Petition Protests Verizon Cell Tower In Lower Makefield Twp.

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —While Verizon Wireless conducted a “balloon test” over the Beth El Synagogue last Friday, residents are protesting the need for a cell tower on the property.

A Change.org petition drive has been launched to protest the cell tower project that's before the Lower Makefield Township Zoning Hearing Board.

Residents have gathered more than 235 signatures so far on the Change.org petition to stop Verizon from building the cell tower on the property at 375 Stony Hill Rd.

The petition states that the cell tower would reduce property values in the neighborhood by up to 20 percent.

"Verizon is proposing to build a cell tower behind Beth El —right in our backyard. While we want improved cell coverage for all, it should be put in a place that is already permitted, like the ShopRite/Kohls complex or other permitted areas," said Perryne Desai, who started the petition. "As a residential neighborhood, we do not want the cell tower."

Signers say they are also worried about:

• The neighborhood's essential character changing
• The environment and local ecosystem being damaged
• The health of residents, especially children, harmed

The next zoning hearing board meeting on the cell tower application is May 2.

The Lower Makefield Township Police Department said that the balloon test took place last Friday. The township did not post that it was rescheduled due to inclement weather.

A brightly colored helium-filled balloon was flown at a tethered height equal to the height of a hypothetical pole structure, 150 feet above the ground. Photographs from various vantage points around the property and off-site will be taken from which photo simulations will be prepared of the structure in proper scale, township officials said.