The Connecticut Supreme Court has chosen to uphold an earlier decision by the Connecticut Siting Council that allows Verizon (NYSE: VZ) to move ahead with its cell tower plans. The Woodbridge Newton Neighborhood Environmental Trust challenged the ruling, claiming the possibility of diminished property values for local homeowners. But as the New Haven Register reports, the court has determined that Verizon is not obligated to consider the impact of a 100-foot cell tower on property values.
“There is no inherently obvious connection between a facility’s adverse impact on property values and the probable environmental impact of the facility or the listed significant adverse effects,” wrote Justice Nora R. Dannehy. State law details eight specific issues that can be considered, she noted, and the argument presented by the neighborhood group did not match up with any of these points. Dannehy explained that the laws can consider if “a facility’s adverse impact on property values is relevant to the council’s determination of a facility’s probable environmental impact,” but added that the legal challenge “made no such showing.”
With the latest legal hurdle cleared, Verizon should be able to proceed with construction plans. When complete, a 100-foot cell tower will occupy a 50-foot by 50-foot fenced enclosure within a six-acre site on Newtown Road.
The Woodbridge Newton Neighborhood Environmental Trust also suggested that an alternate location on Meetinghouse Road would do just as well as the selected Newtown Road property. Putting an end to that avenue of discussion, Dannehy told the Register that, “Our courts are not at liberty to revisit that conclusion.”
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