New Canaan residents angry over proposed plan to put cell tower near homes, elementary school

New Canaan residents say they want their voices heard when it comes to their issues with a proposed cell tower.

News 12 Staff

Nov 16, 2022, 12:58 AM

Updated 697 days ago

Share:

New Canaan residents say they want their voices heard when it comes to their issues with a proposed cell tower. That tower would be over 100 feet high and sit in a public wooded area, next to an elementary school and homes.
Officials Tuesday visited the proposed site of the tower. One neighbor said she's stayed away because she didn't think she could control her emotions.
The tower would stand in a wooded area next to West Elementary School and a number of homes.
Neighbors say they fought a proposal for a tower five years ago and are determined to do the same this time around.
The project would be built by a Danbury company and carriers, including Verizon, would use it.
People News 12 spoke with say they think it will be not only unsightly, but dangerous as well.
"I burst into tears, because I was literally thinking this little boy is going to go to school under this tower, where he has no choice, he has to go to school, five days a week for six hours a day, and then he's going to come home and he's going to sleep under this tower," said Meaghan Kupchak.
According to town officials, the tower would have 5G antennas, but 5G service would not start for years.
"I just hope our town council realizes these are your neighbors you are potentially endangering the safety of children," said Kupchak.
There will be a public meeting about the issue Wednesday at 6 p.m.
A spokesperson for Verizon said, "We know New Canaan relies on Verizon. We constantly invest in our network to deliver our customers the quality experience and reliability they expect and deserve. As more people are doing more things, in more places with more internet-connected devices, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in voice and data traffic on our network. We only expect that trend to increase. This site would provide 4G LTE and 5G Nationwide services that would improve both coverage and capacity — particularly important now and into the future, as many residents continue to depend on reliable broadband service to work, learn and relax at home.
In addition, all of our network equipment operates within FCC guidelines. For more information, please visit wirelesshealthfacts.com."