WESTFIELD, NJ - At Thursday night’s Planning Board meeting, MetroPCS’s application to place cell phone antennas on top of 190 Orchard Street, 233 Prospect Street, 307 Prospect Street, and 34 Cowperthwaite Place, continued with testimony on the matter being provided by several experts on behalf of MetroPCS. 

Cellphone company MetroPCS, which is vying for customers in Westfield, plans to add six cell phone antennas to buildings where other companies already have antennas in place. The Westfield Planning Board, which last heard the application request on June 7th, had questions concerning the height of the antennas and the impact on the surrounding areas.

A majority of the evening’s agenda was dedicated to hearing testimony from expert witnesses provided in support of MetroPCS’s application. Richard Schkolnik, attorney for MetroPCS, called three witnesses to testify on behalf of Metro PCS in support of their application. The first witness to support its case was Edward Nowak, Engineer, who testified that two of the antennas were assessed at a different height due to a sloping roof. Mr. Nowak also stated Antennas #35 and # 36 had been increased two feet due to radio frequency problems.

Ron Rinerstine, another expert witness for MetroPCS, spoke about a packet containing aerial photos of the existing cell antennas from companies operating in the area. Companies like Sprint/Nextel and T-Mobile have antennas in the same locations as the proposed Metro PCS antennas. The packet contains images of existing antennas on one side and the proposed "simulation" images on the other photo. Three locations listed include: 233 Prospect Street, 307 Prospect Street and 34 Cowperthwaite Place.

Another witness called was Daniel Collins, a radio frequency expert, who reviewed a report pertaining to radio frequency waves at the antenna locations. Collins, who has 38 years of experience in the field, clarified that the radio frequency emissions omitted from the antennas will be in compliance with FCC standards for radio wave motions.

MetroPCS called their last witness Fahd Kanad, an antenna design specialist, who demonstrated a proposal for the incoming antennas’ radio signal. Kanad, who has worked for the two existing cell phone companies at the site, spoke about how the size of the antennas needs to be the appropriate size in order to obtain the proper signals for MetroPCS’s service.

Citizens from surrounding buildings in Westfield spoke at the hearing regarding the appearance of the antennas and possible health concerns with antennas in close proximity to schools and residential areas. Joellen Bard, resident of 264 Prospect Street, asked a series of questions about the antennas’ placement and how they affect her: "Somehow we are [going to] end up with 31 antennas on the roof!" declared Bard. "As far as I know, no one knew when the original antennas went up…I question what happened here because these antennas are near two schools, a YMCA, the Board of Education and residents. Our main concern is the health concern; they are ugly and the addition of more antennas is wrong." Bard also discussed soon-to-be-released research regarding a possible link between childhood Leukemia and cell antennas, which has not yet been proven.  

Board members from the Planning Board also raised concerns regarding the open application process for MetroPCS. Mr. Gariff of the Planning Board voiced several concerns about the information gathering process, stating that the information given by the expert witnesses on behalf of MetroPCS is unclear. Chairman Vincent Wilt of the Planning Board also voiced his opinion that Richard Schkolnik was at times "badgering" the board about certain topics.

The Planning Board deferred the application until further evidence can be provided to the board about the exact size of the columns that will be used to hide the antennas from the public’s view. Several members of the board were confused about the exact diameter of the antennas and what size columns would be used to protect the antennas. The official meeting will reconvene on September 1, 2010.

Richard Schkolnik, who spoke at length during the application hearing, commented after the hearing: "I thought it went well; we got the information in front of the board and hopefully they have enough information to go to the meeting in September." Schkolnik also said that he would like to thank the board and the citizens for their time in this matter.