Some Bethel residents fight new cell tower plan
Eileen FitzGerald
Updated 9:46 pm, Wednesday, December 11, 2013
BETHEL -- Although a cell tower proposal for private property on Codfish Hill Road is still in the early stages, some residents have come out against it.
The preliminary plan would be to construct an 150-foot wireless telecommunication tower facility in the easterly portion of the approximately 49-acre property at 62/64 Codfish Hill. Records show the land is owned by Claudia Stone.
The town has six other cell towers.
A new state law requires that an applicant for a tower must make a connection with the municipality where it would be located before applying for a permit from the Connecticut Siting Council, which approves tower locations.
A meeting Dec. 5 in town was the first step the North Atlantic Towers took to satisfy the law.
About 40 people attended the meeting. Some had received notices from the company proposing the tower.
"People are really upset,'' said Gillean Reinders, who received a notice about the meeting because of her closeness to the tower.
"Not only is there data about the health issues related to living close to the tower, but property values can be affected. We'll do everything we can to stop it."
She said they could see the balloon, indicating the height of the towers, from her deck and so could neighbors.
The group will meet next week to begin to formalize their efforts to protest the tower, she said.
First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker attended the meeting Dec. 5 and said that no one spoke in favor of the proposal.
He said the new law also allows the municipality to propose a different location for the tower.
"We will propose the company look at several different sites like Rock Ridge Golf Course and other locations away from residents," Knickerbocker said. "But, if this property is the only option, we would insist that the tower be put in the center of the property, which would be more than 950 feet away from the nearest home."
Reinders said that she has adequate cell service at her house and other neighbors also said their service was good so they didn't know why the tower was needed.
The proposed facility would allow AT&T and other carriers to provide wireless services.
Melanie Bachman, acting executive director of the Connecticut Siting Council, said that the company has not made a formal application for this tower yet.
"When an applicant comes in, the burden on them is to show us there is a need for coverage in an area," she said.
Even though there are other towers in Bethel, she said, sometimes their coverage areas are reduced by the topography.
She said there are no specific restrictions on the siting on a lot, but the council would look at how far the tower is located from a property line.
She said the companies working in the state are aware of what the council wants to see.
"They have come to know what we require so they can alleviate concerns ahead of time,'' she said and often the company will modify its proposal based on concerns of the residents.
There was no formal next step yet in the approval process, except for the plan of Reinders' group to meet next week to organize.
eileenf@newstimes.com; 203-731-3333
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