Longwood University detailed its opposition to a proposed cellular tower, which would be built at 718 Griffin Blvd., in a Jan. 8 letter sent to Farmville Town Manager Gerald Spates as relating to the school’s master plan, cell phone service requirements and physical safety.

According to a presentation given by Assistant Town Manager C. Scott Davis at the Jan. 10 Farmville Town Council meeting, Robert McAvoy, on behalf of Precision Cell, is requesting permission to construct a 150-foot close-mount monopole communications structure, in accordance with a Farmville-approved site plan.

In the letter from Longwood, written by Associate Vice President of Campus Planning, Construction and Real Estate Foundation Louise W. Waller, she cites that the tower is at odds with the vision developed in the university’s recent master plan.

“The Longwood University Master Plan 2025, ‘Place

Matters,’ developed after substantial consultation within the university and across the wider community, reimagines the vast southern campus space and connects it more strongly to the central campus and community,” Waller noted in the letter. “An attractive and welcoming residential campus is essential to our mission and to attracting and retaining students, and the proposed cell tower would be visually and physically very much at odds with that plan.”

Waller further writes that the intrusive structure would “significantly detract from the views of campus from all quadrants, leaving a poor impression with first-time visitors and diminishing the overall quality of life for residents.”

She noted that physically, the proposed structure would overwhelm and possibly interfere with the concept of improving pedestrian access between Race Street, South Main Street and Moton Museum.

She also cited that existing cellular towers in the Farmville area provide adequate service to the central campus area.

“Longwood sees no potential benefit to our campus community from this proposed tower that would justify its negative impact,” Waller said in the letter.

She wrote that the location of the proposed tower is “immediately adjacent to one of the most congested locations of our campus.”

“This area is at the confluence of the Buddy Bolding Baseball Stadium, the softball field and the soccer practice field,” Waller noted in the letter. “Longwood’s athletes practice and congregate at all of these facilities nearly continually throughout the entire year.”

She said that during games, hundreds of players, spectators, media and support personnel are present.

“Several of Longwood’s permanent athletic structures are in this area,” Waller wrote in the letter. “These activities, people and facilities are as close as 100 feet to the proposed tower — well within the impact zone of anything falling from the tower. Should any part of the tower or its attachments detach, the impact could result in catastrophic damage and serious injury or death.”

In closing the letter, Waller cited that a safe and attractive campus and wider community are “among the greatest assets of Longwood and of Farmville and provide an important foundation for the great momentum we enjoy together.”

The proposed tower was presented at the Jan. 10 Farmville Town Council meeting. No motion was made regarding the tower, as it was forwarded to the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals in order to determine whether the 150-foot close-mount monopole communications structure would classify as a radio aerial, which is needed in order for it to be considered to meet a height provision in the zoning code for that area. Davis said during his presentation at the meeting that the location is in the R-3A zoning district.

“In that district, because this pole will allow for four different potential companies to locate on it, based on our current zoning code, it is classified as a public utility, which is an approved use,” Davis said. “… It talks about structures in residential areas, no more than 35 (feet). It talks about college structures, no more than, I believe, 125 (feet). There are other areas that are exempt.”

A radio aerial would be exempt. He said town staff is not positive that a radio aerial is the same thing as a cell antenna in today’s time.

“A lot of these were obviously in prior years when the ordinance was originally adopted,” Davis said.

During the public participation portion of the meeting, five separate residents from Griffin Boulevard spoke in opposition to the tower.