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04/24/2018 12:00 AMIt’s hard to argue against better cellular coverage in downtown Guilford, but what exactly the equipment providing that cell coverage might look like is still of some concern. Last year, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) was informed that a cellular company was seeking to install units on a utility pole in town, specifically a pole on the southern end of the Guilford Green.
The proposal raised some eyebrows at the time, but at the BOS meeting on April 16, it was made clear that the town has very little grounds to object to the proposal
In December 2017, Guilford In-House Counsel Pam Millman explained that the town had received correspondence notifying it that Cellco, which does business as Verizon, hopes to attach small wireless canisters and antennas on an existing utility pole in town located on the south side of the Town Green.
According to Millman, companies have been approaching utility pole owners around the state to attach similar equipment to improve cell and data coverage. Because this equipment is considered an attachment and not a cell tower, the state regulations are complicated. Millman said the state won’t consider town objections based on aesthetic reasons; objections based on historic preservation may not be a viable option, either.
Millman said municipalities were alarmed and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) hired an attorney, Burt Cohen, to argue on behalf of the towns. Recent legal proceedings ensured that towns now do have some rights when these proposals appear, such as a 30-day period during which the town has the ability to object and some flexibility as to which pole is considered.
At the meeting on April 16, Richard Smith, a lawyer with Robinson & Cole, came to speak to the board on behalf of the proposal. He said the reason companies like Verizon want to install these small cell attachments is the attachment can improve the coverage in a 500- to 1,500-foot area. Smith said Verizon wants to install these attachments, which he dubbed “small cells,” in areas where there has been an increase in demand on cell service, such as the southwestern corner of the Green where there are numerous shops, businesses, and apartments.
“What the small cells are addressing is how we have changed the use of our mobile devices,” he said. “What used to be just our phone communication system is now essentially a portable computer.”
Smith said he realizes the Green is historic and the company tried to find another suitable pole off the green. However, Smith said for the attachment to be approved, there cannot be anything else on the existing utility pole like a transformer box, so the only viable pole is the pole on the Green across from Page Hardware.
Smith said he sent packets of information to the abutting property owners and to the town to inform them of the project. The small cell includes a canister that is about a foot wide and three feet tall that goes on top of the utility pole and a utility box on the side of the pole that is about two feet tall and just under a foot wide.
The board was provided renderings of what the pole will look like with the attachments. Smith said the company could also paint the attachments to match the existing color of the utility pole.
Smith said there are 400 approved projects for this type of installation in the state right now and this is the only project currently being considered in Guilford. First Selectman Matt Hoey asked if there are any health concerns with the radio energy this might give off; Smith said, “No.”
Smith said the installation can be completed in a day and will likely be done in the next few months. Hoey mentioned that much like the recent Eversource upgrade project, the town has no grounds to object to this because the project is considered a public necessity.
“When there is substantial community benefit, local objections are outweighed,” he said. “…One of the concerns we have in this community is the green is clearly one of our most treasured assets in our community. We also have the Green Committee that preserves its historic integrity, so the question I think that was raised and its important for people to understand that the way this looks on the pole is not a valid basis for objection.”
Hoey said a copy of Smith’s presentation will be on the town website for residents to review.