Amanda Oglesby
Asbury Park Press
SPRING LAKE — Verizon is suing Spring Lake over the company's request to build six 5G cellular poles along Ocean Avenue, Mayor Jennifer Naughton announced Tuesday.
The mayor told a crowd inside the H.W. Mountz Elementary School, where roughly 100 residents gathered to protest the Verizon plan before the Borough Council, that she was served with the lawsuit earlier that morning.
"We are not in a position to digest it (the lawsuit) yet," Naughton said, noting that the council would refrain from commenting on it Tuesday.
Borough officials plan to render a decision on the company's 5G poll application on Dec. 17.
Verizon plans to build the six small wireless facilities, as they are called by the company, in order to provide additional cellular network capacity to Spring Lake residents and summer visitors, according to the company's application.
The poles, which would be a maximum of 35 feet high or up to 110% of the heights of the surrounding buildings, would be designed to accommodate at least three phone carriers and would address the area's "serious wireless capacity problem," according to Verizon's application.
"Over the summer months, there is an exponential increase of visitors to the Borough's beaches," the company wrote in the 11-page application. "That increased demand on Verizon Wireless' network far outstrips available capacity which, in turn, has inhibited the ability of residents and visitors to make and receive phone calls or text messages or use their devices to access the internet."
A 2018 federal law gives preferential treatment to wireless broadband companies to expand their service infrastructure. The law also limits the degrees to which local governments can resist the construction of such small wireless facilities in public rights of way.
The law also requires government agencies to review an application for a small wireless facility on an existing structure within 60 days, and within 90 days for new structures.
"For Americans living in wireless-only homes and for those traveling outside of their homes, cell phones are often their only lifeline in emergencies," Robert Gaudioso, an attorney representing the Verizon project, wrote in the lawsuit against Spring Lake, which was filed in federal court this month.
"The ability to reach 9-1-1 from one’s wireless phone has become a vital public safety tool," he wrote. "Sufficient network coverage and capacity are crucial to ensure these calls can reliably be completed."
Gaudioso did not immediately return a call for comment.
"Verizon's network improvements provide crucial connectivity for customers and emergency service providers in the community," a company spokesperson wrote in an email to the Asbury Park Press. "With consumers and businesses using increasing amounts of data each year, we continually enhance our network to meet the needs of homeowners, first responders and… vacationers in beach communities."
The spokesperson said the company would continue to work to ensure compliance with all state, federal and local laws and procedures.
Verizon claims Spring Lake delayed and denied project
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of New York SMSA Limited working for Verizon, alleges Spring Lake's Council, mayor and Zoning Officer Matthew Zahorsky have created an "unreasonable delay and effective denial" of the project.
Spring Lake residents are braced for a fight. Residents have hired attorneys and organized a grassroots campaign to battle the wireless company's plans.
"Beyond just aesthetics, this is just… a no-go," said Kelly Badishkanian, a founding member of the group "Spring Lake Against 5G Towers."
"My husband and I, we have two little kids," she said, citing worries about cellphone-related electromagnetic fields and radiation. "I don't feel comfortable having it so close to our home."
According to the United Nation's International Telecommunication Union, the radio-frequency electromagnetic fields used in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks show no evidence of increased health risks, within the exposure limits set by national regulators.
For other residents, preserving the borough's historic charms and century-old aesthetic is the reason for fighting the poles.
Joseph Rizzo, president of the Spring Lake Preservation Alliance, told the Borough Council that the poles would be "out of place" in an area of the borough residents have worked so hard to protect from the creep of modernity.
"I'm deeply concerned about … the impact on our town's precious historic landscape, especially the iconic views," he said.
Resident Tom Burke said he worried the 5G poles would impact the tranquility and scenic view at the beachfront.
"Living where we do, we enjoy a quieter, natural environment that feels worlds apart from the commercial and industrial areas you see in other Shore towns," he said. "Spring Lake's beautiful, noncommercial beach area and the surrounding areas make this town the gem that it is."
W. Scott McCollough, an attorney representing "Spring Lake Against 5G Towers," agreed and said property values were at risk from the 5G project.
"The community stands united in its objection to these towers," he told the Council. "This isn't a case of self-interested NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard-ism) by a privileged few. It's a collective, sincere effort to preserve what makes this town special."
Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 16 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.