The Louisa County Planning Commission voted to approve CUP 2025-08, amending CUP 1994-03 for a 350-foot communications tower so the permit can be transferred to current tower owners and so the automatic 90-day removal clause for violations is replaced with the county’s modern compliance language. The amendment also triggered a required conformance review with the county comprehensive plan, which the commission found to be in substantial accord.

The change matters because the tower, erected in 1994 and now owned by American Tower Corporation, supports multiple carriers including Verizon, AT&T and T‑Mobile. Valerie Long, an attorney for the applicant, said the application does not propose physical changes to the tower and that Verizon seeks only to replace older antennas to improve service. "We're not proposing any changes to the tower itself other than permitting Verizon Wireless to upgrade — replace some older antennas with some newer antennas to provide better service for its customers," Long said.

Renee Moyer of the county’s Community Development Department told commissioners the original CUP included 12 conditions and that the applicant seeks two specific amendments: remove condition 8 (which prevented transfer of the permit to a new owner) and change condition 10 (which required removal of the tower within 90 days of a violation) to the county’s current language that allows steps to achieve compliance before permit revocation. Moyer also said the amendment required a 15.2-2232 conformance review with the 2040 comprehensive plan because it is a modification of an existing conditional use permit.

Commission discussion and staff analysis noted the tower’s role in the county’s wireless network and emergency communications. Long said American Tower provided a structural analysis confirming the tower can safely carry the new antennas. "American Tower did have a structural analysis prepared to confirm that the tower was sufficiently strong to accommodate the additional weight of the new antennas, and that was confirmed," she said.

No members of the public addressed the commission during the public comment period for this item. The commission moved and seconded approval of the amendment; the roll-call votes recorded in the transcript were all affirmative. The commission also voted to support a finding that the wireless facility is in substantial accord with the county’s current comprehensive plan; that motion passed on a separate roll-call vote.

The approvals allow Verizon to pursue its antenna upgrades under the updated permit language and leave the tower in place under the county's existing compliance process rather than an automatic removal provision.

Votes at a glance: CUP 2025-08 — Approved (roll-call votes recorded as yes).