Ridgewood September 23, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Plans for Lakeview Drive cell tower tabled by John Koster A proposal for a 150-foot, tree-style cellular tower that would reportedly generate an estimated $100,000 a year in revenue, and controversial microwave transmissions, has been tabled. The proposal was brought before the Ridgewood Village Council, but sidelined after a number of neighbors protested its environmental and aesthetic impact. “I have received many calls about the proposed cell tower at the Lakeview Drive recycling area,” Mayor David Pfund told a dozen residents at last week’s public council meeting. “We have listened to you and we are going to table that as a subject.” “I am pleased that you have come to a very reasonable and intelligent conclusion, and I am proud that you are still members of the community,” said George Shabet, who lives in the area. One or two other residents spoke briefly, thanking the council for the decision, but most of them left as soon as they learned the proposal had been dropped for the present time. The tower, proposed for land that Ridgewood owns near the Midland Park border, would have been surrounded by a six-foot fence and disguised as a tall tree. But a number of neighbors who live near the park-like wild space said the cell tower would be an ugly and unfair imposition on their neighborhood. Protests against the plan cropped up two weeks ago during the public comment session dominated by the topic of Graydon Pool. Residents who spoke about the cell tower proposal unanimously the installation. The tower, had it been approved, would have been constructed by New Cingular Wireless, with space leased to other cellular carriers. Neighbors said the 14-acre woodland and marshland in the vicinity would have been disrupted by the tower and were strongly opposed to it. Deputy Mayor Keith Killion, among others, concurred, saying, “We’ll just have to find another way to get revenue. I’m very sensitive to neighbors and children in the neighborhood. I look at this and say, ‘Would I want a cell tower in my back yard?’” ���������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������� ������������������������� ����������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ������������������������� ���������� ���������������������� Fall specials available now for a limited time only. Call Robin at 973-636-7000 ����������������������� ����������������������������� ��������������������������� ���������������������������