SPRING LAKE — Verizon is suing Spring Lake over the company’s request to build six 5G cellular poles along Ocean Avenue, Mayor Jennifer Naughton announced Tuesday.
The mayor told a crowd at H.W. Mountz Elementary School, where about 100 residents gathered to protest the Verizon plan to the Borough Council, that the lawsuit had been served on her earlier that morning.
“We are not yet in a position to process the lawsuit,” Naughton said, noting that the council would not comment on it Tuesday.
City officials plan to make a decision on the company’s 5G poll application on December 17.
An architect’s rendering of a Verizon application shows what a 5G cellular network pole would look like in Spring Lake.
Verizon plans to build the six small wireless facilities, as the company calls them, to provide additional mobile network capacity to Spring Lake residents and summer visitors, according to the company’s filing.
The poles, which would be up to 37 feet tall or up to 110% of the height of surrounding buildings, would be designed to accommodate at least three telephone companies and would address the area’s “severe wireless capacity problem,” Verizon’s report said . application.
“During the summer months there is an exponential increase in visitors to the Borough’s beaches,” the company wrote in the 11-page filing. “That increased demand on Verizon Wireless’ network has far exceeded available capacity, which in turn has hampered residents’ and visitors’ ability to call and text or use their devices to access the internet.”
A 2018 federal law gives wireless broadband companies preferential treatment to expand their service infrastructure. The law also limits the extent to which local governments can oppose the construction of such small wireless facilities in public rights-of-way.
The law also requires state agencies to review an application for a small wireless facility on an existing structure within 60 days, and within 90 days for new structures.
“For Americans living in wireless-only homes and for those traveling outdoors, cell phones are often their only lifeline in emergencies,” Robert Gaudioso, an attorney representing the Verizon project, wrote in the lawsuit against Spring Lake, which was initiated. in federal court this month.
“The ability to reach 9-1-1 from your cordless phone has become an essential public safety tool,” he wrote. “Adequate network coverage and capacity are critical to ensuring these calls can be handled reliably.”
Gaudioso did not immediately return a call seeking comment, and he did not. Verizon spokespeople.
Verizon claims Spring Lake delayed and denied the project
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of New York SMSA Limited, which works for Verizon, alleges that Spring Lake’s council, mayor and zoning official Matthew Zahorsky caused an “unreasonable delay and effective denial” of the project.
Spring Lake residents are gearing up for a fight. Residents have hired lawyers and organized a grassroots campaign to fight the wireless company’s plans.
“Other than just the aesthetics, this is just a no-go,” said Kelly Badishkanian, a founding member of the group “Spring Lake Against 5G Towers.”
Kelley Badishkanian of the organization “Spring Lake Against 5G Towers” speaks to a crowd at HW Mountz School on November 12, 2024.
“My husband and I have two small children,” she said, citing concerns about electromagnetic fields and radiation associated with cellphones. “I don’t feel comfortable with it being so close to our house.”
According to the United Nations International Telecommunications Union, the radio frequency electromagnetic fields used in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks show no evidence of increased health risks, within exposure limits set by national regulators.
For other residents, preserving the neighborhood’s historic charms and age-old aesthetic is the reason to fight the poles.
Joseph Rizzo, president of the Spring Lake Preservation Alliance, told the Borough Council that the poles would be “out of place” in an area where residents have worked so hard to protect it from the creep of modernity.
“I am deeply concerned about the impact on our city’s precious historic landscape, especially its iconic views,” he said.
Resident Tom Burke said he was concerned the 5G poles would affect the tranquility and scenic views of the beach.
“Living where we do, we enjoy a quieter, natural environment that seems worlds apart from the commercial and industrial areas you see in other Shore cities,” he said. “Spring Lake’s beautiful, non-commercial beach area and surrounding areas make this town the gem that it is.”
W. Scott McCollough, an attorney representing Spring Lake Against 5G Towers, agreed, saying property values were at risk from the 5G project.
“The community is united in its objection to these towers,” he told the Council. “This is not a case of the self-serving NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard-ism) of a privileged few. It is a collective, sincere effort to preserve what makes this city special.”
Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who is involved in education and the environment. She has been working for the press for over sixteen years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Verizon files lawsuit against Spring Lake over 5G project, mayor says
