Morris Township board approves AT&T antennas on Red Bulls water tank with conditions

The Morris Township Board of Adjustment on Nov. 24 approved AT&T’s application to install 12 panel antennas on a privately owned 102‑foot water tank at the Red Bulls training facility, finding that the proposal would fill a local coverage gap while imposing conditions to limit visual and noise impacts.

AT&T’s counsel, Erin Borick, told the board the application seeks a D‑1 use variance, a D‑6 height variance and four C variances to mount three arrays of panel antennas at a centerline of about 90 feet, and to place an approximately 18‑by‑26‑foot fenced equipment compound at the base of the tank. The company’s radio‑frequency engineer, Daniel Panessa, said the antennas are intended to remedy deficiencies in AT&T’s in‑building and in‑vehicle coverage along nearby roads and at the training facility.

“Those exhibits show the area of deficiency we’re trying to fulfill,” Panessa said in his testimony, describing propagation maps submitted with the application and the proposed coverage if the site is approved. He also presented an FCC emissions analysis and stated the modeled highest ground‑level exposure for the project is 16.39% of the FCC general population maximum permissible exposure limit, well below the 100% compliance threshold.

Board members pressed on siting alternatives, potential co‑location by other carriers and the visual impact of antennas on the existing tank. Panessa and the applicant’s civil engineer, Greg Nowrotzki, said AT&T analyzed nearby existing poles and concluded those structures would not provide the required footprint, and that the water tank is the least obtrusive option compared with building a new monopole.

Public commenters asked whether additional carriers could later mount equipment on the tank and whether the water tank owner would maintain the structure. The board heard from Marty McGee, a site‑acquisition specialist, who said Red Bull Arena Inc. owns the tank and that AT&T’s lease is for multiple decades.

Before voting, the board and applicant agreed several conditions that became part of the approval: painting and camouflaging the antennas and cabling to match the tank; relocating the equipment‑compound gate and double‑staggered plantings to improve screening; limiting generator tests to weekday business hours; and allowing a seven‑foot fence with specified planting heights. The board also noted the applicant would reflect the final, stamped site‑plan numbers in the approval resolution.

Chair remarks and roll‑call votes recorded the motion and approval. The board’s action grants the variances requested and includes the conditions the applicant agreed to during testimony. The board noted a formal resolution and signature will follow the meeting.

What’s next: The applicant will incorporate the board’s conditions into final construction plans and obtain any required building permits. Any future applications by other carriers to place equipment on the same tank must be separately submitted to the board.