Too many variances: Allendale says no to a second cell tower

Marsha A. Stoltz, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read

ALLENDALE — The borough's Land Use Board denied an application to install a second cell pole 172 feet from the first one, off West Crescent Avenue, after two hearings last week.

The 180-foot pole was proposed by World Class Wireless, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jump Trading. The pole was intended to hold parabolic antennas to facilitate line-of-sight microwave transmission of data between Secaucus and the New York Stock Exchange in Mahwah.

The installation was proposed on property owned by Borst Landscaping at 240 W. Crescent Ave. in the industrial park west of the intersection at West Crescent and Myrtle avenues. The World Class application says it made "numerous attempts" to rent space on borough property for the pole, but that officials "stopped responding to our requests."

Simulated view of two Allendale cell towers if proposed second was installed. View is facing west at intersection of West Crescent Avenue and Myrtle Avenue.
Simulated view of two Allendale cell towers if proposed second was installed. View is facing west at intersection of West Crescent Avenue and Myrtle Avenue.

The Borst location was considered the best of five alternative sites explored by World Wide, including a vacant warehouse in the same industrial park, a water tower off Leigh Court, the borough salt shed south of the railroad tracks at 260 W. Crescent, and the Orange & Rockland substation at the end of Heights Road.

The Boroline Road industrial park and the cell tower on East Allendale Road west of Route 17 in neighboring Saddle River were discounted as too low and were dismissed as possible sites, witnesses testified.

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However it was the nine variances requested to install the pole at the proposed site that drew objections from members of the borough's Land Use Board, a combined planning and zoning board. They included:

  • 180-foot pole, borough limit of 150-foot height.

  • 172 feet between poles, 1,500 feet minimum required.

  • 23-foot tower side yard setback, 180 feet required.

  • 14.1-foot tower rear yard setback, 180 feet required.

  • 127-foot setback to the nearest public park, 540 feet required.

  • 334 feet from the nearest residential zone, 540 feet required.

  • 11-foot-tall equipment shelter, 10 feet required.

  • 12.5-foot installation side yard setback, 50 feet required.

  • 20.5-foot installation rear yard setback, 100 feet required.

"I'm concerned with the number of variances," Chairman Kevin Quinn said. "If it was the right plan, it wouldn't need so many."

Proposed location of cell tower (yellow dot) 172 feet from existing cell tower (pink dot) in Allendale.
Proposed location of cell tower (yellow dot) 172 feet from existing cell tower (pink dot) in Allendale.

Maria Sullivan of Crestwood Mews questioned the radiation impact from the tower a half-mile away. However, borough planner Ed Sneikus testified that radio frequency levels are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission.

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The American Cancer Society's policy on cell tower transmissions is that "there’s no strong evidence that exposure to RF waves from cell phone towers causes any noticeable health effects." Health-related concerns are not admitted as evidence in judging the placement of cell towers in New Jersey.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Allendale NJ rejects request for a second cell tower