Township Drafting Standards for Cell Towers

Because the township simply does not have the regulations in place, the council heard a presentation Monday on a proposed wireless telecommunications ordinance that aims to provide land use policy for such facilities.

The ordinance was expected to be proposed at Monday’s meeting, but has been pushed off until discussions begin on changes to the township’s master plan—this will allow for more time for residents to comment on it.

“What we have now are no standards regarding cell towers,” said township attorney William Savo. “We are trying to pass standards and give the board guidance based on federal law.”

Savo said the facilities are not currently permitted in residential zones, but there is no other guidance for applicants when they approach the zoning board of adjustment with a proposal and a request for a variance.

“Applicants are now going to the board and they have no guidance,” he said. “We are trying to give them some teeth that would withstand federal challenge.”

Township administrator Robert Bogart said the ordinance was prepared through the efforts of Savo, township planner Scarlett Doyle and radio frequency engineer Hank Menkes, who is president of Menkes Associates, a consultant company with the wireless community.

“This ordinance covers all types of facilities, not just cellular infrastructure,” Menkes said.

According to Menkes, the ordinance is based on those already approved by other towns in the state, and he believes it addresses current issues with wireless telecommunications facilities.

“It does not infringe on federal requirements for facilities,” he said. “Other towns have gotten into trouble with radio frequency emissions because the federal government has jurisdiction on that.”

Menkes said the ordinance provides requirements for height standards, set-back requirements and others. But most importantly, Menkes said it addresses priorities for locations for telecommunications facilities.

“It specifies use of municipal property first, then co-location,” he said.

Basically, Menkes said, telecommunications companies must look to locate either on property owned by the township, or to co-locate on already-built towers and facilities before looking to build their own tower elsewhere in town.

The ordinance, Menkes said, also details landscaping requirements, lighting, structure requirements and noise requirements for back-up generators.

“And it sets out a process for the applicant to follow in which the applicant has to meet certain requirements for need for the facility, not just want,” he said. “And the applicant has to fund an escrow account for the board to retain an expert.”

“In total, it’s a comprehensive act, consistent with others,” he added.

With the announcement that the ordinance would be discussed at the meeting, councilman Matthew Moench said, he received e-mails from residents with questions concerning differentiating between zoning for towers and setback between properties.

According to Menkes, the setback is an arbitrary number, as is the 500 feet suggested by residents through e-mail. In the ordinance, he said, the setback is recommended to be 125 percent of the height of the tower plus antennas.

“A typical tower is 125 feet with a 5-foot antenna,” he said.

“[But] that is a totally arbitrary number, and is up to the council and board,” he added. “If you want to use 500 feet, there is nothing in federal law that says you can’t. I have seen some towns use 90 percent, but that tends to be on the restrictive side.”

Savo said the point was to give more protection to the residents, but also have a number the township can defend in court.

Moench said residents also questioned the possible benefits of a new technology that allows for the use of “little boxes.”

According to Menkes, these are totally self-contained base stations that only provide 1.5 watts of power, much less than what towers provide.

“These stations can do beam steering, which makes the cubes efficient in directing energy where it needs to go,” he said. “But you can’t change the laws of physics, which says you need power and height above the earth to propagate, and these don’t do any of that.”

“If you want to cover a large area like service providers try to do, this is not going to be the way to eliminate cell towers,” he added.

Because the ordinance will be folded into the upcoming master plan changes in the township, no action was taken as of yet, but it will be made available for residents wanting to read it.

“I think this is a great effort and one that is timely and will help quite a bite,” said councilman Dan Hayes. “I would like to re-emphasize that there are many citizens who are interested in the specifics of this, and would like to make sure there is time for residents to look at it.”

The main purpose of the ordinance, Savo said, was just to ensure that the township has some guidelines on record.

“It all comes down to the telecommunications companies for filling gaps in coverage, but what we’ve set out is information so they can prove there is need not just want for this to happen,” he said.