Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Westfield Leader 03/12/2009

Cranford Cell Tower Ruling Appealed by Omnipoint
CHRISTINA M. HINKE
March 12, 2009

CRANFORD – David Weeks, the attorney for the Cranford zoning board of adjustment, told The Scotch Plains- Fanwood Times he filed a response recently denying the allegations in the recent appeal of plaintiff Omnipoint Communications, Inc., which was denied their joint application under the name New York SMSA Limited Partnership, also formed with Verizon Wireless, New Cingular PCS, and Sprint Spectrum (which pulled out mid-way through the hearings), to build a 120-foot monopole on the border of Cranford and Westfield to close the gap in cell phone coverage in the area.

In December, the board had denied the application to build the tower after hearing cases made by both the applicant and those opposed of the monopole that went on for over a year.

Omnipoint appealed that the board’s decision to deny the application was “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and otherwise without basis in law or fact...” The complaint noted that “there was no competent expert testimony or other evidence disputing any of Plaintiff’s testimony or evidence, only net opinions unsupported by any factual analysis or study.”

It said the Cranford Swim Club property situated in a residential zone was the “only available site” to erect the tower and was the “least intrusive.”

Mr. Weeks called it “a standard, routine appeal.” He has not received a court date from the Union County State Superior Court, but surmised that the court would hear the case in six to nine months.