A new cell tower could be erected less than a mile from Palmerton Area High School in Lower Towamensing Township.

The township's zoning hearing board will meet at 7 tonight to discuss the proposal to use property located behind Palmerton Lumber Company at 380 Sand Quarry Road.Allentown SMSA, doing business as Verizon Wireless, has proposed to use property for a wireless cellular tower, and is in search of a variance.Brian Billig, store manager of Palmerton Lumber Company, said this morning the tower would be located in the rear of the business, in the back corner of the property."It's going to benefit everybody in the long run," Billig said.In his rejection letter, township zoning officer Duane Dellecker said the portion of the property affected by the request is situated in a V-C (Village Center) zoning district.Dellecker said the proposal is to erect a 140-foot monopole cellular communications tower and related equipment structure at the property.The cover letter and plan both indicate a 135-foot monopole, he said. However, another plan page indicated a 170-foot monopole, a 117-foot monopole, and a 156-foot generator, Dellecker said."We believe these numbers reflect setback distances to the nearest part of the structures on this application," Dellecker said. "These inconsistencies should be corrected on the site plan."Dellecker said a variance is needed to allow for a communication tower/antenna in the V-C Zoning District.In his letter, Dellecker said the ordinance requires:• The applicant to furnish a sealed statement from a registered engineer that the proposed communication tower support structure is safe, and that the surrounding property and streets will not be negatively affected by support structure failure, falling ice or other debris.• The applicant demonstrate that the communication antennas will not cause radio frequency interference in accordance with FCC regulations.• An evergreen screen surrounding the site.• Communication towers be dark green in color up to the height of the nearby trees and silver (or equivalent) above to lessen visual impact.• Communication towers/antennas be set back a distance of at least 125 percent of their height from any property line, which means the 135-foot high tower would require a setback of 168.75 feet from any property line, as the application as submitted indicates front and rear yard setbacks of 117 feet and 156 feet, respectively.