2 Meetings Scheduled on Radar Proposal in Grosse Pointe Farms

Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol will host two informational meetings later this week for residents of Grosse Pointe Farms and anyone else who might be interested regarding the proposed addition of a radar to the top of the 60-foot tower behind the Grosse Pointe Club. 

The meetings are the result of the Farms city council telling Border Patrol to meet with residents before seeking their approval for such a variance request. 

According to the Grosse Pointe Farms website, the first meeting is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. The second meeting is Thursday, Feb. 28 also from 6 to 8 p.m. at Grosse Pointe Memorial. 

During the meeting, Border Patrol officers will explain the proposal, according to the Farms website. Officials from Border Patrol said they want to answer questions from the public and to help residents understand what the radar is and how it will work. 

Many residents showed up at the Farms last council meeting after Border Patrol alerted them that the topic was to be discussed. Mayor Jim Farquhar emphasized to residents how the proposal had only been given to council a couple of days before the meeting and that the decision would not be before the council until the March meeting. 

He asked residents to save their comments until the informational meetings or the council meeting in which they will actually vote upon the proposal. 

This is the second time the proposal has come up before the council. Last time the Border Patrol withdrew its request due to the negative public reaction. 

Many residents have concerns about how the radar will impact their health considering the close proximity to which they will be living to it. There are also privacy concerns being voiced. 

The radar is being proposed as a surveillance tool for the U.S. Border Patrol to monitor Lake St. Clair in a better fashion than what the current camera is able to do. By placing it on the tower they built behind the Grosse Pointe Club in 2011, it would provide complete coverage of the lake. 

The only other area with a radar such as this is Gull Island, which is uninhabited. 

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