Board Demands Diameters Before Voting on Prospect Cell Antennas

Following a sometimes testy four hour meeting, the Planning Board voted to delay consideration of an application to place cell phone antennas on top of 264 Prospect Street due to an uncertainty in the diameter of project.

The board reopened the application, which is being opposed by area residents, following changes to the design of the antennas by Metro PCS. Metro is seeking to place six antennas in the groups of two on top of the apartment building, with the antennas disguised in cylinders decorated to match the brick face of the building. The cylinder design, added to disguise the antennas from public view is the new part of the application.

The diameter of the cylinder is in question, an item several board members said would impact their vote.  The final part of Metro's presentation and public comment will be heard at the board's September 1 meeting, where a vote will likely occur.

Witnesses for Metro said the antennas will be disguised on the building and be barely visible from portions of the building. They noted the building is already home to cell antennas from T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel. Metro witnesses testified to the board that the new antennas are needed in order to provide Metro coverage in the center of Westfield.

Witnesses for the telecomm company showed maps that do not have Metro coverage in the central business district and along Mountain Avenue after exiting Route 22. They said the proposed Prospect Street site would allow for this hole to be filled. The proposed antennas would also provide coverage into part of Scotch Plains, overlapping with a proposed cell tower the company is seeking on the Willow Grove Swim Club property in Scotch Plains.

In addition to the coverage specifications, Metro witnesses noted the Prospect Street site was picked due to federal regulations specifying support for grouping telecommunications equipment in the same location to avoid placing on every building.

Area residents, who are opposing the antennas, asked if the antennas could have instead by placed on the county public safety building on North Avenue, which Metro said was impractical. Metro said the location would not cover the entire dead zone and the building's status as a police headquarters would prevent round the clock access by Metro staffers.

"We're not the first carrier," Metro attorney Richard Skolnick said.

The appearance of the building and location of the cylinders were part of the public opposition. Photo mock-ups of the proposal provided by Metro showed that the cylinders would be visible from Prospect Street and Cowsperwaite Place, and from the field across Elm Street from Stop and Shop. Metro witnesses said the cylinders would not be visible from the neighboring condo complex or from the back of the building.

Residents contested the notion, saying that they can see items on the roof of 264 Prospect while sitting in the garden of the condo complex. Condo residents noted the condo frequently hosts barbeques in the garden, which would be hurt by the presence of the cylinders.

Skolnick sought to explain to the board that the cylinders would be one of many visible items in the area and not the only thing seen by passersby.

"There is already a lot of visible activity," he said. "There are trees that everyone loves. There are utility lines that provide service."

Public health concerns took center stage for a brief portion of the meeting, even though Metro and Planning Board officials noted that federal law bans local governments from using pubic health concerns when determining the siting of telecommunications equipment.

A report presented to the board by Daniel Collins, Metro's radio frequency expert witness said that with the addition of Metro's antennas to the top of 264 Prospect, the total radio frequency on the building would be 1.6-percent of the Federal Communications Commission standard for public health.

Collins said under the regulations adopted by the state, the building would also be in compliance. He noted that an analysis done from the second story of neighboring buildings, shows the frequency of 2.4-percent of the federal limit. In addition, Collins said that in his opinion only 10-percent of the radio waves will penetrate the building's roof since the antenna is designed to send out waves horizontally.

Local residents contested the information regarding public health, questioning Collins and Skolnick over several aspects, including any impact of nearby Roosevelt Intermediate School. Collins said that regulations require measurement of 500 feet away from the antenna and the school sits 900 feet away. In addition, Collins said the 500 foot limit is within the safety guidelines set by the federal government.

Jo Ellen Bard, who lives next door to 264 Prospect, took issue with Collins using the federal government's standard for the project in the wake of the Gulf Coast oil leak.

"Can we believe the federal government after BP?" she said.