Controversy over cellphone tower pits southwest Illinois petting zoo against AT&T
Alan Blumhorst begins his tours at Rainbow Ranch with the story of Johann and Maria Mangenalker, a German couple who established the farm in 1850 in Washington County.
The immigrants could never have imagined that Blumhorst, their great-great-grandson, would someday be fighting with an international telecommunications company over placement of a cell tower. They didn’t even have electricity or running water.
The 100-acre farm now operates as a petting zoo, exotic animal sanctuary and occasional wedding venue, about eight miles west of Nashville.
In recent months, Blumhorst has made it his mission to oppose construction of the 350-foot tower, which would be built across Illinois 15 from his pasture and used by AT&T, according to plans unveiled last fall. He wants to see it moved to a less-visible location.
“It’s going to be an eyesore for the thousands of people who come here to see Americana,” he said.
Blumhorst said the tower would negatively affect the rural landscape and therefore his business — which he calls the “No. 1 tourist attraction in Washington County” — on the heels of two difficult years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The steel tower with antennae, receivers and other equipment would be about half as tall as the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis, with flashing lights to alert aircraft from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah and Washington County Hospital in Nashville.
Blumhorst said anyone living in a rural area could face a similar situation due to state and federal laws pushed by telecommunications lobbies that allow companies to build giant towers with little input or scrutiny from local residents or county governments.
Improving cell service
The cell tower in Washington County would be built by New York-based Tillman Infrastructure and leased by AT&T. The purpose is to improve cellphone and other wireless services for customers throughout the region, according to Chris Hillabrant, Tillman’s chief operating officer.
The tower also could be used by other carriers. It would help fill current gaps in coverage, Hillabrant said, decreasing the number of dropped calls, allowing for higher-speed internet and assisting police and other first responders with communication.
“It’s a public safety issue,” he said. “Cellphones are our lifelines these days.”
Telecommunications companies must consider many factors when deciding where to put cell towers, Hillabrant said. One involves finding private property owners willing to rent land and honoring their wishes on specific locations.
Complaints are common when final decisions on tower placements are made public, based on media reports.
“Often times there’s that ‘not-in-my-backyard’ type of phenomenon that occurs,” Hillabrant said. “People all want to use cellular service. They’re using the apps and the phones that are part of the critical infrastructure of the country. But nobody wants the towers or antennae next to them, and without that, honestly, you have no network.”
Hillabrant said Tillman’s work is governed by a host of local, state and federal ordinances, laws and regulations, and that the company is committed to following all of them.
AT&T declined to make a company representative available to answer questions about the cell tower near Nashville. Lead Public Relations Manager Lesley Roberts emailed the following statement:
“This site is part of our ongoing investment to improve service and coverage for our Washington County customers. When selecting a new cell site, we work with city officials to find a location that balances the needs of our business and those of the community.”
Losing county control
The Washington County Board is now updating its policies related to placement and construction of cell towers. Its Zoning Board of Appeals was scheduled to vote on ordinance changes Thursday night but canceled the meeting due to weather.
The changes are considered necessary because officials recently learned that state law — specifically a provision in the Illinois Counties Code — supersedes a county ordinance that would have required Tillman Infrastructure to obtain a special-use permit and go through a public-hearing process to build its tower.
As a result, the county can’t do much to stop the tower from being built on private property in the location next to Rainbow Ranch, according to Zoning Administrator Matt Bierman.
“The way we had it kept the voice of the people, and that’s what we want,” he said. “Unfortunately (the state law) takes that voice away from them, and I understand their concern. But our hands are tied.”
There are other locations in the vicinity where the tower could be built, Bierman said, but county officials can’t force Tillman, AT&T or the property owners to consider them.
The land is owned by farmers Bill and Annette Eade. Blumhorst said he was friends with the neighbors until they arranged for the tower to be built away from their house and next to his place instead, then failed to inform him.
The Eades couldn’t be reached for comment this week.
Recovering from COVID
Residents of Rainbow Ranch include horses, miniature horses, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens, alpacas, llamas, donkeys, peacocks, geese, swans, Scottish Highland cattle and fallow deer. There’s a zebra named Ziggy, a camel named Candy and a kangaroo named Captain.
Blumhorst takes some of the animals to fairs, festivals, nursing homes and children’s birthday parties throughout the region — at least he did before COVID-19.
“2020 was my worst year ever,” he said. “2021 was OK, but I’m still bouncing back. I’m not getting school groups because they’re not taking field trips. I’m not traveling to nursing homes and, as far as big parties, I did about a fourth of what I used to do. Fairs and festivals are down.
“I can’t afford to take any more cuts in revenue,” he said.
Tillman Infrastructure applied to Washington County in August for a special-use permit to build the cell tower along Illinois 15. That was required by the county’s telecommunications tower ordinance because it was taller than 200 feet.
Blumhorst learned about the proposal when a neighbor received notice of a public hearing. He and his partner, Marty Stanberry, drummed up opposition with Facebook posts, press releases, letters to the editor, an online petition and interview with a St. Louis TV station.
Tillman withdrew its special-use permit application in October. The company reached out to State’s Attorney Daniel Janowski, notifying him that state law allows companies to build cell towers up to 350 feet with “no questions asked” if they’re farther than a mile and a half from municipalities with more than 25,000 people, according to Bierman.
“Well, we don’t have a city or village in the county with 25,000 people,” he said. “We don’t even have that many people in the county.”
Bringing history to bear
In January, Bierman presented the Washington County zoning board with information about how other counties are dealing with the issue of cell-tower placement. Board members voted to table the matter until February.
At a rescheduled meeting next Thursday, the board is expected to vote on telecommunications tower ordinance revisions that sync with state law and create a new application process for non-special-use tower permits, which are similar to building permits. They’re issued by the zoning administrator.
If the full county board approves the revisions on March 8, companies seeking tower permits will be required to submit additional materials from their Federal Communications Commission license applications.
“They have to do (research) to get an FCC license in the first place, so that includes an environmental study, a historical study and an aviation study,” Bierman said. “All I’m wanting is for them to produce that to me at the time of application.”
Blumhorst supports such requirements because, he said, they could keep permit approvals from being rushed through by applicants or local governments and help farmers and other residents understand the impact of cell towers in their areas.
In recent months, Blumhorst and Stanberry have sought to bolster their case for changing the Nashville tower’s location by applying to get a 172-year-old barn at Rainbow Ranch, complete with hand-hewn beams, added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Washington County Historical Society designated the “Mangenalker-Blumhorst Barn” a historic site in October.
“From our research, we believe this barn to be the oldest standing barn in the county,” according to the society’s Facebook announcement. “It is unique in that it is a very large drive through barn. It is still utilized in the day-to-day operations of the farm, but most importantly, houses many animals living on the farm.”
Questioning health effects
Beyond the visual impact of the cell tower, Blumhorst wonders about the health effects on area residents and his roughly 250 animals.
The American Cancer Society broadly addresses this question on its website, noting that — despite concerns by some people that radiofrequency (RF) radiation waves from cell towers could cause cancer — there is no strong evidence of noticeable health effects.
“This does not mean that the RF waves from cell phone towers have been proven to be absolutely safe,” it states. “Most expert organizations agree that more research is needed to help clarify this, especially for any possible long-term effects.”
More than 11,000 people follow the Rainbow Ranch Facebook page. Many have posted comments in recent months, voicing support for Blumhorst, who has lived on the farm all his life. He’s the fifth generation in his family to operate it. The petting zoo was founded 20 years ago.
Some friends have warned Blumhorst that he can’t win a “David vs. Goliath” battle with a giant corporation such as AT&T, particularly when state law is largely on its side. But that hasn’t changed his mind.
“I’ve worked 20 years on this place,” he said, “so I’m not going to let it go down without a fight.”
The next meeting of the Washington County Zoning Board of Appeals will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the county board room at the Washington County Courthouse in Nashville.
Editor’s note: This story was corrected on March 1 to identify Daniel Janowski as Washington County state’s attorney.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
