WASHINGTON-The sponsor of a controversial antenna-siting bill in the Virginia General Assembly pulled the measure last week apparently at the urging of top officials.
The bill, recently passed by the Senate, would have repealed last year’s Virginia Supreme Court decision that affirmed the authority of county officials to act on applications to erect mobile phone towers on state-owned land controlled by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
VDOT had agreed to let Bell Atlantic Mobile hang antennas on towers already equipped with traffic cameras, prompting litigation by Fairfax County, Va.
It is not clear why Sen. Martin Williams (R-Newport News) decided to pull the bill. Press reports have said Virginia Gov. James Gilmore (R) and VDOT Commissioner Charles Nottingham asked Williams to withdraw the siting measure.
Wireless carriers and VDOT officials reportedly are looking for a way-short of legislation-to get around the 1999 Virginia high court ruling.
On a related front, Massachusetts citizens continue to protest a draft bill they claim would take away their voice in local antenna siting matters.
