Mahwah opposes Cell Tower

Cell tower proposed for Mahwah fire station
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

By ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER


MAHWAH - The Township Council is reviewing a proposal to erect a cellphone tower near Fire Company No. 3. It is one of three such proposals being considered.

The issue is expected to be discussed Thursday at an 8 p.m. work session. Some residents who live near the site said they plan to attend to voice objections.

"It's bad enough we have the fire siren. Now they want to put this huge contraption somewhere over there," said Lynn Tsahalis, a seven-year resident.

About three weeks ago, Cingular Wireless proposed leasing part of the Fire Department land to build a cell tower, Borough Administrator Brian Campion said.

At a council meeting a week later, the six members in attendance were evenly split on the issue, Campion said. There are seven council members in all.

Cingular also has a proposal before the council to put a tower on top of Township Hall and another before the Board of Adjustment to build a tower at Apple Ridge Country Club.

Mahwah has an ordinance saying that cell towers are permitted on publicly-owned land but they are not permitted on private, residential properties. Apple Ridge is located in a residential zone, Campion said.

"I think ... [Fire Company No. 3 is] a potential alternative site" to Apple Ridge, he said.

The typical cell tower lease would bring in about $20,000 per year for the township. But that's not adequate compensation for the nuisance, Councilman Sam Alderisio said.

"That's really nothing," he said. "It amounts to about $1.50 per household."

Alderisio voted against the proposal. "If we hear from people in that area and more than the majority want it, then I'd change my vote," he said. "It just might be that people living around there, they don't want to see an 80-, 90-foot cell tower when they're enjoying their property."

Councilman John Roth, meanwhile, isn't rushing to judgment.

"We had suggested that the cell tower be positioned over there because there are approximately 11 acres backing [the Fire Department] property," Roth said. "We haven't determined exactly where [the tower] would go."

Cingular would ideally come up with a placement that "would not interfere with anybody's property values or interfere with homes in the neighborhood in anyway," Roth said.

The fire station is housed inside the former Masonicus School. Nearby Aspen Court is lined with 13-year-old center-hall Colonials that are worth about $1 million.

"The fire siren is a tremendous annoyance," Tsahalis said, adding that she knew it was there when she moved in. "But we're not going to die from it. [The cell tower] is something that really scares me."

Her 2-year-old daughter's room is in direct view of where she says the tower could be erected. "While there's no proof of health risk, there's no proof there's not either," she said.

Other residents are trying to keep an open mind about the proposal until they hear more about it at the meeting this week.

"It's all news to me," said Bruce Giumarra, a 14-year Aspen Court resident who said he was out of town and just found about the cell tower when asked by a reporter what he thinks of it. "I don't really have an opinion right now."

Although, he added, "it's kind of hypocritical to say they can't have a tower and you have a cellphone."



http://northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODM4NjAy