Citizen Group Successfully Pushes for New Approach to Small Cell Tower Installations

A grassroots group composed chiefly of homeowners in the Glencairn Neighborhood of East Lansing has successfully pushed to get the City of East Lansing to adopt a more aggressive stance towards companies looking to install new “small” cellular equipment around town.

Earlier this year, the group, calling itself CELL (Citizens Engaged for Livable Locations), became alarmed by plans to put cell towers in front of single-family homes. They advocated for design standards for the planned 5G facilities, and in response and at Councilmember George Brookover’s recommendation, Council moved on March 21 to form a three-person committee to recommend guidelines. The resolution authorizing the committee allowed city staff members to collaborate with CELL representatives to draft guidelines.

The last member of the three-person ad hoc recommendations committee was named just last Friday, and by Tuesday (April 18), their recommendations were presented at the City Council meeting.

The 57-page guidelines document highlights the committee’s desire to maintain the city’s appearance while ushering in increased 5G services. The guidelines state they aim to enhance 5G services while ensuring the new facilities blend in aesthetically to the city’s existing background and comply with state and federal law.

According to an announcement Wednesday from the city, “The new document establishes general guidance for the design, aesthetic installation, placement and colocation of small cell networks and small cell wireless facilities.” (Colocation means putting devices on existing poles and buildings rather than constructing new poles for them.)

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, CELL representative Molly Szpunar said the design standards put a focus on colocation and that they are modeled after Ann Arbor’s design standards. She also said these are administrative guidelines, meaning the city manager will be able to modify them going forward.

CELL produced comprehensive cell tower guidelines in record time.

Both Mayor Ron Bacon and City Attorney Anthony Chubb praised CELL for how quickly the group put together the guidelines and how comprehensive the document is.

Chubb said the group worked quickly to get the guidelines out, but will need to continue to refine them. Crown Castle, the company installing the 5G facilities, plans to begin adding facilities sometime this year.

Chubb recommended Council not vote to adopt the design standards, but that instead the city institute them administratively so city staff can continue to amend the guidelines if necessary. He said the guidelines could be adopted immediately by the city manager.

Council followed Chubb’s advice and did not take action on the subject Tuesday. By the next day, the city announced the guidelines are officially in effect.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg said it was good to get design standards “on the books” because she believes more companies will want to install 5G facilities in the city in the future.

At a previous meeting, Gregg disclosed her husband works for a competitor of Crown Castle doing small cell installations. She has taken time at meetings to explain how the installations matter to current cell technology, as when she said this week that this technology “has to be installed fairly densely in order to work.” (Gregg’s husband’s employment is with ACD.net. Her 2022 required ethics disclosure says he “manages their small cell co-location division. She has not sought recusal on discussions or votes related to questions of small cell tower installations.)

Chubb said the city and CELL are looking to see if it is possible to relocate some facilities within 75 feet of where they are currently planned. But he clarified a state statute allows Crown Castle to determine if the new proposed locations are fiscally and technologically feasible.

He also said the city is drafting 15-day extensions on each pending application from Crown Castle.

A formal letter will be going out to the involved parties.

Brookover requested that formal letters announcing the design standards be sent to Crown Castle and Verizon – the carrier that hired Crown Castle to install the facilities. Acting Director of Public Works Ron Lacasse clarified there is already a letter drafted to notify involved parties of the guidelines and planned extensions. He said it will be mailed this week.

While Chubb and Interim City Manager Randy Talifarro said the city is limited in how it can oversee the 5G facility installation due to state statute, representatives from Ann Arbor have said their design standards have been valuable.

“In speaking with Ann Arbor, they said you absolutely need these and it is their number one tool,” Szpunar said. “They said by using these [design standards] they’ve gotten the vendors to colocate [instead of erecting new poles] 80% of the time.”

For months, residents have stressed their desire to have as many facilities colocated as possible.

Szpunar is hopeful the design standards will lead to a healthy partnership between the city, its residents and Crown Castle.

“It really creates a mechanism to work in collaboration [with Crown Castle], versus telling us how it’s going to be,” she said.