Lower Saucon Zoning Hearing Board Approves Cell Tower Extension

The Lower Saucon Township Zoning Hearing Board approved a setback variance for an 11-foot extension to an existing cell tower located on Leithsville Road during its Dec. 20 meeting.

T-Mobile Northeast, LLC applied for a 33-foot relief from the current setback ordinance. The tower will stand at least 160 feet high with the antenna extension, which will require more than 240 feet in setback.

The current setback ordinance requires a distance of one-and-a-half times the height of the structure. 

The cell tower is owned by the Houston-based communications infrastructure company Crown Castle, and is located on property owned and leased by the .

T-Mobile applied for and was approved for a second, 11-foot extension several months ago, and cited timing as the only reason their two applications weren't combined into one.

Currently T-Mobile has no antenna on the tower, which was erected in 2000 and serves companies such as Metro PCS.

Michael Grab, the attorney representing the cell phone company in front of the Zoning Hearing Board, submitted T-Mobile's FCC license, the property's lease agreement, and a state-certified structural report as evidence to the proposal's validity.

"The use of the antenna is conducive with FCC requirements," said Grab. "The conclusion of the report is that there is sufficient structural capacity for this extension, and can accommodate all the current antennae." 

Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Jason Banonis asked what need T-Mobile had for the antenna, considering the company has a tower approximately 2 miles away that is twice the height of the proposed antenna.

Mohammed Alsamna, T-Mobile's radio frequency engineer, stated that surrounding objects such as trees, mountains and buildings interfered with the local signal. T-Mobile's signal operates at a frequency of 1,900 MHz, which he said is more vulnerable to environmental interference than lower frequencies. 

"As you go higher in frequencies you get more interference. We get assigned frequencies by the FCC and we have no control over it, but we have to deal with it," Alsamna said.

Grab noted that several common modifications will be needed to secure the tower base to support the extension, including the installation of supportive poles and additional screening around the tower pad. T-Mobile will be responsible for all modification costs.

The next Lower Saucon Zoning Hearing Board meeting will be on Jan. 17 at Town Hall.