In a Tuesday newsletter, First Selectmen Bill Gerber urged residents to share their concerns about project impacts like clear cutting, habitat removal, disturbances to private property and “unsightly” transmission poles with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as the agency prepares a study of the Connecticut Siting Council. The call to action comes as Fairfield continues its legal battle against the council following a controversial project by United Illuminating to relocate aging transmission equipment along the Metro-North rail line in Fairfield and Bridgeport. Surrounding residents, business owners, preservationists and officials vehemently opposed the company’s proposed clearing of about six acres of trees and about 19 acres of proposed easements on nearby properties. UI spokesperson Sarah Wall Fliotsos previously told CT Examiner that the company does not expect to have a completed design for the alternative until summer 2027. Fairfield, which has asked UI to instead bury its lines underground, also claimed that the council violated due process rights in its approval.
Fairfield First Selectman Urges Public Opposition to ‘Unsightly’ Utility Projects