McGraw County Park is located right at the tip of the thumb of the lower peninsula’s mitten-shaped outline. Michiganders at that location have voted against issuing a special use permit to erect a cell tower in the park, reports the Huron Daily Tribune. The permit was sought by Agri-Valley Communications.
The park operates under the jurisdiction of the Michigan State Highway Commission. Written in 1965, the deed does allow the grantee to “convey the land to any other department of the state of Michigan or to the county of Huron to be developed by them as a park.” However, the current Commission chose to interpret the wording to mean that cell towers were not included as a permitted use of the land.
When selecting the site, Agri-Valley Communications representative, Mike Gremel, said that the site had been selected to meet coverage needs in a way that was also sensitive to the area. The 185-foot monopole was proposed because that height would not require lighting. The site is non-residential, and adjustments to the fall zone were made when there was concern that a nearby campground could be imperiled. Thumb Cellular was lined up to be the cell tower’s first occupant.
However, outcry from Hume County residents saw the Commission deny issuing a special use permit to Agri-Valley Communications. The objections included the usual stew of visual blight, property value fears, and phantom health concerns.
Gremel asked Building and Zoning Director, Jeff Smith, what recourse Agri-Valley had in the face of the denial. Smith responded that Agri-Valley could seek an appeal or a zoning variance, request a zoning amendment to wording of the county ordinance, or request that the parcel of land be rezoned to allow the cell tower. Upon hearing the options, Gremel said, “We’re all friends here, so I’m not sure we want to go down that road.”
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