The Penn Forest Township supervisors dealt a setback to a proposed communication tower on Stony Mountain Road Tuesday night.

The zoners voted 3-0 to reject a request filed by Scientel Tower Solutions for exemptions from three requirements in the township zoning ordinance.

Scientel’s proposed 205-foot tower at 586 Stony Mountain Road needed approval because it didn’t meet three requirements in the township zoning ordinance.

The requirements in question were setbacks from the nearest property line and occupied building, as well as a requirement that each property in the township can only have one principal use.

A Scientel representative said that the tower didn’t meet the setback requirements because the land that the property owner had granted them was limited in size.

The zoners asked if there were any other towers that could possibly host Scientel’s antennas. The Scientel representative, Mike Pugliese, said the only tower that would be usable is owned by a direct competitor.

They required the zoning board’s approval for a second principal use, a communication tower, because the property’s current primary use is residential.

Several residents who opposed the tower participated in the hearing through the same attorney who is representing the opponents of the wind turbine project proposed on the Bethlehem watershed property.

A neighbor pointed out that a tower similar to the one proposed was erected on the property in the fall. Pugliese said that was likely a portable tower used in the engineering process.

Some residents said they were concerned about microwave radiation from the tower.

Pugliese said the tower would be intended primarily for a data network where towers communicate directly, as opposed to the multipoint communication of cellphone towers.

However, he said a cellphone provider could decide to contract with Scientel to buy space on the tower. Tower space could also be used for 911 service or wireless internet.

The board did not offer any explanation for their decision. Their solicitor, Gregory Mousseau, said that the board would explain its reasons in a written decision.

Once that decision is issued, Scientel will have 30 days to appeal the decision to the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas.

On Monday at 6 p.m., the township supervisors have scheduled a special meeting to hear Scientel’s request for a conditional use permit for the tower.

That permit is needed to build a tower in the township’s R-2 residential zone. As of Tuesday night that hearing was still scheduled to take place.