MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The final decision regarding the special use permit to allow a 90-foot cell tower to be built on Park Lake Road was reached at the August 18th Township Board meeting.

The decision that needed to be reached was whether or not to accept the appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of the permit, which was brought forth by Ginger Yang, the owner of Lotus Voice, a business that is adjacent to the proposed location.

Present to defend the original decision were Verizon Wireless's attorney Tom Labelle, as well as Leland Calloway, a consultant with Jacob's Engineering. Also present to represent the Planning Commission was Commissioner Tom Deits. The Township Attorney, Stephen Schultz, was also present.

The hearing began with Labelle explaining the legality of the situation as addressed in the Communications Act, and Calloway once again explaining Verizon's reasons for choosing this location. Calloway also addressed the concerns that were listed in the appeal form.

"To deny this, to set an example going against what your ordinance allows cell phone towers, I think is a travesty," said Calloway. "To have an ordinance that outlines what the requirements are for a cell phone tower, and then to have an applicant come before you and meet all those requirements and still can be denied, I think is a travesty."

Yang was then given the floor to explain her appeal. During her time, she gave an extensive recap of what was discussed at each of the previous meetings about the tower, and proposed several questions that she believed should lead to the denial of the special use permit. These questions included asking what an easement is, why other locations are not acceptable, and the Township's legal stance in this situation.

"They were traumatized by the data and the Township could be sued based on some unwarranted reason," said Yang.

The issue eventually came forth that the Township was required to make a decision within 90 days of the original application, so the Board took a recess so that staff could determine exactly when the application was completed. It was determined that the application was complete on May 18, meaning that the 90 days had ended on August 16. However, Labelle expressed his consent for the Board to make a decision during that meeting rather than upholding the right to force the acceptance of the previous decision.

Finally, the Board moved to make the issue an action item, and returned to it after addressing the other action items already present on the agenda. Trustee Scales created a motion to sustain the appeal and deny the tower, which Trustee Veenstra supported.

"We have heard a hearing, we have heard testimony, we have heard each and every one of us have discussion, debate," said Scales. "We've talked this to death. I think it's very clear in the majority of the members of this board's mind from what I've heard, that this is a lease, that this is not an easement, and this has been like pulling the wool over our eyes during the course of events before our staff and the Planning Commission."

After each Board member gave their detailed reasons for the way they would vote, the vote was as follows, in which yes is to sustain the appeal and deny the tower:

Trustee Styka: Yes
Trustee Veenstra: Yes
Trustee Wilson: No
Treasurer Brixie: Yes
Clerk Dreyfus: Yes
Supervisor Legoff: No
Trustee Scales: Yes

The vote being 5 to 2, the appeal was sustained and the tower was denied.

The next possible steps that Verizon can take are to either renegotiate a new application with the Township, or to take the Township to court.