A communications tower proposed for a site just outside of Northport has drawn intense scrutiny from some in the community who are concerned about its height, location and whether it’s even needed.

The Leelanau Township Planning Commission will have a public hearing on the matter this Thursday at 7 p.m. The planning commission must approve a special land use permit for the project to proceed.

The roughly 200-foot tower would be built by Leelanau County and is intended to address spotty cell phone coverage and other communications concerns at the tip of the Leelanau peninsula. But some area residents say the scenic and ecological impacts of the proposed tower haven’t been thoroughly studied, and they want more proof that cell service issues can’t be solved another way.

Paris Morse lives next to the proposed site, which sits along Kitchen Road north of Garthe Road. She says the tower isn’t a good fit for the area, and she believes township regulations support her position.

“I think probably the biggest concern is this does not fit with zoning ordinances or what’s outlined in the (township) master plan, which includes things like ridgeline protection,” she tells The Ticker. “There are very specific things about where a house should be on a ridgeline, let alone a structure this tall, to make sure it’s not disruptive for the area.”

Morse and local planner Chris Grobbel, who is working with Morse and other citizens, cite other concerns with the tower itself and the county’s application for a special land use permit. Grobbel has presented a six-page memo to Leelanau Township planning commissioners that outlines several alleged instances of non-compliance with township regulations or ordinances.

“Based on this professional planner’s review, numerous inadequacies and lack of required information exist, and several submittals within this (application)… are woefully inadequate or unaddressed,” Grobbel writes in the memo.

Also at issue is whether or not the tower is even needed. Interim Leelanau County Administrator Richard Lewis says the county is attempting to build the tower after township officials themselves expressed a desire for better service. The county’s special land use permit application cites a 2022 resolution by the township board seeking better internet and cellular service.

“The county has done nothing but act on the request of the township to undertake this,” Lewis tells The Ticker. “(We’re) responding to a request that came from Leelanau Township.”

Current Township Supervisor Mike McMillan, who was not on the board at the time the resolution was passed, says cell service “certainly” needs to be improved in the area. But he’s not convinced a new tower is definitely the way to go.

“We are seeking improved cellular services, but we don’t believe this is necessarily the best economic solution,” he tells The Ticker. “My issue is about…making the most efficient use of public resources.”

There is already a nearly 200-foot tower at the fire station less than a mile away, McMillan says, though it only serves AT&T and not Verizon or other carriers.

“If we were to work with Verizon and have Verizon go on that existing tower, then for the Verizon users, cellular service would improve tremendously,” he says. “So then you've got to look at whether we’re better off incentivizing Verizon to go on the existing tower or building a new tower.”

McMillan acknowledges that the new tower site may indeed provide better service by virtue of its location, but perhaps not better enough service to justify the expense and impact of a new tower.

"Is it as optimal (as the other site)? Maybe not, but we need to have the most efficient use of resources," he says. 

McMillan is also concerned that the county doesn’t have a written agreement with Verizon to go on the proposed new tower, meaning it might be built for nothing. Lewis says he’s “95 percent certain” Verizon would go on the tower, but acknowledged there is no written agreement.

“There’s no point in making an agreement until we have a site,” Lewis says. “A lot of conversations have taken place, (and) Verizon’s going to go on the tower, period. And if we need to bring that up at the public hearing, we’ll be more than happy to do so.”

Lewis was away from his desk when contacted by The Ticker and could not provide exact figures, but said the proposed tower would cost in excess of $500,000. The county has already spent considerable money on the project, Lewis says, even making substantial down payments to contractors that Lewis believes will be non-refundable.

Lewis began work at the county as interim administrator only a few months ago and says he does not have direct knowledge on the decision to pay any contractors, but he believes the county was working under the assumption that the project was a go.

“When this all started, the township was going to secure the necessary documents we needed,” he says. “We (then) found out we needed to go out and file for the special land use permit.”

Lewis, who has spent decades in local government as Traverse City’s longtime city manager and later mayor, is aware that infrastructure projects like this are often contentious.

“I’m not criticizing anyone who says they don’t want the tower,” he says. “Anywhere we’d try to place the tower, there’s going to be folks who aren’t going to want it, and I respect that. I’m not faulting them.”

Not all township residents oppose the proposed new tower. Resident Doug Whitley plans to speak in favor of the new tower at the upcoming public hearing, and he says he knows of others who have also expressed support.

“I am a strong advocate for the construction of a long overdue and much needed assist to cell phone service at the tip of the peninsula. I believe the case for advancing public safety and improving the general welfare of the community by adding the tower is a strong one,” Whitley wrote in an email to The Ticker. “There is a need. The need has been known for years.”