Residents of Estey Road worry about impact

By Avice Meehan

More than 30 people, including concerned residents of Estey Road, turned out for a March 26 informational meeting about a proposal to build a 186-foot cell tower on property located off the isolated, rural road in South Norfolk.

The meeting, held at the Botelle School Hall of Flags, had been requested by Norfolk’s Inland Wetlands Agency and Planning & Zoning Commission. Verizon Wireless and Tarpon Towers III LLC were presented by Kenneth Baldwin, an attorney with Hartford-based Robinson & Cole. Paul Chapinsky Sr., who owns the property at 78 Goshen East St., was not present.

But Chapinsky’s neighbors were out in force, as were residents in the vicinity of Old Goshen Road where Verizon had initially hoped to place a tower. Many expressed opposition to the tower and, more specifically, questioned why the tower would be accessed via Estey Road, rather than Goshen East Street or along Chapinsky’s existing driveway. 

“Estey Road is a glorified driveway,” said Andrew Berger of 177 Estey Rd. More than 600 feet of the 12-foot-wide access road would run right along Berger’s property line, and he questioned the impact of the heavy equipment that would be needed for both tree removal and construction.

Baldwin and the other presenters walked the audience through the site-selection process, analysis of possible environmental impacts and the timeline for review by the Connecticut Siting Council. Whether the questions and concerns raised by Berger and others would affect the eventual submission to the Siting Council or any decision made by the regulatory entity was unclear.

The short answer to Berger’s question related to the math—the distance between the tower site and Estey Road is shorter by far, according to Baldwin and other presenters. They included an environmental consultant, Dean Gustafson of All-Points Technology Corp., and Kenneth Curley, an executive with Florida-based Tarpon Towers, the entity that would build and maintain the tower.

The tower itself would be a lattice structure contained with a 75-foot square, fenced compound. Two utility cabinets would contain a radio and batteries capable of powering the tower for eight hours in the event of a power outage. A 50-kilowatt generator with a three-day propane supply would provide additional backup. Utility service would come from Estey Road, with utility poles carrying power up the access road.

Cell service is notoriously poor in South Norfolk in the area along Route 272 and Goshen East Street. Baldwin presented color-coded maps illustrating current service levels and how a new tower would improve them. He indicated that Verizon expects that other cell providers might also use it. This prompted one humorous exchange involving Roger Johnson, whose red house sits at the start of Estey Road, and his recent purchase of a Verizon cell plan. “You should have seen the maps they showed me,” he said, describing the company’s marketing materials.

In a more serious vein, Gustafson walked through the environmental assessment, which identified bat species that would impact timing of tree removal—these are the northern long eared, the tricolor and the red bat. Other species that would need to be accounted are the monarch butterfly and three plants. He said a wetland within the regulated area is isolated and does not appear to support vernal pool species. 

One balloon test has already been conducted to collect data the potential visual impact of the tower. Several speakers expressed dismay about the lack of notice and urged Tarpon and Verizon to conduct at least one more so they could better understand what they would be seeing. Longtime resident Robert Maltby noted that the tower would be roughly 200 feet from his property line and 600 feet from his house. He and others urged that the tower be shifted to the east on Chapinsky’s property, an idea that was deemed impractical because of the steep slope.

Materials shared by Baldwin indicated that at least 13 sites had been evaluated as potential locations for the tower, which will be a lattice structure constructed of galvanized steel that will weather down. Land owned by entities such as the Torrington Water Co. or used for conversation purposes, such as the Great Mountain Forest, are ruled out by state law.

Sloan Klevin, who helped galvanize opposition to the prior location, shared suggestions about the ways Estey Road residents engage with the Siting Council. While at the meeting, she also asked Verizon to remove all the plastic tags on Old Goshen Road.