The Lyon County Commission will again Thursday consider a recommended approval of a cell phone tower that has stirred controversy among landowners.
The application is for an agriculture conditional-use permit for a communications tower from AT&T and Network Real Estate. The tower would be built on a 100-foot-by-100-foot piece of land in the 400 block of Road 190 — about three miles west of Emporia.
Lyon County Planning and Appeals Board members said the tower would meet code regulations for agricultural land use and recommended approval a second time earlier this month. The planning board originally voted in favor of recommending approval at its Feb. 13 meeting. At its meeting on April 2 the Lyon County Commission instructed the board to gather more information after a valid protest had been filed — with 20 percent of landowners within 1,000 feet of the structure voicing their opinion against the tower.
Landowners in the area who are against the 180-foot tower being built cite loss of property value as their main cause for concern.
(Read more: Emporia Gazette)