ZBA Rejects Telecom Tower Proposal
ZBA Rejects Telecom Tower Proposal
By Andrew Gorosko
With scant discussion, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) has rejected an application for several zoning variances required for the construction of a 199-foot-tall commercial wireless telecommunications tower off Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook.
ZBA members May 3 unanimously rejected the request for zoning variances from SBA Communications, Inc. â a proposal which had drawn strong opposition from people living near the 249 Berkshire Road site proposed for the tower.
 ZBA member Richard Kessler, Jr, described the application as âtotally non-conforming with the new regulations.â The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) last fall approved a new set of zoning rules to regulate the installation of such towers and related equipment.
Mr Kessler said SBA was seeking âhuge variancesâ of the zoning regulations in its application.
In rejecting the application, ZBA members agreed that SBA Communications had not demonstrated there was any hardship which would justify it being granted the zoning variances.
Thomas Flynn, III, the SBA zoning consultant who presented the firmâs application to the ZBA at an April public hearing, had no comment Thursday on the ZBAâs rejection of the application. Mr Flynn declined to say whether the firm would return to Newtown with a new application.
 SBA, a nationwide developer of telecommunications towers, sought several variances from the ZBA which, if granted, would then have allowed the company to apply to the ZBA for a âspecial exceptionâ to the zoning regulations to erect a monopole-style steel tower at 249 Berkshire Road, also known as Route 34. The zoning variances concerned tower setbacks and the towerâs proximity to residential buildings.
The property is the site of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Companyâs substation firehouse. It lies just east of Berkshire Roadâs intersection with Checkerberry Lane. The communications firm wanted to lease space on the property from the fire company for the tower site.
The new regulations approved by the P&Z last fall resulted in SBA seeking the zoning variances. The SBA application was the first application subject to those new telecommunications rules. Newtown has seven other sites for wireless telecommunications, but none of those sites were subject to the new regulations.
At the April public hearing, attorney Richard Emerson, representing a group of nearby residents opposed to tower construction, said SBAâs zoning variance application is grossly out of conformance with applicable zoning regulations. A variance application typically involves a small amount of non-conformity with the regulations, he said.
While SBA indicated that only one house is less than 500 feet from the site, seven houses actually are within 500 feet of the site, Mr Emerson said. The new zoning regulations require towers to be at least 500 feet from homes.
Mr Emerson said SBA approaches fire companies in Connecticut about placing towers on their properties. The firm trades on the goodwill the public has for fire companies in employing a political approach to building towers, he added.
The parcel on which SBA wants to build a tower is not large enough to meet the requirements of the zoning regulations, Mr Emerson said.
Several residents who spoke in opposition to the tower at the hearing said the application was grossly out of line with zoning requirements for such facilities; could damage nearby property values; and could pose safety hazards if the tower fell over or the equipment on the tower fell off it.  Â
SBA wanted to build the tower to provide antenna placements for several federally licensed wireless telecommunications carriers, including Sprint and Nextel, as part of their analog and digital wireless telecommunications networks.
Mr Flynn has acknowledged that SBA was seeking substantial zoning variances, but added the variances were needed to provide adequate wireless telecommunications service in the area.
Having a tower in place would help the town from a public safety standpoint, providing antenna placements for fire, police, and emergency communications at no cost to the town, Mr Flynn had said.
The P&Zâs new telecommunications rules are intended to encourage the location of commercial wireless telecommunications towers and antennas away from residential neighborhoods and to protect natural and scenic vistas.
Through the rules, the P&Z hopes to minimize the adverse visual and operational effects of the facilities through careful design, siting, and screening, and hopes to protect historic aspects of the community from adverse effects.