Testimony concludes in hearing for cell tower on fire company property

UPPER SALFORD » Comments from residents for and against allowing a proposed cellular tower on fire company property concluded the testimony before the Upper Salford Township Zoning Hearing Board July 9.

Attorneys for both sides now have until July 23 to submit written arguments, after which the board has 45 days to make its decision, Marc Davis, the zoning board’s solicitor, said.

Verizon Wireless is requesting to be allowed to build the 105-foot-tall cellular tower on the Upper Salford Volunteer Fire Company’s firehouse property on Old Skippack Road.

Under township zoning rules, cellular towers are allowed in the limited industrial zoning district or as an addition to existing tall structures anywhere in the municipality so long as the tower does not add more than 15 feet to the height of the existing structure.

The firehouse is in the institutional zoning district, and the proposed monopole tower would not be attached to an existing structure.

Verizon attorney Nicholas Cuce Jr. has presented a case that the cellular tower would provide reliable cellular service to an area that does not now have it because of a ridge that runs through Upper Salford and that there are not suitable alternative locations under the township’s zoning rules. The tower would also improve the fire company’s communications abilities because the fire company would have antennas on the tower, according to testimony.

The fire company has said renting out the land for the cellular tower would provide needed additional income to help fund the volunteer organization.

Township Solicitor Stephen Imms has presented a case that Verizon has not looked enough into alternative locations within the zoning code, that the tower goes against township goals of protecting scenic views and rural resource areas and that there are no hardships preventing the property from being developed with uses allowed in the institutional zoning district, which it already has been by having the firehouse there.

Prior to the July 9 session, there were four other evenings of testimony in the hearing.

At the July 9 session, resident Tom Brown said he doesn’t think the cell tower should be allowed at the firehouse. “I support our zoning,” he said.

There was a time when the township’s comprehensive plan would have allowed the cell tower at the site, but that’s no longer the case, he said.

“Basically, they missed their chance,” Brown said. “You snooze, you lose.”

Resident Nona Breaux said she’s in favor of allowing the cell tower.

“I’m really just here to support the fire company,” she said.

The tower would both bring in money for the fire company and increase safety because of the improved communications, she said.

Both Breaux and Cheryl Alderfer said they would also be in favor of adding a fire tax to help fund the fire company.

“This is for our safety,” Alderfer said of the cell tower.

Cindy Gerhard, whose parents’ and sister’s homes neighbor the firehouse property, said there was a petition signed by property owners in the area of the firehouse opposing the tower being allowed.

“The property is not zoned for cell tower installation,” she said, asking that the cell tower proposal be rejected.