CRANBERRY TWP — A lawyer who frequently represents wireless communications providers and a concerned resident both spoke during a public hearing for a revised zoning ordinance regarding where communications towers can be placed.

The township board of supervisors held a public hearing April 27 to receive public comment on the potential revision.

Cranberry is looking to revise the ordinance to further restrict the areas where communications towers would be permitted. The revision is to protect residents from having the large towers in their backyards.

The revised zoning ordinance would require wireless communication towers to be no closer than 100 feet from a residential area, and it removes churches and schools from an exemption from the restriction.

Joe Perotti, an attorney with Sittig, Cortese and Wratcher in Pittsburgh, had two representatives from Verizon with him at the meeting. He said many households have eliminated landlines in favor of wireless lines, and wireless data usage is expected to increase significantly.

Perotti discussed the various ways wireless providers fill gaps in coverage, which includes the large cell towers, small cells and distributed antennae systems. He said the small systems are not suitable for residential areas.

Distributed antennae systems can be mounted atop light poles or utility poles and blend in fairly well with the existing structure.

Ron Henshaw, Cranberry’s director of planning and development services, said the township has 22 wireless communications facilities. Nine of them are the small and inconspicuous distributed antennae systems.

Mark Macri, a township resident, thanked the board for looking into the issue and for protecting the community from potential hazards from the large cell towers.

“I know technology is important to us, but the health of our little ones and community is important to us,” he said.

The board will vote to adopt the revised ordinance June 1.