>Three huge cell towers proposed for Ridgewood neighborhoods
The proposed cell tower on Glen Avenue at the HeadquartersFirehouse will likely be discussed at the August 3 Village Council Work Sessionat 7:30 p.m. in the Village Hall Court Room. It may move toward approval. Twoother proposals, also in residential neighborhoods (Barnett Place and Valleau Cemetery)are in progress before the Planning Board. There will be more. Cell towers area cheap way for cell companies to get bandwidth in their coverage areas, asmore people move to data-heavy
smart phones and tablet computers. However, cell towersdon’t fix coverage gaps in places such as theWillard School area, or the needfor higher capacity in many areas of our Village.
Saddle River approved a cell tower that was recentlycompleted behind the town’s Police Station. Then, residents and the townrealized they had a problem, and have set up a study committee. [Below is theSaddle River tower similar to the one being proposed for the RidgewoodFirehouse property.]
Let’s not later” happen have cell towers anywhere inthe Street and Cemetery, or on where it can be homes.
Why is the Village looking into cell towers in manyneighborhoods? For the proposed cell tower on Firehouse property at East GlenAvenue, the Village could gain over $100,000 a year in rental income (whichlikely would be offset by the decline in property values of surrounding homes).Residents of nearby towns are also seeing cell towers rise on town propertywithoutthe usual regulatory approvals needed, for similar reasons. But Ridgewood andnearby towns could get rental income without blighting neighborhoods withunsightly cell towers. How?
A distributed antenna system (DAS) would put small antennason existing power poles, give the Village rental income from using itsright-of-way for connecting wires and the antennas, and does not destroy thecharacter of the Village or endanger property values. These low power antennasare used only where needed, and would hardly be noticed. DAS networks are inuse in many areas, including New York and Philadelphia, Martha’s Vineyard, a236-square-mile region around Scotsdale, Arizona,and 26-square-mile area aroundBarrington Hills, Ill., to name a few.
Carriers like AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile belong tothe DAS Forum, which, according to the
Forum’s Web site, “is a broad-based non-profitorganization, dedicated to the development of the DAS component of the nation’swireless network.” AT&T is actually pushing for implementation of aDAS system in Mountainview, California. Why not in Ridgewood? Residents–andthe Village–should askthat question.
Currently, it appears that Ridgewood is taking cellcarriers’ word for coverage requirements and possible solutions to coveragegaps in our Village. The Village could hire experts in cellular communications, who would be paidfor by cell carriers, and who would provide an independent view of what cellularcoverage is actually needed. Village officials represent us, not cell carriers,and must ensure they are acting on our behalf.
The Village can insist on a DAS network. FCC regulationsonly require a municipality to allow for continuous coverage for cell carrierswithin their borders. FCC regulations do not specify how that coverage is to beachieved.
Let your voice be heard so the Village is empowered to makesmart, informed decisions
about cell service in our area, instead of having huge celltowers looming over every
neighborhood–from the Lawns to the Heights.
Come to the Aug. 3 Work Session. If you can’t make it,e-mail our Village Council.
Mayor: Keith D. Killion kkillion@ridgewoodnj.net
Deputy Mayor: Thomas M. Riche triche@ridgewoodnj.net
Councilman: Paul Aronsohn paronsohn@ridgewoodnj.net
Councilwoman: Bernadette Walsh bwalsh@ridgewoodnj.net
Councilman: Stephen Wellinghorstswellinghorst@ridgewoodnj.net