Developer Argued Against Power Line, Citing Wetlands Preservation

Ralph and Linda Wilson tonight will try to persuade the Planning and Zoning Commission that they be allowed to develop 32 houses on their South Main Street property (see earlier article for map).

This property was the subject of extensive negotiations between Connecticut Light and Power, Durham, Middlefield, and Middletown over the route of a high-voltage power line. CL&P proposed, and ultimately built the "Royal Oak bypass" to keep the power line from passing through an existing subdivision.

In testimony to the Connecticut Siting Council, which has jurisdiction over power lines, the Wilsons argued that the line should go through the Royal Oak residential neighborhood, where a CL&P right of way already existed. They pointed to wetlands protection as one of the reasons for avoiding their property, "The Wilson subdivision plan submitted to the town of Middletown contains conservation easements to protect the wetlands on the Wilson Parcel, wetlands which would be bisected and adversely impacted by employing the Royal Oak Bypass." They also expressed concerns over the Line of Sight which provides views of Hartford and Powder Ridge, "Any transmission lines and poles placed in the Royal Oak Bypass on the Wilson parcel would negatively impact this line of sight, and thus, would have a significant negative impact upon the aesthetics of the proposed development and community."

The Wilsons threatened to sue the three municipalities if the power line disrupted their "luxury home subdivision". According to an article by Josh Kovner in the Hartford Courant on May 23, 2006, the Wilsons succeeded in forcing the Connecticut Siting Council to move the power line from the center of their property to its very southern border, adjacent to the existing Royal Oak development in Durham.

The couple in spring 2005 obtained permission from the city to build 25 houses on their land, a planned subdivision worth, by the couple's estimate, $35 million. In their notice of intent to sue, they say the proposed route would "run right into the Wilsons' subdivision of future Middletown families."

Ralph Wilson was Mayor Sebastian Giuliano's chief fundraiser during Giuliano's campaign against Mayor Domenique Thornton last year, and Giuliano, a lawyer, represented the Wilsons during the early portion of their fight with the siting council.

In the agreement on a route the Wilsons and CL&P reached in February, the 345-kilovolt lines, on poles 100 to 190 feet high, would hug the southern border of the Wilson property, leaving the rest open for development.

The deal stunned the adjoining Royal Oak homeowners.

The Royal Oak homeowners in turn appealed to the Siting Council, and in a decision hailed by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the power lines were moved away from the border of the property.

The subdivision plan that was approved in 2004 does not take into account the new power line, it would presumably need to be significantly altered, with likely review by Inland Wetlands and Planning and Zoning. The new plan, with an increased number of houses, was approved by Inland Wetlands at their September 7th meeting.

Planning and Zoning will consider the application tonight, at 7PM in Council Chambers.