Allegheny County and a developer rejected an alternate site for a proposed 190-foot cell tower in South Park that would have been farther from people's homes, officials said.
County Parks Director Andy Baechle didn't want to use a tract farther west in the park than the proposed site at Ridge and McCorkle roads, because it would have required moving playground equipment and installing utilities, Lou Siyufy, president of LJS Development, testified last week before the township zoning hearing board.
South Fayette-based LJS is seeking zoning exemptions to allow construction of a tower near in the park.
Siyufy said last week the alternate site atop another ridge wouldn't have accomplished LJS's goal of improving weak or unreliable cellphone reception near the park.
“For 25 years, I've known the coverage in South Park has been terrible,” he said, noting it was one of the first parcels he pursued when Allegheny County opened 62 parks, buildings and county-owned lots to leases for cell towers and equipment.
He said he wanted to build a tower that would make signals strong enough to reach people inside nearby homes, schools and offices.
But some residents at the hearing questioned whether service was so bad that it required the tower.
“The impression you're giving is that there's non-existent coverage,” resident Michael Turley said.
Siyufy said Baechle's decision on the west site was communicated verbally, with no letters or emails documenting whether the county had turned down the site.
Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs said Baechle addressed the question of the tower location but stopped short of saying he rejected the alternative.
“Director Baechle met with ... LJS Development and was advised of the two locations that were being considered. He weighed in/gave input on both sites and did note that one site would be near a playground/would require the relocation of equipment,” her statement read. “LJS indicated that it would be pursuing the other location with the township.”
Mark Uminski, a consultant to LJS, testified he used computer modeling to determine what the proposed tower could do to improve coverage and how that supported placing the tower where it is proposed.
“Pittsburgh has got some of the worst topology,” he said. “If you look at tower sites throughout the area, the vast majority are on high ground. Taking into account where you have people on the roads, where the schools have a lot of dense usage, you're going to look to the east side of the township before the west side.”
Zoning Hearing Board chairman Ronald Cooper said testimony will continue at 7 p.m. Oct. 23. The township, an attorney representing a neighboring property owner and other residents are expected to present arguments then submit legal briefs to the board before it makes a decision.
Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.
