Radio Tower Shot Down…Again

Maybe the third time is a charm? In Rutland, Wisconsin a proposal to build a radio tower was shot down last week by county officials for the second time in three years. The Dane County Board of Supervisors voted not to rezone 15.5 acres of land where Magnum Communications wants to erect a 486-foot tower to serve Stoughton’s first FM radio station. According to Connect Stoughton, “Before the vote, Magnum’s attorney, Michael Screnock, told the board they should send the issue back to the county’s zoning and land regulation committee for a second look. He argued that the denial by town and county officials flouts a 2013 change in state law that prohibits municipalities from refusing new broadcast towers unless they would harm public health or safety. But opponents have said the tower would fly in the face of a separate statute limiting how land zoned exclusively for agriculture should be used. Earlier this summer, Magnum’s attorneys indicated that a lawsuit could be next. The company last year unsuccessfully sued in Dane County Circuit Court to overturn the town and county’s 2011 rejection of its plans, but they felt the 2013 change in state law could work in their favor.”