Sumpter Planners OK Verizon monopole for Pumpkin Factory site

A 175-foot-tall Verizon monopole was approved for about a 3.655-acre site at the southwest corner of the Pumpkin Factory farm at 48651 Harris Road.
At its regular meeting March 8, the Sumpter Township Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the special land use for a wireless communications tower, contingent on the township splitting off and rezoning the tower site.
Planner Christopher Atkin of Carlisle/Wortman of Ann Arbor explained that under the Michigan Planning Enabling Act, the township has 60 days from application to approve or deny a communications tower and if the 60 days expire, the tower is automatically approved. He said Sumpter was 30 days into the 60-day limit.
There were two public hearings on March 8, the first one on rezoning from the farm’s present Single Family Residential (R-2) zoning district to Agricultural (AG), which allows communications towers. The second public hearing was on the special land use required for a tower.
Property owner Linda LeBlanc said years ago she and her husband were offered $1.5 million for their farm for a subdivision, explaining the residential zoning for the farmland. That was before the bottom fell out, she said. Later she said, Pulte Homes offered $800,000 for the farm.
“I’m 71 going on 72 and I’m still farming,” LeBlanc said. “I don’t miss what I don’t have.”
The site of the monopole was expected to be 3.3 acres, but it had to be expanded slightly to allow for the 200 feet required setback from any Residential zoning. The site will have a Lohr Road address.
LeBlanc said she lives at 48761 Harris Road on 1.21 acres, which is separate from, but adjoins, the farm.
Fred Law represented Verizon in the presentation to the commission. Four neighbors spoke against having the monopole in their neighborhood.
Josh King, who with his wife and three children live across Harris Road from the farm, was the most persistent with questions.
He asked if there would be a heavy electrical burden and Law said it uses regular 120 kw power, low energy, which is not a massive draw on the electrical grid.
“We don’t have a cell tower now and we lose power all the time,” LeBlanc said.
“I don’t want it right across the road from my home,” said another neighbor, asking Verizon to go farther on LeBlanc’s property instead of by Swan Creek at Lohr Road.
He said she is getting $1,000 a month, “… and it’s screw the neighbors. I’ll get my $1,000.”
Atkin said the placement of the tower is not up to the planning commission.
During the rezoning public hearing, King asked to see the map that shows where Verizon towers are needed in the township and commission chairwoman Jane Stalmack said he could see it during the second public hearing in a few minutes.
King said if he’s able to see the tower from his home, he’ll sell his house. He said the tower would impact his home’s value.
Law said Verizon looks at the propagation map that is a computer model set up to determine which areas are served well and which are not served well. Verizon determined there was a hole in its coverage and asked Law to go out, meet the ordinance requirements, and find a site.
He said they try to avoid wetlands, floodplains, and start crossing parcels off their map.
“A big problem is the airfield to the northwest,” he said. “There’s a pretty specific area we can use.”
Commissioner Jay Bardell said the pole was identical to the tower approved last year to go up on Haggerty.
Mrs. King asked the commission to not pass the rezoning recommendation to the township board and to look at preservation of the land.
“We want trees and green … This is frustrating,” she said. “We will list our house very quickly.”
“This tower is going south of my home,” LeBlanc said. “I live on the corner of Harris and Lohr, 180′ from the road. In case it falls, it’s going to fall on my property.
“Because of trees and the farm itself, you’ll probably only see the top of the tower,” she said to the Kings.
She said her other neighbor “… is upset. It’s not directly across from him… He will see it from his backyard … Where he got the idea I was getting $1,000 a month is beyond me.
“That’s our future — the cells,” LeBlanc said.
Township Trustee Matthew Oddy, who sits on the planning commission, said, “This is one of those situations where it’s not in my backyard — NIMBY.”
He said everyone wants cell phones, but nobody wants the towers near them.
“We’re moving into the new age … but nobody wants it in our backyard,” Oddy said.
When Trustee Oddy asked about moving the tower farther to the east, Law said they are right on the edge of the floodplain, just outside it, and have to be careful.
“If there’s a flood, you don’t want to lose your cell phone,” Law said.
Oddy asked if the pole could be raised higher and put into a floodplain and Law replied that would take a different batch of approvals and timelines and he didn’t know if it’s possible.
“Any time you move into the floodplain, the state folks look at displacement and mitigation,” Law said. “You can’t just build it six feet up so it never gets wet.”
He said there are a whole myriad of other considerations and it takes six to 12 months to look at all the impacts.
When asked how deep the foundation would be, Law said it is 28′ deep.
At the special land use public hearing, Atkin said the tower would be 172 feet tall plus three feet at the top, 10,000 square feet fenced-in area with a six-foot fence around it with barbed wire at the top, if the commission approves the barbed wire. This area is surrounded by a farm and a gravel drive is used to enter the site for maintenance.
After approval Verizon would do a geotechnical investigation of the soils and set up removal conditions and a landscaping plan to buffer the equipment from view. No lighting is required on the tower, Atkin said, noting it was signed off on by the FAA because it is not tall enough to need lights.
The monopole is six to seven feet in diameter and there are two 3x3x4.5′ cabinets, one for transmission and one for the 10kw DC generator, which is powered by propane and used only for emergencies.
Commissioner Joy Cichewicz, who made the motion to approve the special land use, said she would put a tower in her backyard, since they are important to getting cell phone service.
In other business at the meeting, Atkin gave an update on the land use master plan on which he has been working.
He said among the highlights are the zoning adjustments for manufactured house communities and how to consolidate that.
Atkin also said the township hasn’t been active in setting up Capital Improvement Projects, which is required. He said the Capital Improvement Projects list usually is set up at budget time and is essentially a wish list, a five-to-seven-year prioritized plan. The projects have to be a benefit to the community as a whole, such as for public safety or water/sewer. He said it allows the township to start setting aside money. He said it is constantly revised because things change. It lets the township residents know what direction they are going.
He said the master plan is still really rough and he is still working on it. He said at the April 12 meeting he hopes to have a little more polished master plan with maps.
Atkin also said the Verizon tower is not a done deal. He said the planning commission is just a recommending body and the township board makes the final decision on the rezoning. That item is expected to be on the township board agenda March 27.
The commission did, however, make the final decision to approve the special land use permit for the tower, if the rezoning is approved.