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Commission and assembly committees weigh cell tower placement as permit and ordinance work continues
Summary
Staff confirmed a completed land-use application from Atlas Tower for a proposed ~190-foot cell tower; the assembly's gas committee amended an ordinance setting a minimum setback from towers to schools/day-care/youth centers and scheduled further assembly consideration Jan. 13.
Commissioners and assembly members discussed cell-tower permitting and a parallel ordinance change on Dec. 18 as staff and committees worked through technical and zoning constraints.
Planner Chen briefed commissioners that Atlas Tower has submitted a land-use application for a 190-foot cell tower proposed in a light-industrial zone on Saw Mill Road and that staff has determined the application complete for review. Chen said the commission will have an opportunity to provide advisory input and to review any visibility or siting conditions when the permit arrives on a future agenda.
Assemblymember Cheryl Stikler told the commission balancing three elements is required: public concern over tower siting, limited industrial zoning in the borough, and compliance with the Federal Telecommunications Act. "The main point of why we need this tower is to address service gaps in our community and to get cell service out to the airport, which is an emergency response location that doesn't have cell service," Stikler said.
Separately, the gas committee amended a communications ordinance to add a minimum setback distance from the base of a communication tower to a school, daycare center, or youth center (the amended motion set the distance at 1,508). The clerk reported the amended ordinance (25-07715) will be brought to the assembly on Jan. 13 for consideration.
Commissioners and staff agreed the tower proposal must be reviewed with attention to visibility, height and public outreach, and that the planning commission can provide advisory input as allowed by code.
