COLTS NECK — Cellular communications carriers may soon find it more challenging to build wireless communications towers in Colts Neck.
At its June 12 meeting, the Colts Neck Township Committee introduced an ordinance that would, if adopted, broaden the application process for new cell towers to take root in the township.
The committee will consider the ordinance for adoption at its 7:30 p.m. July 10 meeting at Town Hall. Residents may comment on or ask questions about the budget at that time.
The move is meant to keep municipal code in line with current technology and protect Colts Neck from a flood of cell towers, Mayor Michael Fitzgerald said.
“This is laying a definitive blueprint for how to go about determining whether a location of a particular cell tower would be appropriate,” he said. “The goal is no proliferation. We want to limit their presence.”
If the ordinance is adopted, township code would urge companies to place communications antennas on existing towers or structures that stand above 35 feet. New cell towers would be diverted to municipally owned or controlled property and to farms of 30 acres or more, according to the ordinance.
The ordinance would also implement a batch of application components that do not currently exist under township code.
Applicants would be required to submit information concerning the availability of existing towers in the area, other potential hosts of antennas, and alternative technologies, according to the ordinance. If no site meets the engineering standards or if the costs would surpass those of building a monopole, along with other criteria, a new cell tower could be permitted, according to the document.
No proposed tower would be allowed to stand higher than 150 feet.
The ordinance also governs aspects such as lighting, design renderings, setback distances, methods of measurement, accessory buildings, landscaping, separation between residential property lines, security fencing and the removal of abandoned towers.
“Routine maintenance” on existing communications towers would not be subject to the rules, but new construction projects to those structures would have to comply with the ordinance, according to the document.
Should a cell phone carrier wish to place an antenna on an existing structure, the company would not need site plan approval in most cases. The ordinance would require a public hearing if the standing tower does not have the necessary approvals, if the overall height and square footage of the tower would increase by a set amount, or if the addition created the need for variance relief, according to the document.
The ordinance partially came about from lessons learned by township officials after a lengthy legal battle with Verizon Wireless. After spending a good deal of taxpayer money to prevent a cell tower from popping up at Colts Neck High School, the municipality ultimately received an undesirable opinion from a state Superior Court, Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said the set of regulations should give the Colts Neck Zoning Board of Adjustment “as much teeth as we can give them” in controlling the placement of cell towers.
Despite the committee members’ efforts or opinions, federal law views wireless communications towers as a beneficial use, Fitzgerald said.
“It’s pretty difficult to fight that monster,” the mayor said.