By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
EDISON — A Verizon cell phone tower application that had been denied by the zoning board came back before that board with a judge’s order to approve.
Verizon’s plan to place a tower at Festival Plaza on Route 27 has met opposition from the board and residents alike for two years. The board first denied it in 2014, and residents also started a website railing against the plan.
Verizon appealed the board’s decision and won, but when company representatives came back to the board, Verizon representatives and board members disagreed about the judge’s instructions. Following judicial clarification, Verizon representatives returned to the board to formalize approval of a compromise agreement the company tentatively had reached with the board at the July 19 meeting.
According to the compromise, the tower would be placed 220 feet farther from residences, and it would also be downgraded from a platform or cluster-mounted antennae to a 105-foot flagpole with a flag and corresponding lighting. All of the equipment will be housed inside the shopping center.
Still, the application was not without criticism from residents. While some said they were happy that the board stood by the residents, others said they felt the board should deny the application again in spite of the court order. Many proposed alternate locations, something that could not be considered given the judge’s ruling. Verizon representatives also said the chosen location addresses a coverage gap, and alternate locations would not serve that need as well.
Charles Irving, of Knapp Avenue, said he was disappointed that the property owner refused to put the tower in the middle of the parking lot as it would eliminate a few parking spaces. He said the noise from the equipment, including a generator, will be very close to him and his neighbors. “It’s going to interfere with the homeowners,” he said.
Board Chairwoman Rosemary Feterik pointed out that if the board denied the application again, the judge would just send it back to the board again, as has been done twice before.
“We just have to make the best restrictions as we can, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” she said. “Our hands are tied.”
Henry Bignell, board planner, went further in saying that he felt if the application went back to the judge, the judge would just make a ruling, which would prevent the board from having any say at all in the matter.
Irving and other residents said that with the amount of taxes they pay, the township should continue to fight for them.
The issue even prompted 12-year-old Parth Karekar to speak out. He said he was concerned about the tower falling on nearby homes. “It’s too risky having the tower,” he said.
Some residents took issue with the legal process, encouraging the board to still deny the application and go back to court.
“It’s not fair,” resident Parham Pishkari said. “The judge doesn’t live behind the tower, so it doesn’t affect him.”
“Get a better lawyer — clearly you didn’t have a strong lawyer because obviously the judge took their side,” added resident Melissa Engasser.
When the matter came to a vote, the application was unanimously approved.
“I think we’ve done the best we can under the circumstances,” Feterik told the audience after the vote. “I just hope the public understands.”