Expert: Cell tower would lower home values 5 to 10%

Expert: Cell tower would lower home values 5 to 10%
Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/2/05
BY JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

TOMS RIVER — Homes on Chadwick Beach Island that are located closest to a proposed cellular telephone tower could lose 5 to 10 percent of their value if the 130-foot structure is built, a real estate expert testified at Tuesday night's Dover Township Board of Adjustment meeting.

Paul R. Johnson, of Johnson Realty Services in Sea Girt, was called as a witness by Edward F. Liston Jr., the Toms River lawyer representing the Chadwick Beach & Yacht Club Inc., an association whose residents are opposed to the construction of the cell tower at Chadwick island Marina, Strickland Boulevard.

Johnson said he based his estimate of lost value on the importance of a water view to the values of houses in the Chadwick island area, which he said have been selling for $600,000 to $700,000.

"This location is unique because the focus of those homes is on the water, and that view counts," Johnson said. He referred to the tower as "an industrial structure" that will alter views of the water.

Hundreds of nearby residents oppose the tower application, saying it will hinder their views of the water and lower property values.

But lawyer Richard Stanzione, who represents applicant Mesquite Tower Associates, LLC, repeatedly objected to portions of Johnson's testimony, saying the real estate expert had presented no empirical data to back up his claims.

The tower would be used by Cingular Wireless and Omni-point, which operates T-Mobile, to cover a gap in cellular telephone service in the area.

Wireless antennas would be housed inside the tower, which would be disguised to look like a flagpole.

The tower would be similar to a 140-foot tower located on Route 37 West near Mule Road, and Stanzione asked Johnson if he had done any studies of home values near that tower or those near another cell tower located at the East Dover Fire Company on Fischer Boulevard.

Johnson said he had not, and added that he could not do a comparison of recent sales near existing cell towers in the barrier island area because there are none.

He criticized a report presented in August 2004 by John Gillooly, a real estate appraiser who was hired by Mesquite Tower.

Gillooly said his study of a comparable flagpole-type cell tower in Randolph indicated that the tower had no impact on home values. Gillooly said he made his analysis by looking at sales of the same home before and after construction of the cell tower in the Morris County town.

Johnson said that the homes in Randolph were located on half-acre to one-acre lots, on tree-lined streets where the visual impact of the tower would not be as great.

Lots on Chadwick Beach Island are much smaller, and there are hardly any trees, he noted.

Noting that 90 percent of Chadwick island residents use their houses as seasonal homes, Johnson argued that an unobstructed view of the water is paramount to each home's value.

Earlier in the evening, Ross R. Sorci, a radio frequency expert hired by the objectors, testified that two smaller towers, one at the Ocean Beach Fire Company on Kittiwake Avenue, and another at the Dover-Brick First Aid Squad on Route 35, could fill the gap in service as well as the 130-foot tower at the Chadwick Island Marina.

There is no tower now at either site, although Sprint has an application before the zoning board to build one at the Ocean Beach Fire Company.

Residents of that area are expected to object to the Sprint application.

Jean Mikle: (732) 557-5729 or jmikle@app.com

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