DATE:     December 14, 2005

TO:           Council Members

FROM:     S. Derek Phelps, Executive Director

RE:           DOCKET NO. 309 - Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a wireless telecommunications facility located at the Round Hill Community Church, 395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, Connecticut.

The application is from Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (Verizon) for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a telecommunications facility and associated equipment at the Round Hill Community Church, 395 Round Hill Road, Greenwich, Connecticut.

Verizon is proposing to construct two 115-foot monopoles, each designed to support three levels of interior flush mounted antennas. A single U-shaped equipment building, designed to support the equipment of five carriers and an emergency generator, would be constructed at the base of the proposed towers. The proposed telecommunications site is located on an residentially zoned 8.1-acre parcel owned by the Round Hill Community Church. The parcel contains the Church’s Community Building, Rectory, and Caretaker’s residence.

II. Technical

The application includes relevant maps, descriptions of the proposed site, costs, a description of the environmental effects of the proposed construction, and health and safety information. The application meets statutory technical requirements for processing the application. Council staff believes additional information can be obtained through pre-hearing interrogatories. This project would not require an outside consultant.

III. Administrative Review

The applicant has stated that all service and filing requirements pursuant to General Statutes § 16-50l (b) have been fulfilled. Public notice of the application was published in the Greenwich Times on November 3 and 4, 2005.

IV. Procedural

The Council must schedule a hearing for the proceeding between 30 and 150 days after receipt of an application. The Council must also appoint a custodian of the docket and designate a place for the deposition of the transcript. Staff recommends designating Lisa Fontaine as custodian of the docket, holding the public hearing in the Town of Greenwich on Tuesday, January 31, 2006, and depositing the transcript in the Town Clerk’s Office of the Greenwich Town Hall.

V. Proposed Schedule

Robert D. Mercier

Siting Analyst