Plan to Install T-Mobile Equipment on Roof of Residential Building Rejected

A plan to install T-Mobile antennas on the roof of the Waterford Square Condominiums was flatly rejected by the Reston Association’s Design Review Board Tuesday night.

More than 20 residents criticized the plan, which would have added eight panel antennas, four remote radio units, a microwave dish behind a screened panel, and other equipment, on the roof of the building.

Residents and DRB members said the project would destroy the residential building’s clean, modern aesthetic. Others expressed concerns about possible health effects, including radiation, the effect on birds who fly near the roof, and a possible decline in property values.

“I don’t see any way I could vote to approve this,” said Richard Newlon, chairman of the DRB.

“Cell phones might get better reception, but that’s too big a price to pay for that,” he added.

Alexa Choi, a resident of Waterford Square, compared the equipment to “battlements” better suited for the Middle Ages. Choi said the equipment, even with screening, would completely change the skyline of the residential neighborhood.

The application was submitted by T-Mobile and the Waterford Square Condominium Unit Owners Association.

T-Mobile sought to relocate equipment from Lake Anne Fellowship House, pending future demolition, to the residential building. A representative for the company said an offer to include the equipment in the plan as redevelopment moves forward was rejected.

Photos via handout