Subject:
Title
Improving Wireless Coverage in Vienna (15 Minute Staff Presentation)
Body
Purpose:
Provide information to the Town Council about wireless coverage in Vienna and receive guidance from the Council on next steps. This topic is a priority of the Town COuncil for 2026.
Key QUESTIONS:
Key questions for the Town Council to consider include:
1) Should the Town consider changes to zoning in such areas as height limits, review processes, and locations to encourage infrastructure investments?
2) Would the Town Council be interested in making Town-owned property available for investments in wireless infrastructure, including cell towers?
3) What other ideas does the Town Council have for improving coverage?
BACKGROUND SUMMARY:
For the past 30 years, there has been continual growth in the adoption and use of portable devices that are reliant on wireless infrastructure. What began for many as a convenience and second phone, in addition to their home and/or business landlines, has now become essential. Approximately 20% of homes nationwide still have landlines and a decreasing percentage of businesses have them (this data is harder to get but one estimate, from Ironton Global, is that 60% of businesses have landlines). Meanwhile, according to the US Census Bureau, more than 95% of Fairfax County households now have at least one cell phone. Nationwide, an estimated 78.7% of households have only cellular phone(s), with no landline (<https://www.statista.com/chart/2072/landline-phones-in-the-united-states/>). Though staff has not been able to find Vienna-specific data, there is very little reason to think that what is true in the country and in Fairfax County is not true in Vienna. Smartphones are the primary method of communication for the vast majority of people, who use them for phone calls, texting, Internet access, and the huge number of applications that rely on access to the Internet.
Many residents and business representatives have expressed concern in recent years about the reliability and consistency of coverage in Vienna. Concerns have come from residents sending messages to the Town’s Report a Problem portal, saying that there are coverage problems in various parts of town; businesses along Mill and Dominion reporting weak coverage at their workplaces; Town employees at the Northside property yard; members of the Town Council in their homes, employers and contractors working at the Navy Federal Credit Union property; and many more locations.
These concerns are not universal, and many people report having excellent coverage. In fact, all major service providers (AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile) report, through online maps, that they provide coverage throughout the entire town. However, it is clear from discussions with many people, including the service providers themselves, that not all parts of the Town have good and consistent service.
Furthermore, staff working on this coverage challenge were shown, during virtual calls with carriers, carriers’ proprietary and confidential maps. The maps show weakness in service in portions of the Town. Staff does not have access to these proprietary maps to show them to the Council but can confirm that the maps support the various narratives regarding service weakness in certain portions of Vienna.
The problem is projected to get worse, if there are not sufficient investments in wireless infrastructure. Demand is far higher than it was even 5-10 years ago, and it is expected to continue to increase because of advanced computing and artificial intelligence.
The Town Council expressed its desire for the Town to do what it can to facilitate improved service by declaring this challenge as one of its priorities for 2026. This work session provides the Town Council with its first opportunity to discuss this challenge together and provide guidance to staff on next steps.
OVERVIEW:
Improved coverage for mobile communications in Vienna will require additional antennae to be installed. The antennae must be placed in such a manner as to provide “line-of-sight” service.
There are two main ways that such service is provided:
1) Antenna installations on light poles, signs or building rooftops; and
2) Installations on tall towers, either built for this purpose or co-located on existing tall towers.
There were initial installations done in Vienna in various locations in rights-of-way and on some of the taller structures in town through 2016. Since then, there have been very few completed or proposed new antenna installations (though existing locations have been replaced with newer equipments). Records show that only one set of antennae has been installed since 2020, through an approved CUP for the rooftop at 374 Maple Ave E.; and an application for an installation on the rooftop of 527 Maple Ave E. was submitted in 2023 but remains unresolved. (This latter case was used as an example of difficult regulatory procedures in Richmond during the passage of legislation that would facilitate installation of facilities near other already-approved installations.)
Vienna’s Current Relevant Regulations and Processes
For years, Vienna’s Comprehensive Plan has included a map showing “Encouraged Locations for Telecommunication Facilities.” The map is in the current plan, adopted in 2016, and is provided as Attachment 1; but this map has been part of the Comprehensive Plan since long before 2016. The locations that are encouraged are:
1) A portion of the Maple Avenue corridor, from E. Street on the east side of Vienna to a bit beyond Pleasant Street on the west;
2) The full extent of the W&OD Trail on the existing electronic transmission towers;
3) The Corporate Park area (the location of Navy Federal Credit Union and the Threat Screening Center); and
4) Three specific Town-owned properties
Vienna’s zoning requirements are provided in some detail in Attachment 2, but key provisions are summarized here.
1) All such installations must be reviewed/approved as Conditional Use Permit (CUP) applications by the Board of Zoning Appeals (after review and recommendation by the Planning Commission); and must also be reviewed/approved by the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) as exterior modifications.
2) The maximum height of any free-standing structure, such as a cellular tower, is the maximum building height for the zone. As such, most of the town limits the heights to 35 feet, but others are a bit higher. In no private-property location may the height be taller than 45 feet.
3) The Town (through staff, the BZA and the BAR) has traditionally interpreted the code to allow certain installations on rooftops of buildings to exceed the maximum building height for the zone. Under the current code, the maximum height is 9 feet above the maximum permitted height.
4) The code is less clear with respect to installations on the transmission towers along the W&OD Trail or on the water tower, both of which already exceed any height limits in their locations; but the Town has never prohibited co-location on such structures.
Attachment 2 also provides a table providing a summary comparison of Vienna with other jurisdiction on process requirements and maximum allowable facility heights.
The table shows that installations in Vienna, Falls Church and Herndon require special exceptions (what are called “Conditional Use Permits” in Vienna). The others in the table have some categories that are permitted by-right.
It also shows that Vienna has the lowest allowable facility heights in the chart. The second lowest is Falls Church, whose maximum heights are the maximum heights of the specific zoning districts plus an extra 20 feet. All others are open to much taller facility heights.
Lastly, the table shows that all jurisdictions require architectural review in at least some portions of their jurisdictions, but some restrict it to historic or other designated districts.
From the perspective of these areas of comparison, Vienna is the most restrictive and is tied (with Falls Church and Herndon) for the most process required in the most locations.
Staff recommends that, at minimum, the Town clarify the language regarding where antennae may be installed and up to what heights in the various Town zones. In addition, staff recommends careful consideration of whether the maximum height limits as currently established are appropriate; and whether the Town wishes to consider any process changes.
Code of Virginia
Article 7.2 of the Code of Virginia is entitled “Zoning for Wireless Communications and Infrastructure” (Attachment 3). Sections 15.2-2316.3 through 15.2-2316.5 address components of the requirements and rights of localities when managing proposals for the installation of wireless infrastructure, whether “small cell facilities” or “other wireless facilities and wireless support structures.”
An important component of the Article, relevant to this discussion, is to require that all proposals for installations that are not more than 50 feet above ground level be reviewed administratively, with specific exceptions allowed. In other words, the Code Virginia would not appear to permit jurisdictions to require a Conditional Use Permit for installations up to 50 feet in height.
An additional provision of Article 7.2 was just enacted by the General Assembly during the 2026 session. Sec. 15.2-2316.4:4 Wireless facility modifications (Attachment 4), which becomes effective on July 1, 2026, narrows the scope of when a jurisdiction may deny an application, especially when the proposal is judged to be simply a modification of an existing facility or is within 30 feet of a previously approved installation. The example cited as a reason for the legislation by Del. Holly Seibold, who was the chief patron of the bill, was the case in Vienna where an AT&T contractor has been working with the Town on approval for new antennae to be placed on the rooftop of 527 Maple Ave E. (For clarification, this application has never been denied by Vienna’s BAR. Changes were requested at the work sessions, where no vote is taken.)
Staff recommends that the Town should, at minimum, make changes to zoning regulations that make the Town compliant with Article 7.2, including the new provision that will become effective on July 1st.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been very clear in providing guidance and directives for all jurisdictions that there should be rapid review and, in most cases, approval of proposals for investments in mobile infrastructure. To date, neither the Town Attorney nor staff know of any FCC-related challenges that have been brought to Vienna based on slow or negative responses by the Town, but it is important that the Town be cognizant of and compliant with such orders, especially the FCC Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order, 18-133, adopted 9/26/18. Information can be found at <https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-facilitates-wireless-infrastructure-deployment-5g>.
SUMMARY/STAFF IMPRESSIONS:
Staff believes that attaining strong coverage in all parts of Vienna will require the Town to allow higher antenna heights. Major service providers have told staff that its antennae must be tall enough to exceed the heights of buildings and trees, to achieve “line-of-site” service. Limiting heights antenna heights to, at most, 54 feet in Town (and 44 feet in most locations) is unlikely to result in strong coverage unless the Town is fortunate enough to have towers constructed immediately outside the Town limits.
The Town has various options. Falls Church has the same general approach as Vienna but allows an additional 20 feet of height for wireless facilities in all zones. An alternate approach would be to designate certain locations that could accommodate much taller structures, such as cell towers or any antennae to be installed at over 50 feet in height. The Town could ensure that the process requires that such taller structures be approved through a process involving a BZA CUP and BAR Certificate of Approval, which would be consistent with the Virginia Code for such heights.
Another option, raised by a Council Member, would be to identify potential locations where taller facilities, such as cellular towers, could be installed on Town-owned property. In this manner, the Town could potentially get better coverage and receive rent payments, as it does for use of the Town’s water tower.
Another consideration is the role of the BAR in the process. Though all comparison jurisdictions have some aesthetic review, most restrict that review to historic or other designated areas. The Town could consider reducing the instances when the BAR reviews such proposals. To prevent undesirable aesthetic results in Vienna, such reduction could be done in parallel with the adoption of design criteria in the zoning regulations. Applicants would therefore know exactly what the requirements are and would have the ability to submit applications that meet those criteria.
Other options are possible.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Town Council give guidance to staff on next steps to improve mobile coverage in Vienna.
Attachments:
01 - 2016 Comprehensive Plan - Encouraged Locations for Telecommunications Facilities.
02 - Regulatory Framework for Wireless Infrastructure - Current Vienna Code and Comparison Jurisdictions
03 - Code of Virginia - Article 7.2 Zoning for Wireless Communications Infrastructure
04 - HB 277 2026 - Sec 15.2-2316.44 Wireless Facility Modifications
05 - Presentation on Wireless Infrastructure