The Surf City (NJ) Borough Council, in an effort to strengthen right-of-way ordinances, wants to require all wireless communication companies to appear before the Land Use Board prior to any improvements to its wireless infrastructure, according to the SandPaper.
The “wireless companies can’t just come in and start putting things on poles,” Mayor Francis Hodgson told the SandPaper. “They want us to consider nodes in residential areas, but what happens when someone” such as a resident or new buyer “decides they want the wires underground?” Hodgson asked.
An application by Verizon Wireless was the catalyst for the Borough’s actions when they proposed placing small cells on poles in both commercial and residential areas.
The ordinance states: “All wireless communications facilities shall be subject to these regulations, the applicable building regulations, and the Borough Code, except as otherwise provided or grandfathered herein. Pre-existing towers or antennas shall not be required to meet the requirements of this chapter, other than the requirements regarding building codes and safety standards. This exception shall not apply to any expansion or intensification of a pre-existing tower or antenna.”
Tower-based applicants must demonstrate “a significant gap in wireless coverage exists with regard to all wireless operators in the applicable area and that the type of facility being proposed is the least intrusive means by which to fill that gap. The existence or non-existence of a gap in coverage will be considered by the land use board.”
May 18, 2018
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