Residents will be able to voice their opinions and ask questions about a proposed cell tower that will overlook the Titicus Valley during a public information session on Dec. 14 in the lower level conference room in town hall at 10:30 a.m.
Ray Vergati, the site development manager of Danbury-based Homeland Towers, confirmed the date of the public hearing, adding that the technical report filed with the town on Nov. 4 gives officials 90 days to review the application before it goes in front of the Connecticut Siting Council.
“We feel there’s definitely a certain need for a tower in that area of Ridgefield, which is a well-traveled area with public schools and an athletic stadium,” Mr. Vergati said.
“We believe it will enhance public safety and eliminate some of those safety problems that have compiled over the last ten-plus years.”
First Selectman Rudy Marconi said he talked to the applicant’s attorney, Chris Fisher, last week after the technical report was officially filed and they worked to find a date to host the promised public hearing.
Mr. Marconi will be present at the information session to represent the town.
“The presentation will be run by Homeland’s people,” he said. “We’ve discussed the idea of having an information meeting here in town for some time now and this is that opportunity for our residents.”
Mr. Vergati, whose firm is partnering with AT&T on the project, added that the town has no control over the application from a zoning perspective and that the report filed last week was intended for the town to weigh in from a “purely advisory perspective.”
“This is the standard process,” he explained. “The siting council is not involved yet and they won’t be sent the report until after the 90 days is up.
“They’ve been doing this a while and they’re very savvy when it comes to looking at these applications.”
He estimated it would take the state’s siting council five to six months to review the proposal and then vote whether or not to pass it.
If it gets approved, then the town would be given 30 days to approve a building permit for the site location, Mr. Vergati said.
He added that it would take at least another 60 days after getting the permit to get the site constructed and the tower erected.
Add in the time it will take AT&T to get their equipment on the pole and residents are looking at cell service in the Ridgebury area by fall of 2014, Mr. Vergati said.
According to the technical report, the tower site will bring wireless service to more than 5,000 residents in the area.
More than 30 single-family homes are described as being within 1,000 feet of the proposed tower site, including one as close as 264 feet to the northeast.
The 3.19-acre site would be accessed off Old Stagecoach Road.