A new 150-foot telecommunications tower is coming to Falls Township after approval earlier this week.
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The supervisors granted Rise Up Towers LLC permission to construct the steel monopole on a 130-acre Waste Management landfill property located off New Ford Mill Road.
The new tower will be used by Verizon to replace a previous tower at the site that was rendered obsolete by growth of the landfill.
Attorney Mike Malloy, who was representing the applicant, told supervisors the new tower will address service issues in the area.
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The previous tower was removed after Waste Management’s operations caused land to pile up on both sides of the structure, Malloy said.
The project will occupy a 45-by-45-foot parcel secured through a ground lease with Waste Management.
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According to testimony from radio frequency engineer Andrew Peterson, the tower’s electromagnetic emissions will remain well below federal safety limits.
“The facility will be compliant with the standard by a wide margin,” Peterson said, noting that exposure levels at all public ground-level locations would be approximately 500 times lower than Federal Communications Commission safety standards, or less than 0.2 percent of the allowable limit.
Plans for the site include a 150-foot galvanized steel monopole without guy wires and an 8-foot security fence equipped with anti-climbing measures.
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The tower will have capacity for future co-location by other wireless carriers, Malloy said.
While no additional tenants are planned at the moment, Rise Up Towers offered free antenna space for municipal emergency services.
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The approval process included a discussion regarding the financial security required for the tower’s eventual removal.
Rise Up Towers requested the township’s $100,000 bond requirement be reduced to $25,000.
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Township Solicitor Lauren Gallagher advised that the supervisors lack the authority to grant that specific reduction. She added it would require a decision from the Zoning Hearing Board.
Township Manager John Shepherd suggested a minimum bond of $50,000 to account for future inflation over the lifespan of the tower.
The zoners will have to consider any reduction.
