Lansing will implement a new ordinance restricting the placement of cell phone towers throughout the city following a dispute over the appearance of a T-Mobile tower proposed for Grand Haven Manor.

 

The tower will be placed in the wooded lot in the southern most corner of the Grand Haaven Manor senior housing development, located directly across from Averill Woods, a residential community in Lansing’s 3^rd Ward.

 

The tower itself will stand at 125 feet, making it the tallest structure in the area. As a result the residents of Averill Woods are in an uproar.

 

Ann McGill, a member of the Averill Woods Neighborhood Association, says that not only does the tower pose as an aesthetic eyesore; it is a safety threat as well due to the number of children in the area.

 

The neighborhood association will be working with the city to create a moratorium that would stall the construction of all cell towers for six months. This would provide the mayor’s office as well as Averill Woods time to create an ordinance regulating the towers.

 

3^rd Ward councilmember, A’Lynne Robinson, asserted that no one on either side was necessarily against the tower, merely its placement and is height.

 

If a moratorium is not passed, both T-Mobile and Averill Woods will look to settle and come to an agreement regarding the height of the tower and possible compromises between both parties.

 

A public hearing will be held April 30 to discuss the details of a resolution; however, both a blog and a newsletter will be created to update the public on the issue’s progress.  

 

The Lansing Code of Compliance Office asserted Wednesday at the Intergovernmental Relations Committee meeting that the neighborhood of Glenburne, located off of Waverly Road, could be charged an additional $7,000 assessment for the removal of trash and debris in their commons area.

 

The property was originally assessed in 2003 for $4,500 for lawn maintenance. The price has since increased due to complaints from the company hired to mow the grass that they cannot maneuver around the accumulation of trash, vehicles, car parts, and grass clippings in the commons area.

 

Originally created as a green space by the developer of Glenburne, the commons area has become increasingly overgrown due to the lack of a neighborhood or homeowners association.

 

The Lansing ordinance regarding proper lawn management states that the city, at the cost of the resident, has the right to appropriate a lawn service to any property that allows their grass to grow above 8 inches.

 

Eric Hewitt, councilmember for Lansing’s 1^st Ward, asserted that because the refuse being discarded within the Glenburne Commons cannot be attributed to any outside source, it is the neighborhood’s responsibility to clean it up.

 

In order to relinquish this responsibility, the neighborhood of Glenburne could either create a neighborhood association or hire a different company to clean and mow the commons or deed the property over to the city.

 

If Glenburne decides to manage the commons area through an association, the property will cost each of the 317 households $41. Not all of the homes are located near the commons area, however, making the acquisition of funding from all residents difficult.

 

If the community wishes to deed the property to the city, there is a chance the city could sell the property for commercial purposes without the consent of the neighborhood of Glenburne.

 

The issue will be brought to the city council April 28 and a public hearing will ensue May 5. If the special assessment passes, the neighborhood of Glenburne will be responsible for paying the tax of $41 per parcel by the first of November. 

Both the mayor's office and the city of Lansing remain committed to the Frances Park project despite the city council's refusal to support amendments to the five-year park's plan.

 

The denial to proceed with the Department of Natural Resources application will revoke $467,000 in grant money; however, $150,000 will be allocated to the park out of Lansing's Park Millage for repairs within park grounds. 

 

Judy Filice, member of a community group, Friends of Frances Park, says that their next step will be to apply for as many grants as they can. Filice also says that the group hopes to take the issue to the national level to be considered a historic landmark. 

 

"Frances Park will celebrate its centennial this year and should be recognized," said Filice. 

 

Despite the obvious aesthetic reasons for want of park renovations, Murdock Jemerson, director of Lansing’s Park’s and Recreation department, has stated it is a safety issue that must be dealt with.

 

Jemerson says that the city’s main concern facing the Frances Park project is the lack of pathway along Moores River Drive.

 

“Not having a recreational pathway poses a liability and is a threat to our citizens,” Jemerson said.

 

The mayor’s office will apply for the Department of Natural Resources grant again next year, but in the meantime, local community efforts, along with the parks millage fund, will attempt to maintain the park. 

Journalists should be allowed, and their story still deemed credible, to use anonymous sources in order to protect the First Amendment, as well asa the rights of those utilizing this privilege as citizens of the United States.

So far, as stated in the Society for Professional Journalists, 45 states have protection for reporters' confidential sources either through statute or through appellate court decisions. 

Just recently Massachusetts ex-Senate President, Robert E. Travaglini, filed a bill that would create a shield law in that state. 

One such example that has prompted this movement was of Judith Miller and Time Magazine's Matt Cooper, both of whom risked imprisonment after a story came out regarding the leaked identity of CIA agent, Valerie Plame. 

Although previous efforts for such legislation have been quelled, news papers and other media networks across the country are in strong support for change. 

One such medium is the Boston Globe. In December they posted an article citing the issues with such a bill, but thought it a necessity for reporters. 

Although the bill could pose problems with the justice system, as litigants have every right to a person's evidence, one should be able to report news without the suppression of  possible endictment. 

Another example in which anonymous sources were of great use was during the Watergate scandal. 

Without the help of, now 91-year-old, W. Mark Felt, the scandal would never have been uncovered. 

It is the media's job to be a watch dog within society, and it is in my opinion, that credibility often comes from those sources least willing to reveal their own identities publicly.

It is the job of the journalist to provide information that is most pertinent and most important to the public, and by restricting the rights of those who seek to do this, we are not fulfilling the needs and necessities required within our society.  

"It is ethical to use anonymous sources when the information is of indispensable importance to the public interest and it cannot be obtained by any other mean, " said Don Wycliff,  a former public editor at the Chicago Tribune. 

One should publish the truth with or without names. 

Introducing Lindsey's JRN 300 Blog

This is a blog for my JRN 300 class taught by professor Fred Fico at Michigan State University. The focus will be on local Lansing politics and Lansing's municipal government.