Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 27, 2011 Franklin Lakes T-Mobile presents case for Market Basket monopole by Frank J. McMahon T-Mobile Northeast, LLC is seeking the Franklin Lakes Board of Adjustment’s permission to construct a 130-foot high wireless communications monopole adjacent to the Urban Farms Shopping Center’s northwest rear building wall. Related engineering, site acquisition, and expert planning testimony were presented at a recent meeting. Edward Yorke, T-Mobile’s radio frequency engineer, described the signal coverage of other wireless carriers in the area and the coverage gaps the monopole would fill along the High Mountain Road corridor and to the north of the site. He emphasized that the 130-foot monopole would negate the need for future additional wireless communications sites to cover these gaps. In response to a question by board member Joann Gerber, Yorke explained that the monopole at Ramapo High School cannot cover the gaps in the TMobile signal transmission because of the terrain in the area. He explained that the monopole would provide space for two other co-locators and could permit more co-locators if it were higher than the proposed 130 feet. According to Yorke, the signal level of the T-Mobile antennas would be 20 times below the safety threshold established by the Federal Communications Commission for transmission 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Zoning Board Chairman Steve DiFlora pointed out that the borough’s ordinance requires a distance of 300 feet from a monopole to the nearest residential property. Gregory Meese, the attorney for TMobile, explained that the original loca- tion for the monopole behind the Market Basket building was farther from the residential property and provided greater signal coverage. However, he said that location had to be moved to the current proposed location at the northeast end of the building because of an addition being constructed behind the building and a series of loading docks located there. Joseph Binetti, a site acquisition consultant, described the efforts he made to find an appropriate location for the monopole. He said that, before reaching a structured deal with the Urban Farms Shopping Center, he and his project manager contacted borough officials by e-mail in 2010 about potential municipally-owned sites such as the firehouse or McBride Field on Franklin Lake Road, but he said he never received a response. “Despite the fact that the Franklin Lakes ordinance permits it on borough property,” Meese pointed out, “there was no response from the borough with respect to the McBride Field, which would be a reasonable location.” Binetti said he also contacted Most Blessed Sacrament Church’s pastor, who was interested in his proposal but backed away when the Archdiocese of Newark advised it was only interested in potential monopole sites in urban parishes. In addition, Binetti said he contacted the general manager of the Indian Trail Club and the recent presidents of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education, but received no responses to his inquiries. He said he contacted the owner of the McBride Agency across Franklin Lake Road from the shopping center by e-mail, but he was not interested in increasing the height of the flagpole antenna currently located on that site. DiFlora questioned the use of e-mails and phone calls as a method of contact. “I’m not comfortable with the minimal e-mail correspondence,” DiFlora said. “It’s a half-hearted attempt to get something out of somebody who might have some say about the property. What you should have done is to send an official letter through the mail with a return receipt requested. That doesn’t mean you’ll get a response, but it means you’ve done due diligence.” “I can pursue only so much,” Binetti responded. “I did due diligence.” Meese responded, “With all due respect, the carriers have been looking for a spot in Franklin Lakes for the past decade and they’ve contacted every property owner repeatedly, not just T-Mobile, but everyone else, and T-Mobil is the first to be successful because of Mr. Binetti’s efforts.” DiFlora said he did not think all the options have been explored. Ekata Shah, T-Mobile’s site engineer, then described the monopole site for the board. Shad said the T-Mobil antennas would occupy the locations at 125 feet and 115 feet on the monopole with a total of six antennas. In addition, there would be an equipment compound behind the building surrounded by a six-foot high slatted chain link fence. There would also be an equipment cabinet on a platform on the roof of the building that would be screened, and there would be a cable leading from the monopole along a cable bridge to those cabinets. The site would be visited once a month for maintenance, and the site would comply with all the borough’s building codes. DiFlora pointed out that the cabinets on the roof would be higher than the screening, but Meese said the roof is currently covered with similar boxes and, because of the façade and the setback of the cabinets, they would be very hard to see. David Karlbach, a professional planner, described aerial photos he took of the site and a balloon tethered at 130 feet to show the height of the proposed monopole. He also pointed out that there are a lot of non-residential uses surrounding the shopping center site, and there are only two homes within 300 feet of the proposed monopole, which he described as a “benign” use. He also pointed out that the proposed monopole location is in the retail business zone, which is one of the zones where it is permitted as a conditional use. Karlbach said the subject property is an appropriate area. The public hearing will continue on May 5. On April 29, a Shred Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Franklin Lakes Recycling Center at 500 DeKorte Drive. Franklin Lakes residents are welcome to bring documents and have them destroyed in a mobile, on-site paper shredding truck. Staples, paper clips, and Shred Day set for April 29 rubber bands do not have to be removed. A camera system allows residents to observe the shredding operation. The service is provided by Nexcut, LLC. This event is being sponsored by the Borough of Franklin Lakes and the Bergen County Utilities Authority. FOR RENT Championship Golf, Tennis, No Crowds On Fripp Island, South Carolina Waterfront house on Fripp Island, SC (near historic Beaufort and Parris Island). 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