Cellphone tower company tangling with Clark County over permit

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Photo by Vizag Explore on Unsplash

A Minnesota-based telecommunications company is asking a judge to issue an injunction against Clark County after the Board of Adjustment voted to deny the company a conditional use permit.

Horvath Towers’ request for a permit to build a cellphone tower was rejected in February by the five-member Board of Adjustment, which also doubles as the Clark County Commission. The vote was 3-2.

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But Horvath Towers, based in St. Paul, said the board considered factors in its decision-making process that violate federal telecommunication laws. And it wants a judge to order the board to issue a conditional use permit for the tower.

The company cites the 1996 Telecommunications Act, whose primary author was former South Dakota Sen. Larry Pressler. The act, Horvath’s complaint says, was written to promote the use of wireless devices. At the time of its writing, cellphones were only just starting to become more commonplace.

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