FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Representatives of Verizon Wireless have started offering testimony they hope will support the company’s application to construct a cellular communications tower on property at 391 Monmouth Road (Route 537).
The application was heard by the Freehold Township Zoning Board of Adjustment on April 23 and will be continued on May 28 in the municipal building, Stillwells Corner Road.
The cell tower that is being proposed by New York SMSA Limited Partnership (Verizon Wireless) is not a permitted use on the land that is zoned for low-density residential development. Verizon Wireless is seeking a use variance for the facility it is proposing.
Verizon Wireless is proposing to construct a 120-foot-tall monopole (a single tube tower) on a 1.91-acre parcel in a residential zone near Francis Mills Road and Blueberry Hill.
The monopole would be contained in a 50-by-50-foot compound that would also contain a 12-by-26-foot equipment shelter. The shelter would house a diesel generator that would operate the equipment in the event of a power outage, according to Frank Pazden, a professional engineer representing the applicant.
Pazden said the compound is an unmanned facility that would be surrounded by a 7-foot-tall board-on-board fence. He said there is no need for water or sewer service, and there would be no lighting on the monopole.
Pazden could not say how many firms in addition to Verizon Wireless would place antennas on the tower. Each company would have a technician visit the site on a regular basis, he testified.
According to the application, the proposed facility would fill a gap in wireless services for Verizon Wireless customers.
Attorney Lynne Dunn asked Pazden to describe the site for the board and members of the public.
Pazden said there is an existing singlefamily home on the property and he said the home’s driveway would serve as the access road to the communications compound.
In response to a question from the board’s chairman, Jeffrey Decker, Pazden said the home is occupied and would remain occupied if the cell tower is constructed.
Attorney Bernard Reilly told the board he represents an individual who has an interest in the property and he said that individual does not consent to the use of the driveway by communications firms.
Attorney Dennis Galvin, who represents the zoning board, said that issue may have to be resolved in court.
Board members voted to hear the case with the understanding that if they find in favor of Verizon Wireless and grant a use variance, Reilly will reserve the right to bring the issue before a court.
Pazden testified that the property is surrounded by 40- to 50-foot-tall trees and said no trees would be cut down to make room for the communications compound. He said the maximum expanded height of the tower could reach 140 feet.
When residents were given the opportunity to question Pazden, Kevin Post said, “I am concerned about hearing the generator on my property. We can hear the roller coasters at Great Adventure 3 miles away and the trucks on Interstate 195.”
Post asked Pazden questions about the generator, the size of the diesel fuel tank that would supply the generator and the noise the generator would produce when it is tested.
Pazden said there would be a 210-gallon diesel fuel tank inside the 312-square-foot shelter and he said generator testing would only occur on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The exhaust from the generator will be released from the building through a vent, he said.
Resident Mike Cavanaugh asked if the cell tower could touch another property if it fell. Pazden said the monopole is designed not to fall, but he said the structure could touch another property if it fell because there are adjacent properties closer than 120 feet (the height of the pole).
David Stern, a radio frequency engineer, testified about radio frequency emissions from communications equipment. He said the emissions are released parallel to the ground and dissipate the farther away a location is from the antennas.
In response to a question from resident David Silverman, who raised the subject of health concerns, Stern said the emissions are the strongest 20 feet in front of an antenna — at whatever height the antenna is mounted to the monopole (i.e., 90, 100, 110, 120 or more feet above the ground).
By way of comparison, Stern said radio frequency emissions are also produced by fluorescent lighting and by a refrigerator compressor.
He said the emissions from the equipment at this site would be significantly below Federal Communications standards.
The antennas that are placed on a monopole by each communications firm that leases space produce radio frequency emissions, according to the testimony.
Galvin informed the members of the public that the board is prohibited from considering radio frequency emissions in its decision making process.