Ridgewood August 10, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Residents provide data on cell towers, urge resistance by John Koster A number of residents offered Mayor Keith Killion and the Ridgewood Village Council some aid and comfort as they urged the council to resist any and all attempts to build cell towers in residential Ridgewood. Richard Copp and his wife Mary Anne spoke to convince the council that the technology that requires 100foot-plus cell towers is already outmoded. They said a program already in place in Palo Alto, California, could preclude any need for cell towers in Ridgewood or other residential areas. Located in the Silicon Valley, Palo Alto is noted for its environmentally friendly attitude and progressive, upscale appearance. The Copps said the distributed antenna system uses numerous smaller antennas rather than 150-foot towers that are said to reduce property values from two to 20 percent – news that brought some winces from officials on the dais. “I think that the village code needs to be strengthened so that the least intrusive facility has to be used,” Richard Copp said. He added that, if and when the cell towers became technologically outmoded, removing them could become an expensive nuisance. The widespread public dislike of cell towers caused Mayor Killion and Council Members Thomas Riche and Paul Aronson to play close attention as the Copps explained that cell tower applicants are legally required to set up an escrow fund to hire an independent consultant to evaluate all aspects of cell tower construction, including not only the perceived communications need, but also the safety and the property value factors involved. “I don’t know many people who are complaining about their cell phone reception,” one of several supporters of the Copps’ initiative said. “You’ve enlightened us,” Mayor Killion said. “We will certainly look in that direction.” Ridgewood Attorney Matthew Rogers pointed out that no plans for a cell tower are now formally before the council, but confirmed that if plans were brought before the council, the council would have the legal right to request an escrow account and hire an independent consultant. Rogers said the Ridgewood Planning Board and Ridgewood Zoning Board of Adjustment are quasi-judicial and that the council (continued on page 17)