By LYNDSAY CAYETANA BOUCHAL
lbouchal@njherald.com
STILLWATER - After an
arduous nine-month public hearing process, the Township Zoning Board
denied the joint application by Nextel and Jersey Central Power and
Light to construct a 15-story cell tower in a 7-0 vote Tuesday.
The public erupted into
thunderous applause as the final member of the board voted down the
proposed 150-foot cell tower that called for more than 11 land-use
variances and setbacks.
"It feels fabulous,"
said Hampton resident Robert Shankman, who was one of four tower
opponents to hire an attorney to argue on their behalf.
"We were hoping for seven votes and we got it," said the delighted Shankman.
In March, the 150-foot
tower was proposed by Nextel wireless of New York to be built on
Swartswood Volunteer Fire Department property off Swartswood Road.
Situated on about an acre lot, the tower would have required a zoning
variance to be constructed in a residential zone in addition to
variances for setback and height requirements for the tower and an
equipment shed.
The monopole, which
would have been disguised as a flagpole, was part of an agreement
between Nextel and Ohio-based First Energy Corp., the parent company of
JCP&L, to create a Nextel "push to talk" network, reaching from Ohio
to New Jersey, providing communication for work crews operating in the
area and also provide service to Nextel customers.
Greg Meese, the attorney for Nextel, could not provide comment on the decision.
In a discussion
preceding the unanimous vote, Zoning Board member Eric Powell said the
township's setback requirements were "put in our ordinances for
reasons." Because they were "so grossly not met," he struggled with
voting in favor of the tower.
Among the numerous
setback deficiencies was a township requirement stipulating that the
tower must be 300 percent of the structure's height, or 456 feet, from
residential property. The closet property was 73 feet from the proposed
tower, said Shankman's attorney David Owen, a deficiency of 383 feet.
For similar reasons, board member Catherine Feenstra said, "I feel like this isn't a suitable lot."
Board member Jim
Stachura added that the applicants did not provide sufficient evidence
that the proposed site was an appropriate lot to build such a structure.
While board member
Laurence Lockwood believed it was a "logical presumption" that the tower
wouldn't fail, a strong argument wielded by many of the tower's
opponents, Lockwood's offered an additional concern: aesthetics.
"The (towers disguised as) flagpoles I've seen, they don't look believable because of their size and scale," Lockwood said.
Hampton residents
Kenneth Bradley and his wife, Kathleen, were also major players in
bringing down the tower. The Bradleys were also represented by Owen.
Kenneth Bradley, who was
visiting family in Oregon with his wife Tuesday said he was "ecstatic"
to hear the news that was delivered by a friend who attended the
meeting.
"I was kind of hoping that would be the decision we'd get - it would be unanimous," he said.
In a statement sent by
email to the New Jersey Herald, Kenneth Bradley thanked the board for
its decision and the citizen action taken in opposition of the tower.
He wrote,
"Unfortunately, the concerns of our citizens are not echoed by our
politicians. Had the Stillwater Town Council done their due diligence,
this nine-month long ordeal would not have been laid on the Board of
Adjustment and would not have caused the citizens of our community to
spend tens of thousands of dollars of their own money to defend. Every
one of our elected officials, all the county freeholders, District 24
representatives, Mchose, Chiusano, Garrett and our two senators were
given more than one opportunity to weigh in on the destruction of the
viewshed of the oldest state park in New Jersey and the safety of our
citizens. Not one even took the time to look at it.
Hopefully, this case
alerts the local townships to review and revise their cell tower
regulations in accordance with their comprehensive plans, so that they
are well informed and able to deal intelligently and expeditiously when
confronted with these applications from large corporations, who are
well-equipped with experience and finances to push their agendas through
with no regard for our communities."
After hearing the good news, Kenneth Bradley said he and his wife were headed out for a celebratory dinner on the West Coast.