Point Pleasant Beach has reached a settlement with Munisite to remove 5G small cell poles from the borough, Mayor Doug Vitale announced in a post to Facebook Tuesday afternoon.
“I am pleased to announce that the Borough has negotiated terms with Munisite to resolve our differences regarding 5G poles that were installed in the Borough,” said the mayor. Munisite is an infrastructure operator which initially erected the five telecom poles in June. “The settlement provides for Munisite’s prompt removal of the 5G poles that have been installed, after which Munisite’s right-of-way license agreement will terminate.”
In his post, the mayor explained that the settlement would be finalized at the next council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3. He also said Munisite would receive “limited” compensation for the installation cost.
“In exchange, the Borough will provide Munisite with limited compensation reflecting its hard costs incurred with installing the poles,” he said. “The terms of this settlement will be finalized and prepared for governing body approval at the Sept. 3, 2024 public meeting.”
“I appreciate the public’s patience as we worked to achieve this settlement with Munisite, and I thank Munisite for their cooperation in reaching this negotiated outcome,” Vitale said.
The mayor further said that the borough will now rely on the newly adopted small cell ordinance, which includes regulating the aesthetic appearance of poles.
“Moving forward,” the mayor said, “the Borough will regulate 5G poles through its new ordinance governing small wireless facilities. The ordinance allows carriers to access the right-of-way as required by federal law, while imposing reasonable design standards to be approved by the governing body.”
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