Matamoras tower hearing scheduled for March 1

By DAWN McGELLIGOTT

MATAMORAS, PA — The Matamoras Borough Council scheduled a March 1 public hearing for a communications tower proposed for Airport Park at their meeting on February 1.

Borough zoning would require modification to install the proposed “150-foot self-supporting monopole” to include commercial communications devices as a conditional use.

The applicant would also have to apply for a variance in setback requirements, unless the borough council receives the legal opinion that the Ninth Street Extension abutting the land does not meet the “public road right-of-way” definition.

The borough council has also recommended that the tower be built in such a way that it could accommodate other providers and emergency services in future.

Attorney Jonathan Taber, representing the cell tower company, told the borough council that the company originally filing for approval, AT&T Wireless, had changed its name to New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC. Richard M. Rusnok, a consultant, claimed that the company’s towers are designed to withstand high winds and other forces that may act against them.

Additionally, the proposed tower is designed not fall from its base. Rather, if for any reason the tower were to fall, it is designed so that the top third would fall first and should not land far away. “It is designed to bend in upon itself,” commented Rusnok. The borough council also voted to sign the New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC lease agreement, pending zoning approval.

The hearing will be held at 7:15 p.m. at the borough hall and will be followed by the regular monthly meeting of the borough council.