The plan calls for a 150-foot-tall tower on property along Paper Mill Road, near the Hotchkissville district of town and between Routes 47 heading toward Washington and 132 heading toward Bethlehem.
"What we are proposing to do is really utilize the existing access and on-site utilities. There will be some utility upgrades, but underground," said attorney Chris Fisher of Cuddy & Feder Law Firm, representing AT&T during his presentation to the commission.
AT&T will use an existing driveway located on site, ex­­tending it to the top of a hill and past an existing home and barn on the parcel.
There would be a 60-by-100-foot utility compound con­taining the monopole and equipment for AT&T's use.
"For those people who use cell phones, it's probably not a surprise," Mr. Fisher said of the plans. "Once you start to get to some of those areas in the community, the cell phone service is really dead to nonexistent.
"A lot of that has to do with the ridges," Mr. Fisher continued. "The terrain in the particular area is very difficult, so from a radio frequency standpoint, it becomes very difficult to serve. You can't actually provide the service in that area of town."
There will be space on the pole and compound for future use by other carriers. Space also would be provided for any emergency communications for the town.
AT&T filed a technical re­­port with the town and the first selectman in October 2008, according to Mr. Fisher. AT&T then mailed notices to the abutting property owners about the applicant's intent to file an application with the Connecticut Siting Council in late January.
Under federal law, towns have no jurisdiction over the siting of telecommunication towers. Land-use panels and residents may offer input, but the decision rests with the Siting Council.
Mr. Fisher said the application was filed with the Zoning Commission for its review in early February. The Siting Council's hearings on the plan are to take place in late April or early May.
Zoning Chairman Martin Overton requested that abutters of the property be notified of a public hearing, even though the Siting Council has not required AT&T to do so.
"The Zoning Commission has no authority over the Siting Council's actions. At the same time, cell towers are a very big thing to a community-to the character of Woodbury," said Mr. Overton.
Section 704(a) of the 1996 Telecommunications Act re­­­moves environmental consid­erations from the siting process, effectively denying local mun­icipalities the right to object on the basis of zoning issues or health concerns.
"There is a need for a new tower somewhere in that area of town and what we tried to do was to look at larger parcels where we could try to use existing terrain and tree cover and try to screen the facility as much as possible," said Mr. Fisher.
Mr. Fisher presented a topographic map to the com­mission, explaining that AT&T did a comprehensive visual study. What the consultants do is float a balloon at the location of the tower facility. They drive the entire area to document where there will be views of the tower and they look at seasonal visibility.
According to Mr. Fisher, home­­owners in close proximity to the site along Paper Mill Road would not see the tower because of the terrain.
"You are not going to be able to get a clear line of sight between someone's house and the actual tower back up on the hill," said Mr. Fisher. "From a more macro level basis, we would look at this and say that is a good tower location because it has minimized the overall viewshed in areas where the tower might be seen."
Mr. Overton asked Mr. Fisher whether this particular installation would engender other towers and create a dense fabric of cell towers.
Mr. Fisher said the first cell tower installation in Woodbury took place 10 years ago, with several others being erected since then along the Route 6 corridor. This particular cell tower is directed north and any future installations would continue north beyond Woodbury.
Going forward, a notice of the application will be published in newspapers by the state and the applicant, and signs will be posted near the property announcing the proceedings and dates. Information may also be found on the Siting Council Web site, www.CT.gov/csc/, under pending proceedings, Docket number 375.
After the presentation, the Zoning Commission closed the public hearing.