The Edison zoning board unanimously rejected T-Mobile’s plan to erect a cell phone antenna site off Elizabeth Avenue — a project residents feared could have disrupted a nearby natural gas pipeline.
About 100 residents packed into Tuesday’s meeting to protest the proposed site, located near a residential North Edison neighborhood by Menlo Park Elementary School.
T-Mobile was planning to tack the antennas onto an existing PSE&G high tension tower to fill a gap in coverage.
But zoning board member Mary Petti said T-Mobile did not prove there was “an actual need” for the site.
Board members also echoed residents’ concern over an equipment shed T-Mobile was asking to build 37 feet from a Texas Eastern gas pipe. Some opponents worried that could lead to a repeat of the famed Durham Woods natural gas explosion, which rocked Edison 16 years ago.
“I was uncomfortable about the proximity to the gas line,” said zoning board member Sal Pizzi. “The benefit didn't outweigh the risk.”
On March 23, 1994, a Texas Eastern gas line exploded near the Durham Woods apartment complex, sending a giant fireball 2,000 feet into the air. The blast injured 100 people, displaced 1,500 residents, destroyed eight buildings and caused $25 million in damage. One woman died of a heart attack.
Zoning board members said they expect T-Mobile to appeal the decision.
http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/12/edison_zoning_board_rejects_t-.html
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