Hearing Postponed, Plans Changed––

Firm Seeks Industrial Site For Telecommunications Tower

By Andrew Gorosko

A firm that has made a controversial proposal to erect a 150-foot-tall telecommunications tower in a residential area, near Exit 10 of westbound Interstate 84, is now exploring constructing a tower in an industrial area on the opposite side of I-84.

Omnipoint Facilities Network-2, LLC, a subsidiary of T-Mobile, USA, Inc, of Stamford has a proposal pending to build a monopole-style, steel tower for cellular telephone communications on property at 79 Church Hill Road, near westbound I-84.

But building a telecommunications tower in that residential area has drawn opposition from Walnut Tree Hill Road area residents, among others, and the firm is now researching erecting a tower on industrially zoned land along Edmond Road, on the opposite side of I-84. Edmond Road is a private road that links Church Hill Road to Schoolhouse Hill Road. Edmond Road runs parallel to the eastbound lanes of I-84.

The Connecticut Siting Council, which reviews telecommunications tower construction applications, postponed a public hearing on Omnipoint’s 79 Church Hill Road tower application, which had been scheduled for March 27 in Edmond Town Hall. The hearing has tentatively been rescheduled for May 1.

S. Derek Phelps, the siting council’s executive director, said March 24 that Omnipoint sought the hearing delay to allow it to gather additional information for its application, but declined to elaborate.

Omnipoint attorney Stephen J. Humes said March 24 the firm believes that its application for a tower at 79 Church Hill Road is still a viable application, but is pursuing an industrial setting for a tower in response to requests from the town government.

Attorney Monte Frank, representing the town, had recommended that Omnipoint explore building a tower across I-84, off Edmond Road, Mr Humes said. That area has M-2 Industrial zoning.

Before it submitted its tower proposal for 79 Church Hill Road for siting council review, Omnipoint had unsuccessfully sought an agreement that would allow it to build a tower off Edmond Road, Mr Humes said.

Industrial properties in that area include Rand-Whitney Container at 1 Edmond Road, the Pitney-Bowes Distribution Center at 7 Edmond Road, and what is known as the Edwards property, which is a vacant stretch of land at 3 Edmond Road.

Mr Humes said that Omnipoint last year sought to obtain a tower site at the Pitney-Bowes property, but was unsuccessful. Omnipoint last year also sought to obtain a tower site at the Rand-Whitney property, but got no response, he said.

In the current round of talks, Omnipoint has discussed a possible tower site with Rand-Whitney and also with industrial property owner Jim Edwards, Mr Humes said.

Mr Humes said the town had offered to rent a site to Omnipoint at the municipal sewage treatment plant at the end of Commerce Road, but that location would fall outside the telecommunications firm’s cellular coverage area.

Of Omnipoint’s seeking a tower site off Edmond Road, Mr Humes said the firm is sensitive to public concerns about tower construction.

Mr Humes said it is unclear whether an Edmond Road tower would need to be taller than the 150-foot-tall tower that Omnipoint has proposed for 79 Church Hill Road. Multiple antenna arrays would be mounted atop a tower for cellular telephone communications along the heavily traveled I-84 corridor.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said it is more appropriate to build telecommunications towers in areas with industrial zoning, such as Edmond Road, than in residential areas.

 

Opposition

Walnut Tree Hill Road area residents who are upset about the prospect of a 150-foot-tall tower in their neighborhood have organized to oppose the tower proposal for 79 Church Hill Road.

Julia Nable of 10 Walnut Tree Hill Road has been contacting neighbors to rally opposition . Ms Nable has said she has collected more than 700 petition signatures from town residents who oppose the proposal.

The petition states: We, the residents of Newtown and Sandy Hook, are in opposition to a cellular telecommunications tower/facility to be built in the residential neighborhood of Walnut Tree Hill Road.

In a leaflet distributed to Walnut Tree Hill Road area residents recently, Ms Nable and Zoltan Csillag list reasons why a tower should not be built in that area.

The presence of such towers poses the potential for health and safety problems due to electromagnetic radiation exposure, they state. Research is underway to study potential health risks, they note, adding that such telecommunications facilities have not been in use long enough for conclusive research results to appear.

“A huge metal tower would loom on our immediate sight lines on Walnut Tree Hill Road, Evergreen Road, Church Hill Road, and all surrounding roads,” they add.

The wooded, hilly 35-acre parcel at 79 Church Hill Road lies within the area bounded by Church Hill Road on the south, Walnut Tree Hill Road on the east, Evergreen Road on the north, and I-84 on the west.

“Property values can be affected negatively by 25 percent or more, based on national statistics. A cellular tower in a residential zone would cause undue hardship to nearby property owners. These towers belong in commercial zones or in industrial zones only,” according to Ms Nable.

A 150-foot-tall telecommunications tower, which is similar to the one that Omnipoint has proposed for the Exit 10 area, now stands at the Georgia-Pacific lumberyard at 201 South Main Street. 

The town contains multiple wireless telecommunications towers. Such freestanding towers often are located in industrial/commercial areas. Tower construction proposals often draw heavy opposition when they are proposed for residential areas.

In the past, the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) reviewed and ruled on such tower construction applications, based on an elaborate set of tower regulations that were created by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

A court decision, however, shifted the jurisdiction over tower construction proposals to the Connecticut Siting Council.