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Residents of Minden, Nevada, are suing their county, alleging its leaders illegally approved an 80-foot Verizon cell tower near an elementary school, a public park and several homes.
The tower, if built, could pose a serious health and fire risk to residents, Casey Rodgers, a Minden resident and leader of the grassroots group Minden for Safe Tech, told The Defender. She said:
“They say ignorance is bliss, but ignorance in this situation can have severe consequences that can lead to cancer, death, destruction. …
“The last thing residents will want to do is wait to see what their symptoms will be, or wait for a fire to start … or how much their property value will drop as they try to remove themselves from it.”
Minden, located about 20 miles from Lake Tahoe, is home to roughly 3,000 residents. The residents are asking the Douglas County District Court to review and reverse the county’s approval of the tower.
Lawyers with Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Stop 5G initiative filed the brief on Aug. 8, which states:
“The actions taken by the County … were arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion. The County ignored the evidence before it, considered information not included in the record, failed to enforce its own regulations, and made a decision contrary to law.”
The case alleges the county’s commissioners failed to make all eight of the “findings” required by local law before greenlighting the tower.
For example, the county code requires that before approving a tower application, leaders must determine that the tower “is compatible with and preserves the character and integrity of adjacent development and neighborhoods.”
The project is proposed on public property next to a public park and several homes, and one-tenth of a mile from an elementary school, according to Lina Tanner, an attorney representing the residents.
“In addition, there is an approved residential development that will be constructed adjacent to the property,” Tanner said.
‘Constituents can find the courthouse too’
The approved tower is one of two that Verizon has been trying to erect in the community for over a year.
With help from Stop 5G, the Minden residents have been fighting both towers since learning of Verizon’s plans in January 2024.
In September 2024, Minden’s planning commission approved one tower project and denied the other. The residents appealed the project that was approved, while Verizon appealed the project that was denied.
On Dec. 5, 2024, the Minden residents scored a temporary win when county supervisors, who heard the appeal cases, unanimously voted to hold off issuing a permit for either tower until at least April 3. The supervisors also told Verizon to explore alternative sites.
On April 3, the county supervisors denied both appeals and affirmed the planning commission’s decisions. That meant Verizon could not construct a tower proposed near a high school, dance studio, daycare and residential neighborhood, but could move ahead with the tower near an elementary school and adjacent to several houses in another residential area.
The Minden group filed its lawsuit opposing that project.
Miriam Eckenfels, director of CHD’s Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless Program, praised the residents’ tenacity. She said:
“This lawsuit signals to local officials that there is a risk of being sued from both sides — not just from the telecom industry — and that these decisions, indeed, have to be carefully weighed.
“Local ordinances and procedures have to be followed, and the residents deserve to be taken seriously.”
W. Scott McCollough, lead litigator for CHD’s EMR & Wireless cases, who is representing the Minden residents, agreed.
“Local officials often grant permits they shouldn’t just because they fear being sued by telecom,” he said. “They need to realize … their own constituents can find the courthouse too.”
McCollough said local officials should “just do their job” by “fairly applying their zoning laws and principles,” which protect the interests of nearby landowners. “Then let the judicial cards fall as they may,” he added.
County failed to apply ‘special use permit’ rules for tower, lawsuit says
The lawsuit alleges that county leaders erred in numerous ways when they approved the cell tower.
For instance, the county should have reviewed Verizon’s tower application using the county’s more stringent “special use permit” rules. Instead, county officials reviewed it using a more lenient process.
Tanner said:
“Verizon sought approval of the project under a less restrictive ‘design review’ process instead of the ‘special use permit’ process, based in part that the proposed tower won’t exceed 80 feet.
“However, Verizon would be able to come back at a later date to add on antennas to the tower that would exceed 80 feet, and they would be able to do so without further review of the county.”
The tower would exceed 80 feet if public safety radios were put on it, according to the brief.
The suit also alleges Verizon failed to adequately explore alternative sites.
‘We are not giving up’
In an earlier interview, Rodgers said many of the town’s residents have come together to stop Verizon from putting its towers near schools, businesses and homes.
“This is a full-force group effort,” she said.
The members of Minden for Safe Tech have educated themselves and their broader community about why it’s a bad idea to put cell towers near where people live, work and play.
For instance, many people weren’t aware that the Federal Communications Commission’s safety limits for wireless radiation are decades old and based on a handful of studies from the 1970s and 1980s, with tiny sample sizes, Rodgers said.
She added:
“We battle with the untruths that the ‘other side’ has and continues to propagandize our community with, but it is to be decided who is more relentless on that front. We are not giving up.”
Every member of Minden for Safe Tech has something to offer, she said, from researching to presenting the information to hosting group meetings.
“We also came together financially to make this happen,” she said, with group members agreeing to split all costs.
Rodgers encouraged other communities across the U.S. that face similar 5G cell tower proposals to keep fighting. “Find your people, stay together and don’t quit,” she said.
