Pine supervisors have delayed a decision on T-Mobile's request for a revised conditional use application to locate cables and a shroud on a communications tower in the township, citing concerns about the safety of the pole.

Supervisor Ted Owen asked the board at yesterday's meeting to table the matter until its Nov. 16 meeting so township engineers could review whether the pole could withstand winds up to 70 mph as required by federal guidelines or the 100 mph required by Pine.

At issue is a pole in the 100 block of Pine Meadow Drive that was approved by the supervisors in 2001 for up to three carriers, as long as the antennas and coaxial cables were concealed inside the pole.

Three carriers were already located on the pole when the supervisors granted permission in October 2007 for T-Mobile to locate on the tower, as long as cables were placed inside the pole. It also granted permission for T-Mobile to locate six surface-mounted antennas on the outside of the tower that would be encased in a shroud to match the color of the pole.

At previous meetings, T-Mobile's representatives said that once they began work they realized their cables would not fit inside, so they installed them on the outside. The township issued a stop work order in January 2008, but the cables were already installed by then and T-Mobile activated service.

In previous meetings, Supervisor Frank Spagnolo had criticized T-Mobile for "blatantly" disregarding the terms of the conditional use permit. Mr. Spagnolo was not at yesterday's meeting.

Mr. Owen said yesterday that T-Mobile "knowingly has given false statements to the planning commission and us. . . . I'm just not comfortable with pole safety,"

T-Mobile had no representatives at the meeting.

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