As Glencairn Homeowners Protest Cell Tower Plan, More Towers May Be Coming to EL Neighborhoods (Updated)
Update, Jan. 11, 2022: In response to questions from homeowners, the City of East Lansing issued a notice confirming the reporting in this article, indicating Michigan municipalities “must allow for cellular wireless companies to add 5G small cell wireless facilities within their communities.”
East Lansing homeowners in the Glencairn Neighborhood are worried about the possibility of a 40-foot-tall “small cell” tower being constructed along the streets near their homes.
Now, City staff tell ELi more than 50 towers may be coming around town. Legally the towers must be approved by staff if they meet certain requirements, including the 40-foot height limit.
Two advertisements have set off concerns.
Several ELi readers wrote in to ask about advertisements that ran in the Lansing State Journal on Tuesday, Dec. 27, requesting feedback about two cell towers possibly being built in East Lansing.
The advertisements state that Crown Castle is proposing to install two 40-foot pole telecommunications utility structures. The first would be in the right-of-way on the corner of Southlawn Avenue and Rosewood Avenue. The second would be in the right-of-way of the 600 block of Lexington Avenue.
In this case, the term right-of-way refers to land along the street that is publicly owned. The public right-of-way typically includes the “parkway,” the strip of grass between a curb and a sidewalk. In East Lansing neighborhoods without sidewalks, the right-of-way may look like part of a homeowner’s property, but is in fact public land.
East Lansing Communications Director Mikell Frey relayed that there are currently 12 cell towers in East Lansing. (ELi has been reporting on the sprouting up of these towers in the Bailey neighborhood, including near downtown.)
And, she said, Crown Castle has had conversations with city staff about adding more than 50 small cell towers beginning this year.
“Crown Castle has had pre-discussions with City staff and is proposing to add over 50 small cell locations within the City beginning sometime this year,” Frey wrote. “Currently, the City does not have any permit applications from them.”
Certain towers must be approved if they meet the regulations.
Cell towers over 40-feet-tall and built in the public right-of-way in East Lansing require a Special Use Permit (SUP), an approval that comes through a vote of City Council.
But Frey said as long as small cell towers meet the terms of the city ordinance, they must be approved by city staff. The towers described in the LSJ advertisements will likely require only staff approval based on the proposed height.
Former East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows explained in an email to ELi that the city passed a franchise ordinance in 2018 to regulate small cell towers in the city. However, the following year, a less restrictive ordinance had to be passed to comply with a new state statute. That state law substantially limits how much control Michigan municipalities have over these towers.
Through the franchise system, the City makes some revenue off of these towers. According to Frey, “The City collects a small annual fee from existing small cell installations, which amount to less than $1,000 annually,” at the current time. A one-time permit fee is also required.
The local ordinance regulating these towers requires “A wireless provider shall comply with written, objective requirements for reasonable, technically feasible, nondiscriminatory, and technologically neutral designs or concealment measures in a historic district, downtown district, or residential zoning district as established by policy resolution of the city council. Such requirement shall not have the effect of prohibiting any wireless provider’s technology. Any such design or concealment measures are not included in size restrictions.”
ELi has requested from the city that policy resolution but has not yet received it.
One resident has a lot of questions about this scene.
Among residents concerned about the towers being built is Marc Breedlove, a professor of neuroscience at Michigan State University. One of the towers is slated to be built near his house on Southlawn Avenue.
In an email sent to Crown Castle and several state and local lawmakers and shared with ELi, Breedlove outlined his concerns.
Breedlove questioned the timing of the advertisement. The week the advertisement ran, between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, is one where many East Lansing residents are traveling and newspaper readership is low. Additionally, despite Crown Castle planning to build the tower very close to Breedlove’s home, he says he was not personally notified.
The advertisement also does not describe much about what the tower will look like or whether there will be benefits if built, including whether it will benefit a specific service provider.
The advertisements give only an area where the towers will be placed, so the precise location is unknown. Breedlove asked in his letter if towers built near homes lower property values. In his communication, Breedlove asked Crown Castle if the company knows where it plans to build towers in the city and why a map of locations wasn’t provided.
Additionally, he worries there could be health consequences.
“As my wife and I are both neuroscientists, we would be happy to provide expert testimony to any regulatory body or community forum regarding the risk of brain cancers from living in proximity to telecommunications towers,” he wrote in the email.
Citizens can send comments to the company proposing the work.
The advertisements state that Crown Castle is accepting feedback for 30 days after the Dec. 27 date the advertisements ran. To comment, citizens can reach out to Monica Gambino of Crown Castle at Monica.Gambino@CrownCastle.com or 724-416-2516.
This article is part of the journalism service we provide called Ask ELi to Investigate. Have a question about something in East Lansing that you want us to look into? Contact us!