Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • June 20, 2012 Franklin Lakes Superior Court sets T-Mobile lawsuit trial date by Frank J. McMahon The trial of T-Mobile Northwest’s lawsuit against the Franklin Lakes Zoning Board of Adjustment has been scheduled for June 29. The case will be heard by Judge Menelaos Toskos in Superior Court in Hackensack. The lawsuit was filed in November 2011 in response to the board’s September 2011 denial of an application by T-Mobile Northwest LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile USA, Inc., to locate a 130-foot high flagpole style wireless telecommunications monopole behind the Urban Farms Shopping Center on Franklin Lake Road. T-Mobile claims in its lawsuit that the zoning board’s denial was legally incorrect and without factual foundation, and that the board failed to apply the appropriate zoning test according to previous case law. The cellular communications company also claims the board ignored the evidence presented during the public hearing in support of the application and that no one from the board or the public ever produced any competent expert testimony to contradict that evidence. The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the board’s denial of T-Mobile’s application violates the state’s municipal land use law, and the established body of laws governing wireless communications facilities. It also asks the court to declare that the denial was arbitrary, unreasonable, and capricious, and that T-Mobile is entitled to an approval as a matter of law without remanding the case to the zoning board for further action. During the four public hearings the board conducted before the application was denied, T-Mobile’s attorney Gregory Meese pointed out that a significant coverage gap exists for T-Mobile’s residential and business customers in Franklin Lakes along Franklin Lake Road and High Mountain Road for about 1.3 miles. The proposed monopole, he said, would provide service to areas in that part of the borough where little or no service now exists. The proposed site for the monopole was described as particularly suited for the monopole, but T-Mobile claims it also examined alternate sites for its monopole and looked for municipal properties on which to locate its facilities. T-Mobile also states in its lawsuit that the company granted extensions of time for the board to act on T-Mobile’s application so the borough’s mayor could find a different site, but no other sites were found to be available for T-Mobile, and no other sites were suggested as viable locations by the board or any member of the public. The zoning board denied T-Mobile’s application for a conditional use variance because the monopole would have violated the setback distance from residential property as required by the borough’s zoning ordinance. The location of the monopole as proposed by T-Mobile would have been 156 feet from the nearest residential property, while a 300 foot setback is required by borough ordinance. In its resolution of denial, the zoning board emphasized that the borough’s zoning ordinance requires a setback of 300 feet from all residential zones in order to reduce the visual impact of such a large facility upon the adjoining residential properties. Noting that the proposed monopole would be three feet in diameter, sit on a base that would be six feet in diameter, and be 130 feet tall at a distance of 157 feet from the residential zone line, the board found that the proposed tower would be a dominating feature, visually intrusive, and visible from many points in the adjoining neighborhood. The board also pointed out that the proposed location on this site was not the first one considered for the monopole and that the original location was more to the east and would have had a rear yard setback of 316 feet and a side yard setback of 264 feet, which would have been significantly more conforming to the required 300 foot setback. That original location was abandoned when the owner of the shopping center property decided to install refrigeration equipment in that area. The board claimed T-Mobile did not adequately explain how that situation occurred. During the public hearing, several residents of nearby Feather Lane voiced strong objections to locating the 130 foot high monopole within the required 300 foot setback. The board determined that locating the proposed tower so as to provide just over half of the required distance to the nearby residential zone was simply too great a variance to grant because it would have a significant negative impact upon the adjoining residential zone and its neighboring properties. At 12:13 p.m. on June 10, Kent Place residents reported that unknown persons had burglarized their home. Entry was gained via the garage; bedrooms were the focus of attack. It appears that jewelry was taken from the home. Detectives Anthony Pacelli, Jeffrey Jost and Officers Robert Grassi and Nicholas Klein investigated. The crime scene was processed by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department. Borough Police Department Report At 6:54 p.m. on June 9, officers responding to a Dakota Trail residence regarding an unrelated matter discovered marijuana and paraphernalia in a garage area. A 20-yearold borough man was arrested and charged with possession of less than 50g of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Sergant Karl Klein and Officer Mark McCombs investigated.