Cell tower proposal spurs controversy Application seeks tower behind Main St. site BY ERIN O. STATTLE Staff Writer MATAWAN - A proposal to locate a cell tower on Main Street will be on the Planning and Zoning Board agenda and is already drawing opposition. At the Jan. 22 Borough Council meeting, Councilwoman Linda Clifton brought up the issue of an application for a 90-foot cell tower that will soon be before the Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustment. Clifton urged those in attendance and the council members to attend the board meetings on the application, the first of which, she said, would be held March 3. "We need people to come out and show interest, because we don't want that in our town," Clifton said. Omnipoint Communications Inc. has submitted an application for a tower to be located behind 123 Main St. The property is currently occupied by Incredibly Edible Delights and is owned by Golden Eagle International Trade Co. According to Fred Carr, Matawan business administrator, the property owner would receive rent from the cell tower owner. The applicant is seeking several variances under the current cell tower ordinance, which states that properties zoned for general business are required to be at least four acres in size while the proposed site is 0.382 acres. Additionally, since the proposed tower will be 90 feet in height, a 135- foot fall zone is required under existing zoning. The ordinance also states that telecommunications towers may not be located closer than 500 feet of any residential zone, but the proposed location is approximately 215 feet from the residential section along Broad Street. According to a review of the application by Maser Consulting, the property does not meet these requirements. Clifton noted that while the Main Street area is business-oriented, there is a residential area behind the proposed cell tower location. Newly elected Republican Mayor Paul Buccellato has said he is waiting to hear what the applicant has to say, but that he doesn't see how a cell tower can be good for Main Street's revitalization. Other residents at the Jan. 22 meeting expressed concerns over the issue of a cell phone antenna on top of the water tower on Middlesex Road and its proximity to the recreation ballfields in the area. "I hope we can find better locations for these besides the ball field where children and residents frequent, and our quaint Main Street," Clifton said. "Both towers seem really close to where people frequent." As for the antenna that was approved for placement on the water tank at Toomer Field, Buccellato feels that doesn't seem to make sense to him either. "Why have a cell tower ordinance if you then approved an agreement to locate one on a Little League field knowing they would require at least three variances for fall distance, location of equipment buildings and so forth?" Buccellato asked. According to Clifton, the application for the cell tower proposed for Main Street is on the docket for the March 3 Planning and Zoning Board meeting.