Verizon To Conduct Balloon Test For Tower In Lower Makefield Twp.

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —Verizon Wireless will conduct a “balloon test” on the Beth El Synagogue property Friday morning, township officials said.

Officials said the test's purpose is to assess the visibility and possible alternate designs of Verizon’s proposed cell tower at the property on 375 Stony Hill Rd.

The test is expected to take place at 8 a.m. and continue until 10 a.m., weather permitting.

Township officials said a brightly colored helium-filled balloon will be flown at a tethered height equal to the height of a hypothetical pole structure. In this case, it will be 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.

"The goal is to provide a fairly realistic depiction of what a hypothetical structure will look like if placed at that location," the township said in a Facebook post.

In the event that weather conditions are not favorable, Verizon will try again on an alternate date to be determined.

The next township zoning hearing board meeting on the cell tower application will be held on May 2.