PETITION NO. 687 - Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless petition for a declaratory ruling that no Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need is required for the establishment of a wireless telecommunications facility at the Harvest Baptist Church, 1440 Litchfield Turnpike (Route 202), New Hartford, Connecticut.

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Connecticut

Siting

Council

December 1, 2004

Decision and Order

Pursuant to the foregoing Findings of Fact and Opinion, the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) finds that the environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of a telecommunications facility at the Harvest Baptist Church, 1440 Litchfield Turnpike (Route 202), New Hartford, Connecticut are not significant and therefore are not sufficient reason to deny this petition.

The facility shall be constructed, operated, and maintained substantially as specified in the Council’s record in this matter, and subject to the following conditions:

  1. The tower shall be constructed as specified in the petition, designed as a 125-foot bell tower placed on a platform within the Town approved pavilion structure. The bell tower shall not exceed 125 feet above the level of the pavilion platform. The pavilion platform shall not exceed a height of six feet above ground level.

2. The facility owner shall prepare a Development and Management (D&M) Plan for this site that complies with Sections 16-50j-75 through 16-50j-77 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The D&M Plan shall be served on the Town of New Hartford for comment, and all parties and intervenors as listed in the service list, and submitted to and approved by the Council prior to the commencement of facility construction. The D&M shall include:

    1. a final site plan(s) of site development, approved by a professional engineer, that includes specifications for the pavilion, bell tower, bell tower foundation, antennas, radio equipment, access road, utility line, and landscaping; and
    2. construction plans for site clearing, water drainage, and erosion and sedimentation control consistent with the 2002 Connecticut Guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, as amended.
  1. The facility owner shall, prior to the commencement of operation, provide the Council worst-case modeling of electromagnetic radio frequency power density of all proposed entities’ antennas at the closest point of uncontrolled access to the tower base, consistent with Federal Communications Commission, Office of Engineering and Technology, Bulletin No. 65, August 1997. The facility owner shall ensure a recalculated report of electromagnetic radio frequency power density is submitted to the Council when circumstances in operation cause a change in power density above the levels calculated and provided pursuant to this Decision and Order.
  1. Upon the establishment of any new State or federal radio frequency standards applicable to frequencies of this facility, the facility granted herein shall be brought into compliance with such standards.
  2. The facility owner shall permit public or private entities to share space on the proposed tower for fair consideration, or shall provide any requesting entity with specific legal, technical, environmental, or economic reasons precluding such tower sharing.
  3. The facility owner shall provide reasonable space on the tower for no compensation for any municipal antennas, provided such antennas are compatible with the structural integrity of the tower.
  4. If the facility does not initially provide wireless services within one year of completion of construction or ceases to provide wireless services for a period of one year, this Decision and Order shall be void. The facility owner shall remove all associated equipment or reapply for any continued or new use to the Council before any such use is made.
  5. Any antenna that becomes obsolete and ceases to function shall be removed within 60 days after such antennas become obsolete and cease to function.
  6. Any proposed modifications to this Decision and Order shall be served to all parties and intervenors and the Town of New Hartford as listed in the service list.

Pursuant to General Statutes § 16-50p, the Council hereby direct that a copy of the Findings of Fact, Opinion, and Decision and Order be served on each person listed below, and notice of issuance shall be published in Hartford Courant and the Register Citizen.

By this Decision and Order, the Council disposes of the legal rights, duties, and privileges of each party named or admitted to the proceeding in accordance with Section 16-50j-17 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

The parties and intervenors to this proceeding are:

Applicant

Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless

Its Representative

Kenneth C. Baldwin, Esq.
Robinson & Cole LLP
280 Trumbull Street
Hartford, CT 06103

James J. Grustas
Patricia A. Grustas
1460 Litchfield Turnpike
New Hartford, CT 06057

Silas Kinsey
98 Kinsey Road
New Hartford, CT 06057

Jaime M. LaMere, Esq.
Cramer & Anderson LLP
46 West Street
P.O. Box 278
Litchfield, CT 06759-0278

Thomas Fabiaschi
43 Wood Land Road
New Hartford, CT 06057

Charles Yanavich
1474 Litchfield Turnpike
New Hartford, CT 06057

Marcia Wyman
Kim Wyman
P.O. Box 161
Harwinton, CT 06791