{"id":16903,"date":"2024-12-05T05:41:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T10:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/?p=16903"},"modified":"2024-12-05T05:55:54","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T10:55:54","slug":"lavallette-verizon-end-5g-battle-in-settlement-approving-new-towers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2024\/12\/lavallette-verizon-end-5g-battle-in-settlement-approving-new-towers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lavallette, Verizon End 5G Battle In Settlement Approving New Towers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>

A small 5G wireless facility on top of an existing timber pole, Lavallette, N.J., May 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Lavallette officials overwhelmingly voted in favor of settling litigation with Verizon over the construction of 5G towers<\/a> in the borough, though the call was not unanimous.<\/p>\n

Under the terms of the settlement, Verizon will be able to install additional small cell nodes in town \u2013 most on existing utility poles and some on new poles to be provided by Verizon \u2013 in exchange for some concessions over growth and the wireless provider installing free lightning detection systems on top of the tower infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The settlement was authorized in a 6-1 vote by the borough council two weeks ago after a closed, executive session meeting, and the details were shared with the public this week after being cleared by a federal judge. Mayor Walter LaCicero said the decision was made to settle the litigation after he and William Burns, the borough attorney, were advised by Federal District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi that it was unlikely the borough, the defendant in the case, would prevail in a protracted battle with Verizon, a company with a market cap of about $179 billion. Verizon enjoys several layers of federal protection from intervention by local governments in the siting of 5G towers through various acts of Congress as well as FCC regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the same judge that would have heard the case if it had gone to court,\u201d LaCicero explained at Monday\u2019s council meeting, where the settlement was ratified in another 6-1 vote. Councilwoman Joanne Filippone, a vocal opponent of the proliferation of the towers in town, cast the lone dissenting vote.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A small 5G wireless facility on top of an existing timber pole, Lavallette, N.J., May 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Verizon filed suit against the borough Dec. 13, 2023, the final day it was eligible to do so, alleging the borough violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996 when it turned down the wireless provider\u2019s request to add an additional tranche of pole-mounted 4G and 5G antennas at various addresses town-wide. The so-called \u201csmall cell\u201d nodes are located on top of existing utility poles, and in some cases Verizon had proposed installing new poles where equipment would be hung in order to close gaps in the network\u2019s data and voice coverage due to the company\u2019s woes over frequency spectrum.<\/p>\n

The council denied Verizon a permit<\/a> to install the six new sites in November 2023. Arguing that Verizon was disproportionately flooding the town with antennas, installing heavy loads on utility poles that were prone to leaning, misleading residents and officials about their locations and providing little to no explanation as to why so many towers seemed to be required in Lavallette versus neighboring communities.<\/p>\n

Under the terms of the settlement, Verizon will get to install the towers that were already proposed, but will otherwise adhere to an 18-month moratorium on any additional tower proposals. A tower to be located on Philadelphia Avenue will include a lightning detection system paid for by Verizon which will be under Lavallette\u2019s control (as opposed to an existing lightning detector that is linked to Ortley Beach\u2019s system), plus a future lightning detection tower along the bay at a location to be determined.<\/p>\n

The locations of the future towers are:<\/strong><\/p>\n