Politics & Government

12 Antennas Could Be Installed on 105-Foot Water Tank

Neighbors oppose application to be heard by zoning board this month.

AT&T has filed an application to install 12 telecommunication antennas on a 105-foot water tank on Buxton Road in a residential section of Chatham Township.

Neighboring residents oppose the plan, saying the proposed project at 63 Buxton Road would hurt property values and doesn't belong where residents, including children, live within a few hundred feet.

AT&T's letter said in a letter to nearby residents it wants to install 12 telecommunication antennas "at a centerline height of 101' on an existing 105' water tank and to also place related equipment at the base of the tank on a concrete pad."

The company first needs variances from the township Zoning Board of Adjustment. The application is on the agenda for the 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, zoning board meeting in the municipal building, 58 Meyersville Road.

AT&T's letter listed the variances and approvals the company is seeking:

  • Use variance
  • Height variance
  • Front, rear and side yard setback variance
  • Minimum fence height variance
  • Minimum distance from a residential district variance
  • Preliminary and final major site plan approval
Resident Katherine Weisgerber said in an email the project does not belong in the neighborhood, and asked residents to contact their representatives on the Township Committee and Zoning Board of Adjustment.

"The site in question is not municipal property, nor is it abutted by municipal property, but rather a residential neighborhood, with 10 homes including over 25 children less than a few hundred feet away and hundreds more large families as the radius is expanded," she said. "The board is expected to act in the best interest of the town and its residents and must protect both from commercial endeavors that can affect residential property values ... and the health of its citizens. This motion does not have a place in a residential neighborhood."


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