Mathews supervisors and planning commissioners held a joint public hearing Tuesday on a request for a conditional use permit to allow the installation of a 195-foot monopole telecommunications tower on Gwynn’s Island. At the meeting in the historic courthouse, both boards unanimously approved the request, which was made by property owners James and Esther McFarland of Cobbs Creek, and The Towers LLC and Cellco Partnership, trading as Verizon Wireless. The tower will be located on a 10,000-square-foot patch of the McFarlands’ 20-acre parcel on Cherry Point Road, and will be surrounded by a six-foot chain-link fence topped with one foot of barbed wire. Existing trees and vegetation will be preserved. Verizon Wireless representative Lisa Murphy explained the specifications of the tower and noted its compliance with the Mathews Zoning Ordinance, discussed the detailed site plan, and displayed a map showing the wireless coverage that will be available to customers from Cobbs Creek to Moon t...