file photo Boyd Loving
MAY 20, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015, 9:49 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Scheduled for removal by the end of this month, the temporary cell tower fixed near a Route 17 gasoline station has received, at most, another year of life.
Ridgewood zoning board members, at their May 12 meeting, granted AT&T’s request to extend the terms of a previous resolution permitting the installation and operation of a temporary cell tower on wheels (COW) at the Exxon Mobil facility along the state highway. The resolution, which was given a five-month extension in January, now expires May 31, 2016.
Prior testimony by AT&T representatives claimed the need for a cellular facility in that location to offer seamless coverage of newer technology, namely 4G and LTE networks, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. In its current state, the firm’s adjacent 120-foot tall permanent monopole cannot accommodate equipment needed to provide the mandated coverage, thus the installation of the COW.
AT&T, operating under its Cingular Wireless brand, filed an application earlier this year seeking zoning board permission to begin monopole upgrades, which would include the replacement of three antennas and the installation of three new ones. Judy Fairweather, attorney for AT&T, noted in January that the COW would be in place while the company and Board of Adjustment reviewed the merits of the monopole improvements.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/temporary-tower-extended-1.1338489
