DOCKET NO. 177A - An amended application of Cellco Partnership d/b/a Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for a two cell-site configuration in the Town of Orange. The proposed Prime A site would be located approximately 875 feet east of Orange Center Road at the rear of the High Plains Community Center, 525 Orange Center Road, with the Prime B site located approximately 400 feet northwest from the end of Ogg Meadow Road. These sites would replace the previously proposed Camp Cedarcrest site. A proposed alternate site is located within a 5.5 acre parcel of property approximately 250 feet south and west of Robert Treat Drive Extension, Orange, Connecticut.

ConnecticutSitingCouncil

August 6, 1997

Decision and Order

Pursuant to the foregoing Findings of Fact and Opinion, the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) finds that the effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of a two-cell site configuration consisting of a prime A site at the High Plains Community Center property on Orange Center Road and a prime B site on South Central Regional Water Authority (SCRWA) property located off the end of Ogg Meadow Road in Orange, Connecticut, including effects on the natural environment; ecological integrity and balance; public health and safety; scenic, historic, and recreational values; forests and parks; air and water purity; and fish and wildlife are not disproportionate either alone or cumulatively with other effects when compared to need, are not in conflict with the policies of the State concerning such effects, and are not sufficient reason to deny the application and therefore directs that a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need, as provided by General Statutes § 16-50k, be issued to Cellco Partnership d/b/a Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile (BANM) for the construction, operation, and maintenance of two cellular telecommunications towers and associated equipment. We deny the alternate site on Robert Treat Drive Extension.

The facilities 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 towers shall be constructed as proposed, no taller than necessary to provide the proposed communications service, sufficient to accommodate the antennas of BANM, Springwich Cellular Limited Partnership (Springwich), Smart SMR of New York, Inc. d/b/a Nextel Communications (Nextel), and Sprint Spectrum L.P. d/b/a Sprint PCS (Sprint). Neither tower, excluding antennas, shall exceed 160 feet above ground level.

2. The Certificate Holder shall prepare Development and Management (D&M) Plans for the prime A amd prime B sites in compliance with Sections 16-50j-75 through 16-50j-77 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The D&M Plans shall be submitted to and approved by the Council prior to the commencement of facility construction. The prime A D&M plan shall include a tower and foundation plan, signed by a professionally licensed engineer, designed to be safe and adequate to protect the electric supply system, and provisions for landscaping, architectural treatment, and traffic management consistent with terms established with the Town. The prime B D&M plan shall include relocation of the prime B tower within the leased parcel to prevent the fall zone of the tower from crossing paved sections of the Route 15 right-of-way; a tower and foundation plan, signed by a professionally licensed engineer; plans for dewatering the site if necessary; installation of a propane tank to fuel the emergency generator; placement of a counter-sunk and sealed concrete floor for the equipment building; traffic management with schedule to construct during daytime hours; and best management practices for on-site use of construction equipment. In addition, we will require landscaping and the establishment of vegetation to stabilize the site consistent with watershed management plans. Both site plans shall provide specifications for the placement of all antennas to be attached to the towers, and plans for the equipment buildings, foundation pads for Sprint’s equipment, security fencing and gate, access roads, utility lines, site clearing, tree trimming, and erosion and sedimentation control consistent with the Connecticut Guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, as amended.

3. Consistent with Section 16-50j-77 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, the Certificate Holder shall provide the Council notification of:

1. commencement of construction;
2. completion of construction;
3. completion of site rehabilitation;
4. commencement of operation;
5. transfer of ownership of the prime A tower to the Town of Orange; and
6. final construction cost.

4. Upon the establishment of any new State or federal radio frequency power density standards applicable to frequencies of this facility, the facility granted herein shall be brought into compliance with such standards.

5. The Certificate Holder shall provide the Council a recalculated report of electromagnetic radio frequency power density if and when circumstances in operation cause a change in power density above the levels originally calculated and provided in the application.

6. The Certificate Holder 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.

7. If the facility does not initially provide, or permanently ceases to provide telecommunications services following completion of construction, this Decision and Order shall be void, and the Certificate Holder shall dismantle the tower and remove all associated equipment or reapplication for any continued or new use shall be made to the Council before any such use is made.

8. Unless otherwise approved by the Council, this Decision and Order shall be void if all construction authorized herein is not completed within three years of the effective date of this Decision and Order or within three years after all appeals to this Decision and Order have been resolved.

Pursuant to General Statutes § 16-50p, we 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 the New Haven Register.

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: