UI asks regulators to reconsider denial of Fairfield/Bridgeport monopole project
United Illuminating claims it is being left in the dark by
state regulators.
On Monday the company requested members of the Connecticut
Siting Council reconsider
last month's denial of the utility's overhead transmission line upgrade
project in Fairfield and Bridgeport.
Central to UI's argument is that the Council, both when
making its
decision during a public Oct. 16 teleconference and in the days
since, offered no justification, particularly after backing
the plan in an unofficial September straw vote.
"Without any explanation as to why the project was
denied, UI is left … with no guidance as to what, if any, issues the Council
had with the proposed solution to the important public need the project sought
to address," reads the document. "And the public is left with aging,
deteriorating infrastructure that poses significant safety and reliability
concerns.”
Monday's filing was submitted at the very end
of the timeframe UI had to take such action.
According to Siting Council staff, such requests can be
based on three factors: An error of fact or law; new evidence "which
materially affects the merits of the case and which for good reasons was not
presented;" and "other good cause."
UI first submitted its plan to the Siting Council in
2023. The company has maintained that installing the wires on monopoles routed
along the southern side of the Metro-North Railroad train tracks is the best
and least-costly-to-ratepayers option for upgrading the aged equipment. The
Bridgeport/Fairfield section is the last 8 miles of a 25-mile-long project, the
rest of which has been completed or is under construction.
But critics, including several elected leaders of those two
municipalities, have opposed the plans, arguing that the lines
should instead be buried to avoid what they claim will be adverse impacts
on economic development, the environment, and historic and religious
properties.
Meanwhile Gov. Ned Lamont had backed an unsuccessful request
for the Siting Council to delay its Oct. 16 final vote on the transmission
line matter for six months for the parties to negotiate a compromise.
Both opponents and supporters expressed surprise after
the Council voted down UI's submission given the group had indicated
support just a few weeks prior.
“We are stunned by the change in the Siting Council’s
decision today with no explanation," the utility had said, calling it
"arbitrary and capricious."
And the regulatory group's September action had similarly
angered UI's critics because the Council had rejected the company's
application in
an unofficial June straw vote.
UI's request Monday alleges the Council “acted illegally and
arbitrarily in flipping its (Oct. 16) vote with absolutely no reasons
provided" and with three members in particular inexplicably shifting from
support to opposition between September's and October's teleconferences. In
contrast in September a few members who had informally
voted against UI in June offered rationales for changing positions
during the meeting.
The document argues that the regulatory body never disputed
the "public need" for the power line overhaul and, under state
statute, if members issue a decision "adverse to a party" they
must, either orally or in writing, outline the necessary findings of fact and
conclusions of law.
"Here, the ‘decision’ is a single sentence ‘denying’
the application with no indication as to what provision of (state statute) UI
has failed to satisfy," states UI's paperwork.
Should its request for reconsideration prove unsuccessful,
the utility's next step could be to head to court.
"UI reserves all rights going forward," concludes
its request.
Constance Vickers is deputy chief-of-staff for Bridgeport
Mayor Joe Ganim, whose administration has, along with that of Fairfield
Selectman Christine Vitale, been battling against UI.
Vickers on Monday evening took UI's request of the Siting
Council in stride, noting she had not yet had the chance to go through its
submission.
"We anticipated this," Vickers said. "It's
within due process for them to request this. ... We'll be spending the next few
days looking through everything. If (the Council's Sept. 16 vote) would have
gone the other way, we very well may have done the same thing."
Texas developer plans 232 apartments at long-abandoned ex-retail site in central CT
The Texas developer constructing a 232-unit apartment
complex in Newington is proposing to put up the identical number
of units on the site of the former Parkade retail complex in
Manchester.
Anthony Properties, which also holds approvals to build 255
apartments in Southington, wants to expand its New England portfolio by adding
a third major Connecticut project. Its plan in Manchester would be a dramatic
redevelopment of a
long-vacant eyesore that was once home to a busy shopping center.
Eight four-story apartments buildings would rise on the
Parkade land where failed businesses like Sears, Bradlees, Blockbuster, Kenny
Rogers Roasters, Tom McAn and Jo-Ann Fabrics once thrived. The town has been
working for more than a decade to revitalize the site.
Anthony Properties also proposes a clubhouse along with an
outdoor pool and deck, and twin 4,000-square-foot retail buildings that would
face Broad Street.
The company has not yet submitted a zoning site plan, but the initial maps in
its application for wetlands approval indicate it would build on a little under
20 acres on Broad Street. It wants to put up four 48-unit apartment buildings
and four 10-unit buildings.
Details about apartment sizes and layouts, rents, amenities
and more will emerge when the company presents a full-scale zoning plan.
Headquartered
in Dallas, Anthony Properties is a privately owned real estate
investment and development business that has been building apartment complexes
for decades. It has numerous large-scale complexes in Iowa and Colorado, and is
currently trying to develop its first projects in the Minnesota and
Massachusetts markets.
This spring, Anthony Properties broke ground on The Spark on
Cedar, a four-story apartment building with a four-story attached concrete
garage. Callahan
Construction Managers, which is overseeing construction, describes it as a
362,684-square-foot building with studio and one-and-two bedroom units. There
will be about 300 parking spaces, EV charging stations, an outdoor pool, a dog
park and a pet spa among other amenities, according to Callahan.
The new complex is going up on the site of the National
Welding plant, a former heavy industrial business that was long closed when the
New Britain to Hartford busway was built more than a decade ago. Then-Gov.
Dannel Malloy’s administration cited the property as one of the key targets for
transit-oriented development, and The Spark will be a short walk from the
busway’s platforms.
Anthony
won approval in 2023 to put up 255 apartments in Southington, and
estimated at the time that the project would run $55 million. The site is long
Route 229 just a few blocks north of the I-84 ramps.
The company’s first venture into the New England residential
market began a few years ago with its proposal for more than 300 apartments on
39 acres in South Attleboro, Mass. It purchased the property last year, but
local business leaders there said the plan is still going through municipal
reviews.