Cell Tower Litigation Remains in the Air; Board of Ed May Get Involved

For the past two years, the borough has been fending off litigation by Sprint after the denied the company's plans to place a 125-foot cell tower at the on Midland Avenue. And while the case is headed to federal court, attorney Marc Liebman has previously reached out to the  if its members would be willing to accept a cell tower at , ending the pending litigation and bringing additional revenue to the district.

According to a report in the Town News, Liebman suggested that the tower could be built towards so that it would be further away from the school.

If the tower was placed on school property, the board of education would be able to charge rent to cellular carries to utilize the pole and bring in additional revenue to the district. It would bring in an estimated $90,000 to $100,000 in fees to the school system.

While the litigation is only two years old, the project actually dates back to 2004 when Sprint first applied to the Zoning Board to construct the monopole at the Ambulance building. A second application, to construct a 120-foot tower at the neighboring  was introduced in 2007.

After 17 public hearings, ranging from May 2005 to June 2009, the Zoning Board denied both applications in August 2009. Following that Sprint sued the borough for violating the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law; a summary judgement was heard in November 2010 which resulted in a split ruling for both parties.

Borough attorney Brian Giblin has stated that the current lawsuit is pending before a federal court.

The Paramus Board of Education is scheduled to meet on Sept. 24, 7:30pm at the Board Conference Room, 145 Spring Valley Road, where they may continue discussing Liebman's suggestion.  

The Paramus Mayor and Council's next meeting will take place on Sept. 27, 7pm either at Borough Hall or the Life Safety Complex.

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