150-foot-high communications link for Vinch Avenue
Lea Kahn
SBA Inc., which builds cellular communications towers and leases space on them to communications companies, has been granted a use variance to install a 150-foot cellular communications tower off Vinch Avenue.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment granted the use variance at a special meeting last week. The use variance was needed because cellular communications towers are not permitted in the Residential-3 zone.
The tower will be built on a portion of the 10-acre lot occupied by Vinch Construction at 1 Vinch Ave., off Eggerts Crossing Road. The property owner stores construction equipment on the site.
SBA Inc. plans to build the tower at 110 feet initially and lease the space to AT&T. The steel monopole tower can be extended if additional cellular communications companies seek to locate on the structure. The tower has room for up to five carriers.
Real estate appraiser Mark Tinder told the zoners last week that the monopole tower will not affect property values. Zoning board members had questioned whether the tower would adversely affect the nearby homes.
The nearest home to the monopole tower is 550 feet away, said Mr. Tinder, who was hired by SBA Inc. Some homeowners may see a portion of the tower above the tree line from their properties, he said.
But based on numerous studies he has conducted, Mr. Tinder said, communications towers do not have a negative impact on real estate values. Houses in other communities have sold for close to the appraisal figure that he had placed on them, he said.
The potential impact depends on the character of the proposed use, Mr. Tinder said. The monopole tower is a passive use, because it will not generate noise, odors, lights or traffic, he said. There will not be any changes to the topography or the vegetation on the site, other than the removal of some trees for the tower, he added.
While the proposed cellular communications tower site is located in the R-3 zone, the neighborhood off Eggerts Crossing Road offers a mix of uses, Mr. Tinder said.
There are homes on Drift Avenue, Vinch Avenue and Eggerts Crossing Road, but the site also is next door to the Army National Guard armory and almost directly across the street from Central Park, he said.
Planner Peter Tolischus, who was hired by SBA Inc., also assured the zoning board that the view of the tower from most of the homes on Drift Avenue will be obscured by the tree line in front of the houses. It is unlikely that the residents will see the tower from the second floor of their homes, he said.
The monopole tower has been designed so that the first pegs or handholds are located 20 feet above the ground, assuring that no one can climb the tower other than the authorized workmen, said William Dieal, the applicant’s engineer.
The galvanized steel used for the tower is extremely durable and maintenance free, Mr. Dieal said. The monopole tower will blend into the skyline, he said.
The proposed tower is one in a series of towers operated by AT&T in Lawrence Township, AT&T radio frequency engineer Scott Estrin testified at the first public hearing on the tower earlier this month.
AT&T received Planning Board approval to install a tower behind Knapp’s Cyclery on Princeton Avenue earlier this month. It also placed antennas on a high-tension power line structure and on the water tower off Darrah Lane East.
The wireless personal communications system operated by AT&T requires a network of sites to be effective, Mr. Estrin said. The sites need to be located in specific areas at specific heights. One site can cover about a one mile or a one-and-a-half mile radius.