Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
A long discussed plan from Verizon to construct a cell tower near a residential area will get a final vote from officials later this week, ending roughly 15 months of hearings.
Members of the Hillsborough Township Zoning Board of Adjustment will hold a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 28, to discuss the facts presented to them since last March before voting on the application.
Verizon wants to build the proposed tower on the property of the Woods Road firehouse to improve service, especially with 4G phones that people increasingly use to reach high-demand internet service, to the 2,200-home area.
The telecommunications company would then pay the fire company an undetermined amount per year for the right to operate behind the firehouse, beyond the outfield of a baseball field.
The proposal needs zoning variances, primarily to place a cell tower and house equipment in a residential zone, close to homes. The ordinance says a tower must be 1,000 feet from a residence.
Verizon is also asking the Board of Adjustment for a variance to come within 2,000 feet of the Woods Road Elementary School (the proposed tower is 940 feet away), and to exceed the allowable maximum 35-foot height for a structure in the zone. The proposed tower is planned to stand 126 feet tall, including the lightning rod.
The proposal not only calls for the construction of a 120-foot cell tower, but also the corresponding facility will be powered in an emergency by a natural gas generator.
Attempts to construct a cell tower on the firehouse property from other cellular service providers failed in prior years.
The burden of proof for why the project could be constructed has been on Verizon and attorney Warren Stilwell. Attorney Robert F. Simon represented a group of concerned residents who live near the proposed project site throughout the hearings.
From the beginning, residents have complained that the proposed tower could become a safety concern, as its maximum height could cause parts of the antenna to reach property lines in the event it fell toward the nearby residences. People were also concerned that it was so close to a baseball field that sees regular play from local Little League teams.
Concerns over the proposed tower’s potential influence on property values also caused some hand-wringing from residents, who said the tower would be a perpetual eyesore. To that end, experts from Verizon said they could employ various “stealth” measures for the tower, including making the monopole look like a tree.
Questions surrounding how the location of the cell tower was determined have also dogged Verizon throughout the process. Officials have insisted that the Woods Road location was the most optimal spot to increase cell service in the area, which comes up as a dead zone in the company’s coverage map.
