Lower Makefield has brought in some expert legal help to assist the township with a proposal by Verizon Wireless to put a 150-foot-high cell phone tower on the property of the Beth El synagogue at 375 Stony Hill Road.
At a June meeting, township supervisors unanimously voted to hire Pittsburgh-based Cohen Law Group to advise township officials on the matter. Verizon Wireless is requesting a use variance to allow the tower, to be disguised as a pine tree, in the R-3M zoning district where it would not normally be permitted.
In the alternative, the company is also challenging the validity of Lower Makefield's zoning laws governing cell phone towers, and claiming any denial of the tower would prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting telecommunications service in violation of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
The Cohen firm will advise the supervisors and other township officials on Verizon's chances for success on these various fronts, and, depending on the results of its legal assessments, also represent Lower Makefield before the township zoning hearing board and/or federal court. The ZHB is scheduled to consider the Verizon requests at its Aug. 2 meeting.
For its services, the Cohen Law Group will charge Lower Makefield $340 per hour and $170 per hour for travel time. In addition, the firm will charge for expenses like copying and postage, which Cohen representatives said will be kept to a minimum.
"For over 25 years, CLG has specialized exclusively in representing local governments in cable, wireless and broadband matters," stated a Cohen Law Group letter to Lower Makefield. "We have assisted more than 250 municipalities, primarily in Pennsylvania and New York, with wireless facility issues. We represent only local governments and have not represented any telecommunications companies."
The agreement with Cohen will allow township officials to take advantage of the firm's expertise in the field and also satisfy the need to appoint outside counsel because of a conflict of interest.
A member of Hill Wallack, the law firm of regular township Solicitor David Truelove, lives near Beth El and will be a party to the upcoming zoning hearing board proceedings.
The township supervisors have not yet voted on whether to oppose the Verizon Wireless proposal for Beth El.
"I would anticipate that Cohen's work will inform next steps," township Manager David Kratzer wrote in an email to the Herald.
While some residents say the tower at Beth El is needed because cell phone reception along that part of Stony Hill Road is very poor, many others oppose the application. They say the location is too close to houses and not the appropriate place for a cell phone tower.
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