Zoning Board Hopes to Complete T-Mobile Testimony July 12

With their sights set on wrapping up hearings on the T-Mobile cell tower application, the zoning board Tuesday set a special meeting for July 12.

The applicant, T-Mobile and , is seeking a variance from the zoning board of adjustment to build a 125-foot tower on the fire company property in order to cover an estimated 1.7-mile gap in its coverage area, specifically in spots on Foothill and Crim roads and North Bridge Street.

The fire company has also requested permission to put a 5-foot antenna on top of the 125-foot tower to improve dispatching capabilities.

Board member Donald Sweeney, who had recused himself from the last hearing because of concerns over a potential conflict of interest, was allowed to return to his seat Tuesday. T-Mobile attorney Gregory D. Meese, of Price, Meese, Shulman and D’Arminio, reported that he had reviewed  legal precedents and was "satisfied"  there is no conflict.

Sweeney had been able to review the transcripts of the last meeting. 

During Tuesday night’s continuation of the application, members of the board and the public questioned a radio frequency expert for T-Mobile, and began hearing testimony from the applicant’s planner.

The viability of utilizing alternative technologies such as a distributed antenna system [DAS] came into question as resident Andrew Leven introduced photos of a DAS system in operation in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. The applicant’s expert had previously testified that DAS was not reliable, would not serve T-Mobile’s purpose and would not be effective in Bridgewater.

Hank Menkes, of Menkes Associates, an expert hired by the board, contacted the municipality and was told the system is E-911 compliant, has no battery or generator backup and today includes 45-50 nodes.  

Menkes, who had agreed with the view of the applicant’s radio frequency expert Richard Conroy that a DAS system would not be effective in Bridgewater, said the information from Lower Merion Township “would force me to take a second look at it.”

Conroy, however, said, “My opinion on DAS has not changed. The logistics issues are real. The reliability issue is real. Is it achieving the goal of seamless, reliable coverage? No.”

A DAS system, he added, “is an impractical solution. You never can tell if it’s going to work until you build it. All the gaps, all the other issues will remain.”

Timothy Kronk, planner for the applicant, presented reasons he felt the applicant should be granted the use variance, including the following:

• There is a coverage deficiency in this portion of Bridgewater. “A 125-foot flag structure would ameliorate the coverage deficiency that T-Mobile is experiencing in this area,” he said.
• There are no existing structures that could be used to eliminate the coverage deficiency.
• There are only three non-residential uses [the fire company, rescue squad and temple] inside the search ring area; the temple has indicated it is not interested in hosting the cell tower.
• Wireless communication is “a benign commercial use. It has none of the traditional negative impacts associated with land development,” Kronk said.

“I believe the property is particularly suited for this use," he told the board.

The major impact, Kronk conceded, would be on visibility. He presented a series of photos taken during a balloon test performed in January 2010 at various distances from the proposed site. In each photo, a balloon was floated to a height of 125 feet; the balloon was then digitally replaced by a flagpole to illustrate the level of visibility.

Kronk is expected to conclude his testimony at the July 12 meeting. At the conclusion of all the testimony, members of the public will be allowed to make statements. Board chairman William Vornehm asked the public to come prepared with focused statements in order to expedite the proceedings.