Branford Eagle

Environment

11th Hour Cell Tower Reprieve

by Diana Stricker | Aug 12, 2011 11:07 am

Branford received an 11th-hour reprieve when a cell company agreed to postpone a hearing scheduled next week for a 160-foot cell tower on Pleasant Point Road.

The town’s Cell Tower Advisory Committee and its consultants, including David Maxson, the town’s consulting engineer (pictured above)  met Monday with T-Mobile to present Maxson’s new options.  Afterwards, T-Mobile agreed to postpone the Tuesday, Aug. 16 hearing and study the alternative proposals.

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DEEP Sets Public Hearing For “Dock To Nowhere”

by Diana Stricker | Jul 6, 2011 12:02 pm | Comments (2)

A neighborhood’s efforts to stop a dock from being built on Sunset Beach has prompted the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to take an unusual step to schedule a public hearing. In addition, the issue has raised questions once again about whether a Harbor Management Commission should be formed in Branford.

Edward Zelinsky, an attorney who lives near the proposed dock in the Pawson Park neighborhood, said he was delighted when DEEP officials informed him of their decision to hold a hearing. “DEEP rarely does this,” he said.

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Cell Tower Bill Advances

by Diana Stricker | May 27, 2011 2:11 pm

Legislation to update the state’s process for approving cell towers, introduced by State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D-Branford), was overwhelmingly approved Thursday by the House of Representatives and now moves to the Senate.

Reed has been fighting for two years to change procedures of the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC), which has sole jurisdiction for the placement of cell towers.She won unanimous bi-partisan approval in the House last year.  Last night she answered questions on the bill before the House, which eventually approved the bill 128-10.

The bill garnered bipartisan support; the CSC is not opposed to it.  What opposition there is centers on concerns by some cell tower companies on the 250-foot set back provision regarding commercial day care centers. 

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Public Absent At Cell Tower Hearing In Branford

by Diana Stricker | Apr 22, 2011 9:37 am | Comments (1)

No members of the public spoke during a public hearing regarding a 109-foot cell tower, disguised as a rustic water tank, that is being proposed for Route 146 on farm property owned by the Medlyn family in Branford.

The town itself was well represented by an attorney who specializes in cell tower issues, and by town officials. The hearing Wednesday was conducted by the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC), which has jurisdiction over cell tower placement. During the two-hour afternoon session, the CSC and Branford’s attorney questioned the three carriers involved in the project: Cellco (Verizon), AT&T and T-Mobile. The evening session was reserved for public comments, but since there were none, the afternoon session was reconvened.

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Bf’d, Land Trusts Buy Johnson Farm

by marcia chambers | Mar 30, 2011 10:05 pm | Comments (1)

Saying this was an historic day for farming in Branford, First Selectman Unk DaRos handed over two checks totaling $1.325 million to the owners of the Johnson Farm, an action that preserves open space, permits farming and prohibits development.

Under a unique three-way agreement that was years in the making, three entities, each with different legal requirements, purchased the farm’s easement rights. They are the town of Branford, the Branford Land Trust,(BLT)  and the Connecticut Farmland Trust.(CFT)  The proposal was approved by the Board of Selectmen in May and by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) in January. The easement is forever.

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Johnson Farm Purchase Knits Together Open Space

by Diana Stricker | Feb 7, 2011 11:54 am | Comments (2)

The winter woods were quiet as walkers made their way through fields and woodlands newly acquired by the Branford Land Trust. Some were thinking about the decade-long efforts to obtain the properties, others considering the long road ahead to raise funds to complete the purchases. Everyone was enjoying the landscape that will be protected for generations to come.

“We all had a great time walking around,” said Meg Kilgore, president of the Land Trust. She talked about the goals of the all-volunteer organization. “We like to preserve nature for the benefit of people so they can get outdoors and exercise and go walking. We also care about and want to preserve the natural species. … Open space enhances the value of a community. It makes the town more pleasant and livable.”

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Cell Tower Hearing Postponed

by Diana Stricker | Jan 24, 2011 8:30 am | Comments (1)

Branford will have a little “breathing room” in its campaign to lessen the impact of cell towers since T-Mobile requested a postponement of a nearly day-long public hearing for the proposed 160-foot Pleasant Point tower Tuesday. 

Word came last week that T-Mobile Northeast LLC asked the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) to postpone the Jan. 25 hearing because one of its experts was unavailable and because T-Mobile was not able to answer the questions posed by Branford before the due date. The CSC, which has jurisdiction in all cell tower issues, voted Thursday to grant the postponement but did not set a new hearing date.

“This is an opportunity to give the town a little bit of breathing room to work on the community’s objectives,” said David Maxson, the Boston-based cellular expert hired as a consultant by Branford.

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Johnson Farm Vote on Way

by Diana Stricker | Jan 3, 2011 8:22 am

Branford may begin the new year with a salute to its agricultural past if the Representative Town Meeting approves a unique proposal to preserve 34 acres of farmland along Queach Road.

In addition to purchasing the agricultural easement rights to the Johnson Farm, the town would also make an outright purchase of 3.96 acres at the northern end of the Johnson property. The connector links two vital open space preserves—the Pisgah Brook Preserve and Supply Ponds Park, an area the town has been working to protect for more than 40 years.

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Avoiding “Our Own Little BPs”

by Laura Marris | Aug 4, 2010 10:23 am | Comments (2)

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s 2010 Testing the Waters Report, Connecticut’s water quality has dropped from 12th highest in the nation to 13th.  And as State Sen. Edward Meyer said:  “Who wants to go swimming at the 13th cleanest beaches in the country?”

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RTM Blasts Clam-Digging Plan

by marcia chambers | Jul 15, 2010 12:29 pm | Comments (4)

In a rare confrontation with another town board, the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) took emergency action against a plan that would allow commercial clam digging in the Short Beach cove in violation of a town ordinance.

The Branford Shellfish Commission is set to approve the commercial plan at a meeting on Aug. 10.

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