MAY 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015, 10:55 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The public hearing on Verizon Wireless’ application to install cellular communications equipment atop the cross at West Side Presbyterian Church will reopen in June, a decision that comes more than a month after the hearing was closed.
A request to return to a public hearing was made at a May 12 Board of Adjustment meeting by Verizon’s attorney, Warren Stilwell, who informed board members he “needed to notice a request of a prior condition.”
“We became aware of a prior resolution of the board that contained a condition that essentially didn’t allow renting the premise to outside entities,” said Stilwell.
The board had previously adopted a resolution for a prior church application that, among other conditions, prohibited it from renting space to others, such as telecom companies, zoning board secretary Tony Merlino told The Ridgewood News.
Merlino said Verizon officials discovered the resolution on Monday.
As a result, Verizon is required to re-advertise its application to include the existing restrictions placed on the church.
Verizon is seeking a use variance, minor site plan approval and other waivers from the zoning board for its project at the church, which calls for the installation of a cellular antenna with stealth screening, which measure roughly 2-feet wide.
If built, the antenna would bring the total church building height to 68.5 feet where 30 feet is allowed by Ridgewood zoning laws. Currently, the building stands at 65.5 feet when measured to the top of the cross.
A use variance is needed for the antenna, which is not permitted in the residentially-zoned church.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/cell-antenna-hearing-reopens-1.1337017
