Cell Phone Tower Poles May be Installed at Two Centreville Schools

Milestone Communications plans to install 115-feet tall cell phone tower poles on the grounds of Stone Middle School and London Towne Elementary School, if the company can obtain approval from Fairfax County. 

Milestone has filed the application along with AT&T for the tower at London Towne, and along with Verizon Wireless for the Stone tower. 

The poles would be designed to look like trees, and would be screened by existing trees, according to Milestone's website. The company would have a 30-year lease on the area of the property where the poles are installed. 

While there have been some community meetings on the issue, some residents still have concerns about the project. 

Centreville resident Anthony Manson attended a meeting on the topic earlier this week. He said he was concerned about the loss of property and aesthetic values, loss of public property and several other issues, most notably the height of the towers.

"The wireless carriers aren't interested in anything but the highest height," said Manson. 

Fairfax County staff have already recommended approval of the Stone Middle School site. A public hearing is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Thursday during the Planning Commission meeting in the Board Auditorium in the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. 

For more information, visit Milestone's websites for London Towne and Stone, and check back with Patch for more information on the project this week.