Cell tower approved, ‘gravel pits’ unwelcome

By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE

The Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) at its Jan. 8 meeting unanimously approved a cell tower inside the steeple of the Middlebury Congregational Church, changes to the zoning regulations pertaining to affordable housing and an oversize sign at the former Trucking Museum. It also accepted an application for a sign on Straits Turnpike and started enforcement action for excavations on Middlebury Road.

A site plan application by Verizon Wireless and the Middlebury Congregational Church to reconstruct the wooden church steeple with an RF-transparent fiberglass replica and place a natural gas-powered backup generator near the garage at the minister’s house to the left of the church was unanimously approved. Attorney Kenneth C. Baldwin of Robinson and Cole, represented the applicants. He told commissioners the project was fairly straightforward with all changes except the generator entirely within the church. He said the primary benefit of increased capacity would be in a quarter- to a half-mile radius around the church.

Carlo Centore, a professional engineer with Centek Engineers said the public would not notice the difference except for the generator because the cell equipment would be in an equipment room and all the cables would be concealed in crawl spaces up to the upper steeple, which would house six antennas. Baldwin said the steeple would be very similar to one installed at the Bethlehem Congregational Church in October 2013. Centore provided Commissioner Matt Robison with the generator’s decibel levels, saying they were lower than those allowed by state guidelines without taking into account the additional muting effects of shrubbery and screening. Chairman Terry Smith encouraged Centore to hide the generator from view since it will be directly across from the preschool entrance. Centore estimated a four-month project time, most of which would be spent photographing and measuring the existing steeple to create an exact fiberglass replacement offsite with the actual changeover occurring fairly quickly.

Church trustees brought the cell tower to a vote of all parish members in Aug. 2014, and it was approved, according to a church newsletter. The parish also voted to perform renovations to the bathrooms, repaint the front of the church and clean out the areas where Verizon’s equipment would be located. The revenue to the church from the tower could be as much as $2,400 per month according to a report on WFSB.

Changes to Section 22.7 of the zoning regulations for calculating the resale value of affordable housing were unanimously approved. The changes incorporate definitions of moderate income consistent with Connecticut state statutes and are tied to the more appropriate Litchfield and New Haven County statistics rather than the Waterbury Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chairman Terry Smith recused himself from voting because he had not attended the public hearing.

The changes were requested Oct. 2 by attorney Michael McVerry, who said the formula in the regulations was not consistent with the Brookside subdivision property declarations and caused difficulties during resale. Town Attorney Dana D’Angelo had asked the commission to wait for surrounding town comments from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (COG), which ultimately supported the changes.

Also unanimously approved was a special exception for a 4-foot-by-8-foot sign at the former Golden Age of Trucking Museum at 1067 Southford Road for the new owner, Dr. Dean Yimoyines, d/b/a JSD Partners LLC.  He told commissioners Nov. 6 the sign was needed to guide people to the building which is now being used both as a warehouse and for sales for Middlebury Consignment. Chairman Smith recused himself from voting because he had not attended the public hearing.

An application for a special exception for a sign at 687 Straits Turnpike for Dr. Giuseppe Tripodi d/b/a Tripod Realty was accepted for public hearing Feb. 5.

In other new business, Ken Long was unanimously reappointed as the Middlebury representative to COG.

In old business, Chairman Smith said town planner Brian Miller was still waiting on updated maps from COG to be incorporated into the long-awaited Plan of Conservation and Development. He said a public hearing would be scheduled in March if the document could be distributed to commissioners with enough time to make corrections and final suggestions.

In other old business, Smith asked recording clerk Rachelle Behuniak to find the names of bidders who had assisted in updating zoning regulations for Woodbury and Watertown. Behuniak worked for many months retyping the mostly paper-based Middlebury regulations, with the next step being reorganization. Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco commented COG also would be familiar with firms doing zoning update work.

In enforcement matters, Bosco told commissioners a house on 41 Central Road had received a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to construct an addition only six inches from the property line. Smith commented P&Z had no jurisdiction but Bosco said building codes wouldn’t allow construction permits because of required setbacks and fire requirements. Smith asked Bosco to have future ZBA applications routed for P&Z awareness.

This excavated lot at the corner of Middlebury Road and Clearview Knoll and one farther down the street at 520 Middlebury Road are being referred to as “gravel pits” by Middlebury Planning and Zoning Chairman Terry Smith. (Terrence S. McAuliffe photo)

In other enforcement, Smith noted what he called “gravel pits” in the center of town, referring to the site formerly occupied by Vinnie’s Pizza and Johnny’s Dairy Bar adjoining 520 Middlebury Road and to the lot at the corner of Middlebury Road and Clearview Knoll. He said both of those excavations were out of compliance and needed to be cleaned up.

Bosco said a site plan application was expected from Wesson Energy to develop the Vinnie’s and Johnnie’s property into an expansion of the Shell Station and agreed to call and have them finish the permitted soil remediation work. Smith said the Clearview Knoll lot owned by Robert LaFlamme d/b/a Pomeroy Enterprises LLC may have been excavated without an approved site plan or bond. An excavation permit was approved Jan. 5, 2012 with the stipulation excavated material be offered to the town and trucks hauling the material not stack up and wait on Route 64 or Clearview Knoll. Smith said brush was stacked up on the sides of the excavation with boulders everywhere and sewer pipes sticking out of the ground. Commissioner Matt Robison agreed the excavation was messy and said trucks were speeding by his house.

Smith asked town engineer John Calabrese if he could estimate the amount of fill removed from the site, saying it was more than 100 cubic yards, above which a fee needed to be paid. Bosco said a fee also needed to be paid if the fill was being disposed of in Middlebury. Smith said the site couldn’t be left in that condition and instructed Bosco to have LaFlamme appear at the Feb. 5 meeting.

The next regular P&Z meeting is Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.