Proposal To Build T-Mobile Cell Tower Postponed

T-Mobile’s proposal to build a new cell tower on Broad Street, which was supposed to be on the township’s zoning board of adjustment agenda tonight, will be postponed. Attorney James Pryor sent a letter last week to the township requesting an adjournment saying T-Mobile is “presently reviewing certain issues related to this application and I believe additional time will help our review.”
The company would re-notify nearby property owners again if it plans to resume the public hearing on the project. The letter said Pryor would allow the zoning board to extend the time for making a decision on the project to Sept. 30. Reached by telephone Wednesday, Pryor said he could not comment on the proposal or discuss the issues that are being reviewed.
T-Mobile wanted to build a 120-foot monopole cell tower on the same property as the Brookside Garden Center at 551 Broad St.
The cell phone company needed height and setback variances from the zoning board, and in a letter to township officials the company said it needed to build the tower because “there were no existing tall structures in the vicinity” to fix a “coverage gap.”
The project was met with resistance from several nearby residents and business owners who were concerned about the safety of the cell tower, environmental issues and possible flooding problems from the nearby Third River. Some neighbors were also worried about the project’s impact on property values.
Some township residents who protested the cell phone tower proposal said they were still worried about the proposal.
“I’m looking forward to this being closed and it doesn’t seem to be yet. What happens next?“ said Megan Wiley, a mother who was concerned about property values and the aesthetics of the proposed tower.
Maria Probst, who lives adjacent to the property, said there are a lot of unanswered questions about the proposal. She plans on attending the zoning meeting to ask why T-Mobile requested the adjournment.