EDISON — A new Verizon cell tower received approval from the Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 21.
The tower is slated for placement on the commercial building rooftop at 151-161 Lincoln Highway (Route 27).
Applicant New York SMSA Verizon Wireless required variances to exceed the permitted height, along with front, rear and side yard setbacks for the project.
The property — which houses businesses, including a carpet store and dance studio — is in a general business zone, which doesn’t permit cell towers.
The tower application is the third of its kind in recent months from the applicant, which previously won approvals to place towers in Edison at 775 Route 1 and 205 May Street. The most recently approved structure would be comprised of three 2-foot tall antennae, mounted to a small penthouse structure on the roof.
According to the applicant, the tower is required to improve Verizon’s coverage in the area. Radio Frequency Engineer Gary Hartman said the tower would reduce the volume of traffic at sites in Metuchen and in the Metropark area. Both of those sites are slated to reach full capacity within the next two years, he said.
In requesting the variance for use, David Karlebach, planner for the applicant, pointed out that wireless telecom facilities are only permitted in the restricted and light industrial zones, and in the Raritan River Revitalization District. Those zones, however, only comprise about 16 percent of the township, he said.
“So here we have a situation where you’re trying to cover 100 percent of the town but you can only use 16 percent of the land area in which to do it and not require a variance, and in this particular instance, there are no nearby industrial zones on which to locate an antenna and still provide that capacity relief that is being sought,” Karlebach said.
He added that the chosen site is commercial, and that the visual impact would be minimal, making the site the best available choice.
Karlebach also spoke about the need for a height variance.
“Without gaining that additional sevenfoot height advantage over the roof, this system may not function properly or it may not function at all, and Verizon Wireless won’t be able to provide that seamless, reliable coverage that our [Federal Communication Commission] mandates,” he said.
The public did not comment on the project, and the board unanimously approved it.
How or if the approval would impact the cell tower application for Festival Plaza, five miles away on Route 27, is to be determined. That project has faced opposition from residents and the board.
“It was postponed, and they don’t have a date to come back yet,” Board Secretary Laura Grabowski-Buckley said of the project after the meeting.
She added that she believes the applicant will be submitting revised plans in the near future.