Stafford County, Va. — A rural area with estate homes in Stafford County is no place for a 480-foot tall radio tower.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously denied an application from WGRQ-FM to erect a tower at 494 Hollywood Farm Road in Stafford’s George Washington District, relocating the tower from neighboring King George County.
After taking an extended period of time to look into the proposed tower, George Washington District Supervisor Bob Thomas sided with a handful of residents who spoke out against the tower at two public hearings in the last month. The freshman supervisor was concerned about the impact the tower would have on current homes and on ones yet to be built.
While showing a map of where the proposed tower would be built, Thomas said “you’ll see where is says Wildcat Corner, you’ll see Stableside Lane, right there is the first phase of Bridal Lake Estates. There’s a large open tract [of land] to the right which is actually a platted subdivision that may or may not be developed someday.”
Telemedia Broadcasting radio station general manager Tom Cooper said both 95.9 WGRQ-FM and WGRX-FM, the broadcasting group’s country music outlet heard on 104.5 FM, would benefit with a tower in Stafford County.
“We need this tower for our business to survive” said Cooper, who noted a new tower would improve the stations’ reach inside office buildings.
Stafford County staff stated the tower, if it were to be built, could not been seen from any historic property in the area.
The failed proposal also included a stipulation requiring the radio station allow at least three wireless service providers access to the tower to improve signal strength in the area, as well as allow for future expansion of Stafford emergency communications with the sheriff’s and fire department.
