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Residents press council on cell towers, data centers and storm-downed trees; officials outline follow-ups
Summary
Public commenters urged the city to consider compensation or disclosure rules for homeowners near cell towers, raised concerns about a proposed regional data center’s water and power use, and requested access to tornado-downed trees; the city manager described options for firewood recovery and said staff will follow up on policy and communication.
During the public comment period, several residents raised issues they asked the council to address.
Alan Lowridge urged the city to consider an ordinance requiring cell-tower owners to pay 10% of fair-market rent to homeowners within 1,500 feet or to a trust fund for mitigation measures; he also asked for disclosure of signal strength at 500, 1,000 and 1,500 feet and cited property-value and health concerns. The council did not take immediate regulatory action but acknowledged the comment and directed staff to consider limitations of local authority.
John Paver described proposals for a large data center in nearby Pavilion Township and a battery energy storage project in Comstock Township, claiming a 1-gigawatt data center could consume 5–7 million gallons of water a day and have limited long-term employment impact. Those claims were recorded as public comment and not verified during the meeting; council members noted regional implications and suggested public engagement and interjurisdictional coordination where appropriate.
Frederick Miles, representing the Southwestern Michigan chapter of Jack and Jill, requested city permission to allow residents to harvest downed trees from the May 2024 tornado to reduce fire hazards and pests and to make wood available for residents. Councilmembers and the city manager discussed options: a contractor-led cleanup to collect about 10 full cords of wood to be staged securely at the compost yard for resident distribution, or a supervised volunteer/waiver process to let residents cut and retrieve wood. City staff said they are working to design a secure process to prevent commercial removal before residents can access wood.
Councilmembers thanked the speakers and asked staff to prepare clearer public guidance on these questions where city authority applies.
