About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

23 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 537 (2009)
Cell Phone Towers as Visual Pollution

handle is hein.journals/ndlep23 and id is 541 raw text is: CELL PHONE TOWERS AS VISUAL POLLUTION JOHN COPELAND NAGLE* Granger, Indiana is a collection of residential subdivisions filled with nearly 800 cul-de-sacs. Besides those subdivisions, Granger's most prominent features are its proximity to South Bend and to the Michigan state line, its lack of any real downtown, and the precarious status of an unincorporated community of 30,000 residents who rely upon individual water wells and septic tanks.1 Granger was also known for spotty wireless coverage when cell phones first became popular. My cell phone did not receive a signal in my Granger home, nor did most of my visitors whose phones were serviced by other providers. So I was pleased to learn that a new cell phone tower was planned for a vacant field about one mile from my home. Then I checked my mailbox one day and found a bright pink flyer that objected to the proposed tower as visual pollution. Most of my neighbors felt the same way, as demonstrated by the 1,135 residents who signed a petition against the tower. Another resident reported that she had abandoned plans to build a deck on the back of her house because she did not want to look at a tower. View is everything, said one neighbor, and a tower kills the view. Heeding these complaints, the county council repeatedly voted to deny the necessary permits.2 These stories can be multiplied across the country. Indeed, they have been, as local newspaper accounts and the reports of litigated dis- putes attest. There are now about 200,000 cell sites (including both tow- * John N. Matthews Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School; nagle.8@nd.edu. Alejandro Camacho offered helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Research librarians Chris O'Byrne and Patti Ogden provided invaluable assistance, and I am grate- ful for the research assistance of Kacy Romig and Rachel Williams. 1. The origin of Granger's name is contested, with one view citing the name of the grange farm movement of the late nineteenth century (when Granger was founded) and the alternative view crediting Father Alexis Granger, the priest who operated a farm in the area beginning in 1867. See Carol Draeger, Where (and What) is Granger?; Not a City or Village, ZIP Code 46530 is Michiana 's Own Beverly Hills 9021 0-A State of Being, So to Speak, SOUTH BEND TIUB., July 22, 2001, at Al. 2. See Carol Elliott, Can You Hear Them Now? Posses of Wireless Technicians Patrol the Roads to Improve Cell Phone Reception, SOUTH BEND TIB., Nov. 28, 2004, at B1; Don Porter, Communications Towers Sprouting Up All Over: Visual Pollution Could Be Result in Residential Areas, SOUTH BEND TRIB., June 30, 1997, at B1; Don Porter, Will Granger AcceptAnother Tower?, SOUTH BEND TRIB., June 11, 2003, at Al; James Wensits, County Council Denies Cell Phone Tower Plea; Granger Foes Mount Strong Opposition, SOUTH BEND TIUB., Feb. 11, 2004, at Al; James Wensits, New Location But Same Ques- tion; Cell Tower Site Still Sought to Serve GrangerArea, SOUTH BEND TRIB., Jan. 30, 2004, at Al; James Wensits, Tower Plan Wilts Under Pressure; Council Rejects Site Near Knoll- wood, SOUTH BEND TRIB., June 11, 2003, at Al.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most