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 telecommunications facility 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 The Marcus Group (Marcus) for the construction, maintenance and operation of a wireless telecommunications facility at the proposed prime site located at 148 Roberts Street, East Hartford, Connecticut.

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 a monopole, no taller than necessary to provide the proposed telecommunications services, sufficient to accommodate the antennas of AT&T Wireless LLC, Cellco Partnership b/b/a Verizon Wireless, Nextel Communications of the Mid-Atlantic, and other entities, both public and private, but such tower shall not exceed a height of 120 feet above ground level. The access road to the facility shall be finished with gravel. The north edge of the facility compound shall be a minimum distance of 52 feet to the nearest wetland area.

2. The Certificate Holder shall prepare a Development and Management (D&M) Plan for this site in compliance with Sections 16-50j-75 through 16-50j-77 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The D&M Plan shall be submitted to and approved by the Council prior to the commencement of facility construction and shall include: a final site plan(s) for site development to include the location and specifications for the tower, tower foundation, antennas, equipment buildings, security fence, access road, utility line, and landscaping plan. The D&M Plan shall also include construction plans to be submitted prior to construction for site clearing, water drainage, and erosion and sedimentation control consistent with the Connecticut Guidelines for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, as amended.

3. The Certificate Holder 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 Certificate Holder shall provide a recalculated report of electromagnetic radio frequency power density if and when circumstances in operation cause a change in power density above the levels calculated and provided pursuant to this Decision and Order.

4. 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.

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 Hartford Courant, and The East Hartford Gazette.

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: