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Up about 100 feet on the right side of Railroad Street we come across Nerdy Visions. Opened in 2020 in the heat of the pandemic Nerdy Visions is a very proud new member of the North Canaan community. Nerdy Visions is a new twist on a tattoo parlor. Owner Joe Murph lends his “Vision” to help people envision themselves with new tattoos. Tattooing is nothing new to Murph, he’s been in the business since 2011 at various shops around the state, although North Canaan is the first shop of his own. Hailing from Danbury, Conn., Murph spent a lot of time in the area as a kid and young adult at Lone Oak Campsites in East Canaan, so when the time came to open his own place, he knew he wanted it to be North Canaan. Not only because he loved the area, but also because it was an untapped market.
The nature of an untapped market is both tantalizing and horrifying, is it untapped because nobody’s tried, or is it because many have tried and all have failed? Well in this case it’s the former because North Canaan has never seen a tattoo parlor. It’s a daunting thought as it’s not a very “Canaan” business in the sense that it’s not a traditional business: it’s not an auto repair shop, a doctor’s office, or a quarry. With that in mind, I asked if fitting into the community has been an issue thus far. The answer was a resounding no. The only real backlash they faced was on social media, “I can remember all the derogatory remarks when I was first opening, and there were even people saying ‘they won’t last.’” This is something that caused Joe to get rid of his Facebook page, you can still find him on Instagram @nerdyvisionsgallery, because of all the negativity from people that have no clue who he is or what he’s about. He found that negativity isn’t something he was particularly interested in as positivity is the theme behind his business, “I want to portray myself as the hand that extends rather than the one that slaps away.”
Video game nights are a community element Nerdy Visions have offered. Tyler, one of the apprentices at the shop, is the one who has put most of the planning on his own shoulders. He’s hoping to hold video game nights on a more regular basis soon, with Friday night events for all ages. From 7 to 11 p.m., Nerdy Visions will open its doors to anyone that wants to come to play or watch video games, ranging from your classics such as an N64 up to Playstation or the Nintendo Switch. These events are child-friendly, sober events that way everyone can have a good time together. The main event is a tournament with one grand prize for the winner. Nerdy Visions has quickly become part of the community and it’s thanks to efforts such as these game nights, little things that show they not only want to stay in business but want to be accepted as a true part of the community.
Panther tattoo by Tyler Barker. Photo courtesy of Nerdy Vision
Tomie horror manga tattoo by Raf Luiz. Photo courtesy of Nerdy Vision
Heath Ledger’s Joker by Joe “Murph” Atherton.
Panther tattoo by Tyler Barker. Photo courtesy of Nerdy Vision
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Telecom Reg’s Best Kept On the Books
When Connecticut land-use commissions update their regulations, it seems like a no-brainer to jettison old telecommunications regulations adopted decades ago during a short-lived period when municipalities had authority to regulate second generation (2G) transmissions prior to the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) being ordered by a state court in 2000 to regulate all cell tower infrastructure as “functionally equivalent” services.
It is far better to update those regs instead, especially for macro-towers given new technologies like small cells. Even though only ‘advisory’ to the CSC, the preferences of towns by law must be taken into consideration in CSC decision making. Detailed telecom regs – not just a general wish list -- are evidence that a town has put considerable thought into where they prefer such infrastructure be sited without prohibiting service that many – though not all – citizens want and that first responders rely on for public safety.
Such regs come in handy when egregious tower sites are proposed in sensitive areas, typically on private land. The regs are a town’s first line of defense, especially when cross referenced to plans of conservation and development, P&Z regulations, and wetlands setbacks. They identify how/where the town plans to intersect with the CSC process. They are also a roadmap for service providers regarding preferred sites and sometimes less neighborhood contention. In fact, to have no telecom regs can weaken a town’s rights to protect environmental, scenic, and historic assets, and serve up whole neighborhoods to unnecessary overlapping coverage and corporate overreach. Such regs are unique to every town and should not follow anyone else’s boiler plate, especially industry’s.
Connecticut is the only state that has a centralized siting entity for cell towers. The good news is that applicants must prove need for new tower sites in an evidentiary proceeding and any decisions have the weight of the state behind them. The bad news is that the CSC used to be far less industry-friendly and rote in their reviews, which now resemble a check list. There is an operative assumption at CSC that if an applicant wants a tower, they must need it, otherwise why spend significant money to run the approval gauntlet? This reflects a subtle shift over the years at CSC from sincere willingness to protect the environment toward minimal tweaking of bad applications with minor changes. The bottom line is that towns really cannot rely on the CSC to do all the work for them.
What CSC issues telecom providers is a “certificate of environmental compatibility” after an evidentiary proceeding (not unlike a court case) with intervenors, parties, expert witnesses, and the service provider’s technical pro’s sworn in and subject to cross examination. Service providers get to do the same with any opposition from intervenor/party participants – like towns and citizens -- and their experts. It’s an impressive process whose ultimate goal is the fine balancing between allowing adequate/reliable public services and protecting state ecology with minimal damage to scenic, historic, and recreational values. They unfortunately often fall short of their mandate – like approving cell towers with diesel generators over town aquifers -- evidenced by CSC only rejecting about five cell towers in the past 15-20 years.
The CSC was founded in 1972 and clarified its mission in the 1980’s to prevent the state from being carved up willy-nilly by gas pipelines, high tension corridors, and broadcast towers. With the sudden proliferation of cell towers beginning in late 1990’s, it became the most sued agency in Connecticut by both an arrogant upstart industry if applications were denied and by towns/citizens when bad sites were forced on them. CSC gradually formed a defensive posture that drives their decisions toward industry with deeper pockets and attorneys on retainer.
For citizens, nothing can wreck one’s day like the CSC. It behooves towns to protect what little toolkit they have, and understand the legal parameters of the CSC’s playing field. The CSC is not a “normal” government agency where municipal/citizen redress is based on logic and local support. Their process is largely immune to everything but specific kinds of evidence – like town regs with setbacks/fall zones, radio frequency transmission signal strengths, sensitive areas identified, and detailed wildlife inventory, among others.
There is a current cell tower fight involving two intervening towns -- Washington and Warren; both with good cell tower regs – over a tower site within 1200’ of a Montessori School, near Steep Rock’s nature preserves with comprehensive geology/wildlife databases that include endangered, threatened and special concern flora and fauna, on established federal/state migratory bird flyways, within throwing distance to a historic site capable of being listed on the Underground Railroad, and with an access road on a blind curve entering a state highway that will permanently damage wetlands, vernal pools, and core forests. There are well credentialed environmental experts, including Dr. Michael Klemens, former chair of Salisbury’s P&Z, as well as the former director of migratory bird management at the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and an RF engineer testifying to alternative approaches, plus three attorneys representing intervenors. It is the most professional challenge I have seen at CSC since Falls Village successfully mounted one that protected Robbins Swamps several years ago.
The hearing is ongoing, with uncertain results. To see what it takes today to stop an inappropriate tower siting, see Docket #543 under “Pending Matters” at https://portal.ct.gov/csc before removing local cell tower regs – the lowest hanging fruit that any town can possess in case it’s needed.
B, Blake Levitt is the Communications Director at The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council. She writes about how technology affects biology.