Pinelands Commission certifies AT&T plan amendment to allow potential Chatsworth tower

The Pinelands Commission voted to certify an amendment to AT&T’s local communications facilities plan that replaces a previously identified, infeasible preservation-area site with a search area centered on the village of Chatsworth.

Brad Sigler, the commission staff presenter, said the amendment does not increase the total number of authorized tower sites but relocates a candidate site from a preservation zone in Wharton State Forest to an industrial parcel nearer Chatsworth’s population center. "The commission hired a independent radio frequency consultant that confirmed that there was a coverage gap in this area," Sigler said, noting AT&T had evaluated existing towers and found none that could address the gap.

Commissioners raised viewshed concerns about allowing siting within downtown Chatsworth rather than at peripheral sites. One commissioner asked whether the amendment meant the commission would evaluate visual impacts now; staff replied that visual- and site-specific impacts are assessed during any future, specific site application and that plan certification demonstrates need and a constrained set of siting alternatives. Sigler told the commission the amendment carries a half-mile search radius around the selected parcel, and that actual tower siting would still require an individual application meeting CMP siting and environmental standards.

Staff also said the CMP requires municipalities to adopt removal provisions for obsolete towers. "Any facility must be removed and restored within 12 months of it ceasing operations," Sigler said, adding that removal rules are implemented at the municipal code level and enforced locally.

The commission approved certification of the amendment following the discussion. The certification allows AT&T to pursue specific site applications consistent with the certified plan and the CMP’s siting, co-location, and environmental standards.

What happens next: if AT&T submits a site-specific application, staff will review visual impacts, wetlands and threatened-and-endangered-species effects, and compliance with the CMP’s siting criteria before any permit or certificate of filing is issued.