The Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday approved a proposal to construct a public safety radio communications tower in Potomac, though county planning staff opposed the plan.
County Planning Department staff told the board that building the tower at the proposed 9404 Falls Road location, the site of one of the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department’s two stations, would have “a direct negative impact on the residential character of the surrounding neighborhood.”
Further, staff said the proposed 189-foot-tall tower does not meet recommended setbacks with four residences within 300 feet and is not consistent with the area’s master plan recommendation to “retain the residential character of the neighborhood.”
“The project is important but it does not belong on a small, residential property,” Montgomery County Planning Department planner Josh Penn said.
The project was proposed by the Montgomery County Department of Technology Services and is part of the county’s Public Safety System Modernization Project, a multi-agency $110 million capital improvement project to replace the existing public safety communications system.
County officials said in a report submitted to the board the “current system fails to provide adequate radio coverage in several areas in the County,” and “new base stations are sited and designed to provide complete and effective coverage.”
A lack of radio service can increase emergency response time, the report says.
Approximately 20 local, county and federal agencies will utilize the new system, including the county police department, park police and fire and rescue services.
Residents in the area of the proposed project have spoken out against construction of the tower, voicing concerns about the possibility of ice falling from it and damaging property or injuring people.
A representative of the project said that concern is unfounded.
“As far as ice detaching and flying over 100 feet into neighboring property, I’ve never heard of it,” he said.
There is one alternate location near Falls Road Golf Course in Potomac that would accommodate the project, although it would require a 350-foot-tall tower, project leaders said.
The project’s proponents voiced strong opposition to the alternate location, saying it presents too many unnecessary roadblocks and requires accommodations that would not be necessary at the first-choice location.
Following a lengthy debate, the board approved the project at the proposed location in a 4-1 vote, going against the Planning Department’s recommendation to reject the plan. Board Chair Casey Anderson represented the opposing vote.
While board members acknowledged setback requirements aren’t met, they said the need to provide efficient emergency communications is a priority.
“Look, I don’t like them, but somebody has to have them,” board commissioner Natali Fani-Gonzalez said. “I have kids in elementary school and it would terrify me knowing you don’t have emergency communications there. … I don’t like it, but it’s the only solution so you have to face it.”
The board recommended landscaping be installed along the southern edge of the area to “screen the fenced-in equipment.” Additionally, the board recommended the tower be removed from the location within 12 months of cessation of use, and that there be no outdoor storage of additional equipment.
