By Lea Kahn
The would-be developer of a 150-foot-tall monopole cell tower will have to wait until next month to find out whether the Planning Board will grant its request for minor site plan and conditional use approval.
The Planning Board on Monday spent more than three hours listening to testimony from representatives of Liberty Towers LLC, which seeks to build the tower on a portion of the Trenton Farmers Market property on Princeton Avenue.
The board will wrap up the public hearing on the application at its March 21 meeting. The 7:30 p.m. meeting will be held in the lower level conference room at the Municipal Building.
The applicant’s plan calls for building the “flagpole” tower on a corner of the property, near the Princeton Avenue entrance. There would be room for up to six antennas on the tower, but they would be hidden inside it.
But several neighbors mostly residents of the Tiffany Woods duplex development off Spruce Street expressed concern that the proposed tower would negatively affect their property values. The base of the tower is about 350 feet away from the nearest house in the development.
Engineer Philip Burtner told the board that the proposed tower meets all of the setbacks required by the township’s Land Use Ordinance, which means it must be located so that the setback from the property lines is equal to at least 110 percent of the height of the tower. The proposed tower is set back at a minimum of 165 feet from all of the property lines.
Mr. Burtner said the tower would be white, but there is some flexibility in its color. Three of the six antennas would be installed at 145 feet. The tower will look like a tapered pole, but the antennas will not be visible because they will be enclosed inside the tower, he said.
Brian Seidel, the applicant’s planner and landscape architect, said the tower would be visible from Conrad Court in the Tiffany Woods development. But the monopole design would minimize the visual impact, he said, adding that it is a “cleaner approach.”
When Mayor Greg Puliti, who sits on the Planning Board, asked Mr. Seidel if there would be another location for the tower, he replied that the Highway Commercial zone in which the Trenton Farmers Market property is located permits cell towers. He acknowledged that there are residential areas abutting the HC zone.
”Anywhere we would go, there would be residential neighborhoods,” Mr. Seidel said. He said he could not divulge the locations of other properties that were considered on Spruce Street, which is around the corner from the proposed site and also zoned HC.
Mayor Puliti suggested that a taller tower could be built on the former Coleman automobile dealership properties at 1060-1100 Spruce St., but Mr. Seidel replied that the property may be too close to an existing tower.
”It is not a requirement that we look at alternative sites, or the separation from residential properties,” Mr. Seidel said.
Meanwhile, radio frequency engineer Anthony Handley said Clearwire which wants to locate on the tower assured the Planning Board that it meets federal standards that govern human exposure to electromagnetic fields. It also would not represent a hazard for passing aircraft, he said.
Mr. Handley said Clearwire canvassed the area for existing structures that would be tall enough for its antennas, but could not find a suitable site that would help it close the gap in its coverage. There is an existing tower about a half-mile away, but its 125-foot height is too short for Clearwire’s purposes, he added.
Mr. Handley also said that Clearwire’s needs are different than conventional cell phone carriers. Clearwire is a WiMax service provider, which means it is geared toward providing service to laptop and desktop computers for the transmission of data. It is not a mobile service, such as that used by cell phones.
Christine Malone, the Planning Board’s radio frequency engineering consultant, pointed out that Clearwire’s website indicated that there was service in the area that the proposed tower was supposed to cover.
Mr. Handley replied that Clearwire’s claim was a “marketing pitch.” He said the study that he conducted which indicated the need for the proposed tower is more accurate than what one would find online.
When Ms. Malone was asked by Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun who sits on the Planning Board whether she was satisfied with Mr. Handley’s report, she said that overall, she felt “OK with it.” But she still had questions whether the proposed tower had to be 150 feet tall.
Planning Board attorney David Roskos suggested that Mr. Handley and Ms. Malone should “get together and compare notes.” If there are enough slots on the proposed tower for other wireless carriers, it might eliminate the need for more towers, he added.
When the meeting was opened up for public comment, several neighbors told the Planning Board that they were not happy at the prospect of a cell tower so close to their homes. They also questioned the need for another tower.
Dr. M. S. Choudhry, who has an office on Princeton Avenue where he practices medicine, said he was concerned about the health effects of the electromagnetic field on humans. It could affect a person’s DNA and cause cancer, he said.
James Jackson, who lives on J. Russell Smith Road in the Tiffany Woods development, wanted to know how the tower would affect real estate values. He said he would be able to see the tower from his back yard.
”Will we be able to sell our homes? There are vacant homes in the area. Would you want a tower in your back yard,” Mr. Jackson said, adding that he has lived in the TiffanyWoods development for about 20 years.

