Vote On Ocean Beach Cell Tower Tabled

A City Council vote on a proposed 140-foot communications tower at has again been put off, this time after Save Ocean Beach has identified an alternate location for the structure.

The council voted unanimously on Monday to table a vote on whether to approve the project and authorize Message Center Management Inc. of Hartford, the company backing the project, to apply for all necessary approvals for construction. The vote follows a decision at the last council meeting to on the tower.

Tom Quintin, chairman of the nonprofit organization Save Ocean Beach, said he has been abiding by the council’s prior recommendations to work with the neighbors in the area and investigate alternate sites for the tower. Quintin said at the meeting that the organization has identified an alternate spot to the three initially proposed.

“We found an another site that is acceptable to the neighbors,” he said.

Quintin said the site is within Ocean Beach Park, but said he did not want to identify where it is until there has been further discussion with Councilor Adam Sprecace, the council liaison to Save Ocean Beach. He said the new proposal will be presented to the council at a later date.

The tower is being proposed to boost cell phone reception and public safety communications in the southern portion of New London, with revenue from the tower helping to support operations at the park. At the last council meeting, some residents expressed support for the idea while others said they were concerned with the proximity of the tower to the entrance of the beach as well as nearby residences.

A study identified three sites within the park and identified pros and cons based on 12 factors, including access to utilities; proximity to residences, historic sites, and wildlife habitats; types of soil; and impact on vistas. One site, near the swimming pool, had 10 cons and two pros while the site near the entrance had 10 pros and two cons.

In postponing the vote, some councilors suggested that the last site was an adequate option. Quintin said Monday that this site, with nine pros and three cons, could impact the aesthetics at the beach as well as the nature trail there.

Several residents from the Ocean Beach neighborhood attended the meeting and signed up to speak, but declined to do so after hearing that the vote was likely to be tabled. Kathleen Mitchell compared the matter to eminent domain at Fort Trumbull, saying it was being pushed through the council despite opposition from residents. Rae Bouchard of Plant Street presented a petition to the council of 36 residents from her road and Montauk Ave., saying she had heard that the tower might be placed at if it is not approved for Ocean Beach.

“We are very, very much against having a cell tower put at Toby May Field,” Bouchard said, alleging that such towers give off microwaves linked to cancer.

Sprecace, along with Mayor Martin Olsen, said there was nothing to suggest a cell tower would be placed at the field.

“I don’t know how rumors get started, but I have heard absolutely, unequivocally nothing to support that claim,” said Olsen.