No Compelling Need for WRAT Tower, Opponents Say

Lake Como resident Diane Edgar wonders why borough officials, having invested time and money in Behrmann Park, would consider allowing the to be raised on the state-protected parkland.

While the existing 300-foot-high tower on Main Street is an eyesore, replacing it with a 535-foot-high tower in the borough-owned park is not the answer, said Edgar, a 22nd Avenue resident who addressed the .

"We appreciate all the help that we have received with the park," Edgar said. "So I don't understand why anyone would want to see this monstrosity towering over it."

Edgar and many of her neighbors urged the governing body not to apply to the state Department of Environmental Protection for a diversion that would allow Greater Media, Inc., WRAT's parent company, to build the proposed tower and an ancillary building on 4,000 feet of Green Acres land inside the park.

Tuesday night's public forum was a continuation of the June 22 scoping hearing required by the DEP whenever a governing body is applying for a diversion of Green Acres land on behalf of a developer, such as Greater Media.

To receive a diversion, the applicants must prove that the developer needs to use Green Acres land to meet a compelling public need, said Ryan Stempniewicz, also of 22nd Avenue.

Greater Media has not shown that the heightened tower meets that criteria, Stempniewicz said. The company is merely seeking to increase its profits by allowing more cellular carriers to co-locate upon the structure.

"It would make Lake Como become known as the town with the 500-foot tower," Stempniewicz said. "This should be about people. It should not be about money. It should not be about accommodating a corporation."

Robert Moss, a Green Acres coordinator for the state's Sierra Club, told the council that by law, the state DEP would only grant a diversion when an applicant, in this case Lake Como, has presented evidence that protected land must be developed for the public interest.

"A diversion must meet a compelling public need," Moss said. "A diversion should only be done as a last resort."

Greater Media's promise to develop a pocket park on Brant Parkway, which would be separated by 18th Avenue from Behrmann Park, rings hollow too, Moss went on. The DEP requires that any Green Acres land taken by a private entity must be replaced by open space contiguous to an existing park.

"A pocket park unconnected to open space doesn't meet that requirement," Moss said. "The land also has to be equivalent in terms of recreation and conservation."

If constructed, the tower would sit in the park's southwest corner where it will also overshadow homes and recreational facilities in Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights and Wall Township. Some residents of those bordering communities have about the tower's impact on their quality of life.

Reading from a letter addressed to the DEP, Spring Lake resident Brendan Judge called the tower application a "money grab" for Greater Media and for Lake Como, which would profit by leasing the land to the radio station owner.

"There is no compelling public purpose. The only purpose behind this application is Greater Media's and Lake Como's pursuit of money," Judge said.

Granting the diversion to Greater Media and Lake Como would also set a "dangerous precedent" that could lead to future litigation as more commercial entities attempt to build upon Green Acres land, he added.

In response to a question from Councilman Kevin Lynch, Robert Shea, Greater Media's attorney, indicated that the company needs at least 500 feet for its tower if it is to reach more people in case of a natural or man-made emergency.

"It's part of the process of increasing and improving our level of service to our listeners," Shea said.

Many of the tower opponents live in the neighborhood closest to the park which consists of Margerum Avenue and the numbered streets between 18th and 22nd avenues. They have also previously voiced concerns about the structural safety of the tower, its environmental impact on the land and area wildlife, the wetlands in the vicinity, and the structure's impact on real estate values.