Zoning Board approved equipment’s attachment
to water tower in May
By Karl Vilacoba
Staff Writer
A group of Brick residents followed through on their vow to appeal the Zoning Board’s approval of an Omnipoint Communications plan to attach cellular antenna equipment to a Morris Avenue water tower.
Filed in state Superior Court last week, the lawsuit claims the board was arbitrary and capricious in its decision to grant a use variance that will allow the company to assemble the equipment in a residential neighborhood. Representing the 23 plaintiffs is John O’Brien of Nolan & Associates, Brick.
The suit lists several complaints about the board’s decision, among them are that:
• the board accepted testimony on specific areas of expertise that witnesses were unqualified to offer.
• the township failed to notify all property owners within 200 feet of the proposed site about the hearing.
• the board denied objectors the opportunity to cross-examine the applicant’s witnesses at the time of their testimony.
• certain documents and evidence were not made available to the public prior to the meeting.
Omnipoint received approval from the board to attach a rig of 12 small antennas to the side of a Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority water tower on May 7. The BTMUA was promised $32,000 a year for its permission to use the tower.
Variances were sought because Brick’s land use guidelines don’t permit antenna equipment in a residential zone or within 500 feet of a home. And, at 106 feet above ground, the plan exceeded the area’s 35-foot height limit.
A large group of residents attended the May 20 Township Council meeting, blasting the board on its decision for almost two hours. Neighborhood residents said they feared the equipment’s potential health risks and impact on property values, and criticized board members for what they perceived as disrespectful treatment.
Several vowed to fight the case, and asked Mayor Joseph Scarpelli and the council for guidance, and help fighting the decision. Scarpelli advised the group its best recourse would be in state Superior Court.
Before casting their votes, Zoning Board members said the plan adhered to a council ordinance, passed in the winter, which demanded that communications companies use existing structures unless all other options were exhausted. Last week, Zoning Board Attorney Carmine Villani, of Villani & DeLuca, Point Pleasant Beach, stood by this opinion, noting that the antennas will barely be visible on the tower.
Because the Federal Communications Commission sets the ground rules on what radio frequency (RF) wave levels are acceptable, the board is not allowed to take health risk-related testimony into consideration, Villani said. The RF emissions the tower would give off are well below standard household items, he said.
"If you’re sitting in front of the computer screen, you’re off the charts compared to what the frequency (coming from the tower) will be," Villani said.
Until the case, which Villani estimated would likely last 6-8 months, is resolved, Omnipoint can’t begin building. Villani said he had "no concern of (the board’s decision) being overturned on a legal ground."
The suit seeks a vacation of the board’s approval, reimbursement of counsel fees and legal costs to the plaintiffs, and "any other relief the court deems just and proper."