield. The Park Service has joined
in these fights out of concern about “modern intrusion on a historic scene,” said NPS Spokesman Earl
Kittleman.
