Cell tower erected on residential property in New Canaan
NEW CANAAN — After years of neighbors raising alarms about the potential impact of a cell tower in a four-acre residential neighborhood, the 85-foot tower with faux pine branches has been stacked.
“I’ll let the tower speak for itself,” said Keith Richey, who agreed to have the cell tower built on his property at 183 Soundview Lane, declining to comment further.
Over the past number of months, construction has taken place at the end of the quiet cul-de-sac. An underground support structure was installed over the summer as the concrete foundation was poured for where the 25- by 75-foot equipment box is to be placed. The street was dug up to run utility and power lines in a trench.
Finally, the tower itself was erected. It measures 90 feet tall with the attached branches.
The new cell tower, which was built 38 feet from the property line that abuts St. Luke’s School, came to light in February 2019. Since the boundary is close to where students play sports, several parents of students at the private school detailed their concerns of the tower’s proximity to the fields as a potential falling hazard.
Head of St. Lukes Mark Davis said Tuesday that he did not wish to add to the comments about the cell tower that he made in previous years.
Richey, who is the acting chairman of the Parking Commission, signed an agreement to lease his land to Homeland Towers to install the structure in September 2019. Leases have since been signed with AT&T and Verizon for a tower to fill gaps in cell coverage in the northern part of town.
At one point in time, 10 of Richey’s Soundview Lane neighbors placed signs on their properties saying: “Stop the Richey Cell Tower.”
“My wife and I are gravely concerned that the construction of the proposed tower will adversely affect the natural and rural character of our neighborhood, which is a quiet and serene four-acre subdivision with abundant plantings, trees and wildlife,” Joe Sweeney, of 155 Soundview, said in testimony to the State of Connecticut State Citing Council.
The tower was approved in September 2020 by the Connecticut Siting Council, which has sole discretion on the location of cell towers.
Several neighbors argued the tower was not needed since there is a
140-foot cell tower located at Vista Fire Department on Route 123.
Construction had not been as unintrusive as Richey had hoped for since the road was dug up to create a trench for internet lines that needed to be encased in compliant conduit.
“Unfortunately, the underground power and cable lines on Soundview Lane proved to be of inferior quality to handle the requirements of the cell tower,” Richey said in August.
Richey has said the lease agreement he has signed with Homeland Towers for a property may generate rental income from the tower owner and any carriers in the range of $2,500 to $3,000 per month. That would be $30,000 to $36,000 per year.
Another cell tower on private property is in the planning stages for 1837 Ponus Ridge. A balloon test was already conducted by All Point Technology to show the visibility of the tower that is being designed to resemble a tree.
The proposed public tower is expected to be constructed on a level area atop the hill, which is north of Dan’s Highway on the east side of Ponus Ridge and just opposite the Laurel Reservoir.
First Selectman Kevin Moynihan championed hiring Homeland Towers, since he has made better cell coverage one of his primary goals since his initial election campaign.
Homeland Towers specializes in creating wireless infrastructure plans for communities, cellular carriers and municipalities and has been consulting for the town.