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Verizon cell phone tower to be built despite neighborhood complaints

Posted at 11:26 PM, Apr 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-26 23:26:48-04

VERGENNES TWP, Mich. — An appeal to deny the construction of a Verizon cell phone tower setting up in a small town was shot down by the Vergennes Township Board of Appeals Wednesday night.

The tower project was approved in February, and will be built on private property near some homes on Beckwith Drive, standing about 200-feet tall. This has some in the small town upset about how it’s going to impact the aesthetics of the community.

“We in this neighborhood do not the place for the tower in this neighborhood,” said someone during public comment. “This is not just a pole. There will be fencing, there will be a generator, there will be an access road and maintenance trips.”

Bob Seif lives near where the Verizon site will be. He says the tower will be an eyesore.

“We’re not opposed to cell phone towers,” Seif said. “We all like better cell coverage and could use better coverage out here. The problem is this is not a very good location. It’s right in a residential area, and it’s right on a residential lot.”

A lawyer for Verizon defended their choice of location, saying that if they put it a couple miles north like some residents suggest then it wouldn’t properly provide cell service to that area.

Township board members say Verizon followed the proper steps in getting their tower approved, and thus denied the residents’ appeal.

Construction on the tower may happen as soon as this week.