Chartiers Township Residents Worried About Possible Plans For Cell Tower
CHARTIERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - Some residents in a Washington County community are concerned after they got a letter from Chartiers Township letting them know about possible plans for a cell tower near their neighborhood.
Jim Gunsallus has lived in his home in the Ridgeview plan of Chartiers Township for nearly two decades. He said he loves his neighborhood and doesn't want a cell tower to ruin his view, hurt his property value or shift the land underneath it.
Gunsallus doesn't want a cell tower to disturb the peace in his quiet neighborhood. He lives on the culdesac of Cynthia Drive.
"An industrial cell tower next to, behind or in front of any of our homes will only degrade our quality of life," said Gunsallus.
Earlier this month, the township sent out a letter notifying all residents who live within 300 feet of where the tower would go. Vogue Towers Partners VII, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the company asking the township to consider its proposal to build on the land.
"They've submitted a variance request before the zoning hearing board and that would be the public process to hear that request for that variance whether it would be permitted," said Chartiers Township Manager Jodi Noble.
Noble says Vogue wants to install the tower because there's been a lot of dropped calls in the area.
While Gunsallus says he can understand why the company wants to build it, he says there's a lot at stake.
"There's been three past landslides on this property, the current third one an active one. I call it active because it's not been repaired. There are open fissures in the ground," said Gunsallus.
Noble admits there have been some embankment failures in the backyards of some of the homes on Cynthia, but she urges people in the neighborhood to not put the cart before the horse.
"This is just the variance process for now. Should they receive a variance, they have to go through land development process which would include looking at geotech of the land, making sure it can support it," said Noble.
However, Gunsallus fears an approval by the zoning hearing board could mean setting a precedent for future cases.
"There is zoning for a reason," said Gunsallus.
The Chartiers Township zoning hearing board will hold a public hearing on Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. at the municipal building. Members of the community will have a chance to express their concerns before a decision is made.
Vogue Towers Partners VII has released this statement through a spokesperson:
"There is a legal process for approving land uses and structures in Pennsylvania. In this instance, that process involves presentation of the matter before the officials appointed by the Township Supervisors to render such decisions following a quasi-judicial hearing that is open to the public. The Township officials are required to only to consider those matters presented in the public hearing and made part of a record, by persons with standing, both in favor and opposed. While Vogue is not prohibited from speaking to the press on this matter, out of respect for the legal process, and in fairness to the participants in favor or opposed, Vogue Towers and its legal counsel choose to not make statements on the matter outside of the legal process. We do this because: publishing information about this matter may have the unintended consequence of communicating to the Township officials outside of the legal process; and, this opportunity to speak through the press may not be afforded to all stake holders, and may thus seem unfair. Thank you in advance for understanding our intent to follow the prescribed approval process."
The company issued this updated information on Monday, Feb. 21, "The tower will not be built anywhere near the hillside; and no request to make the property industrial has been made."