Cell Tower On Wisconsin School Property May Be Here To Stay

The Prairie du Sac school board approved Verizon’s cell tower proposal in March to construct an 80-foot light pole near the high school’s athletic field where cellular phone companies would add communications antennas, making the height of the tower 150 feet.

The school board approved the lease agreement with a 5-2 vote, even though many members of the community were against this proposal. The cell tower includes an annual payment of $15,000 per year to the school district. Even though the school district approved the lease, Verizon must still obtain the correct building permits.

While many of the residents of the community are upset over this project, there isn’t a lot they can do to stop the construction from happening. On July 1^st, Wisconsin adopted a new state law that restricts the ability of local governments to regulate the placement of cellular towers.

Kim Lamoreaux of The Eagle reported that, “Under the new state law, municipalities are required to rule on a wireless tower permit application within 90 days or the application will be automatically considered approved. Local officials can deny a permit if the applicant refuses to consider putting equipment on a tower shared with other wireless providers, but there are few other reasons available to local governments for a denial.”