Opinion

On December 4, 2003, Sprint Spectrum L.P. (Sprint) applied to the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (Certificate) for the construction, operation and maintenance of a wireless telecommunications facility proposed to be located at 530 Bushy Hill Road (the Simsbury Common Mall) in Simsbury, Connecticut. Sprint had been searching for a tower site in this vicinity to provide Sprint service to existing coverage gaps in the area surrounding the intersection of Route 167 and Route 44 on the Simsbury-Canton border.

Sprint’s facility would consist of a 120-foot flagpole tower designed to accommodate a total of three wireless carriers. AT&T Wireless PCS, an intervenor in this proceeding, seeks to place its antennas within the flagpole at a centerline of 108 feet above ground level (agl). Sprint’s antennas would be located within the flagpole at the top of the tower. Sprint has offered the Town of Simsbury space on the tower for Town antennas.

The flagpole would be placed behind commercial buildings at the edge of a parking lot. No clearing of vegetation or access road construction would be required. The tower compound would be enclosed by a fence.

The flagpole would be fully visible along commercially-developed Route 44. Four homes along Joyce Lane would have some visibility of the flagpole above the trees. A visual analysis of the proposed tower indicates it would be visible to only approximately one percent of a two-mile radius study area.

The tower would have no effect on any rare, threatened or species of special concern in the area. The facility would have no effect on historic, architectural or archaeological resources listed on as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The closest wetland is approximately 50 feet east of the parking lot on which the facility would be built; however, this wetland is protected by an existing stockade fence.

The radio frequency power density levels at the base of the proposed tower would be well below federal and State standards for the frequencies used by wireless companies. If federal or state standards change, the Council will require that the tower be brought into compliance with such standards. The Council will require that the power densities be remodeled in the event other carriers add antennas to the tower.

Based on the record of this proceeding, the Council concludes that the proposed facility would be well sited to provide coverage to a heavily traveled area where several carriers currently have limited or unreliable service.

Therefore, the Council finds that the effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed 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 policies of the State concerning such effects, and are not sufficient reason to deny this application. Therefore, the Council will issue a Certificate for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a 120-foot flagpole tower and associated ground equipment at 530 Bushy Hill Road (the Simsbury Commons Mall), Simsbury, Connecticut.