I heard from MnDOT that it concluded the engineering studies on the Cascade River Valley tower and that the tower will be on the county board agenda for March 24. I most likely will not be able to make that meeting. I heard from several commissioners about these tower issues, but one common thread seems to be “that if MnDOT wants a lighted tower, there is nothing that we could do about it.”
I was discouraged by the resignation that I heard, so I wrote Shane Chatleain, MnDOT ARMER Facilities and Contract Manager, to get a few questions answered for a story I pitched to a national magazine about these towers. One of the questions I asked was “Has MNDOT ever built a tower at a height that disregarded a county’s height ordinances/restrictions?”
Chatleain answered, “MnDOT has used its Legislative exemption numerous times in order to bypass the local zoning authority process although the County was aware of MnDOT’s intentions and was in full support of the ARMER system. To the extent of the County having a tower height ordinance/ restriction, MnDOT has never built a tower bypassing the ordinance. MnDOT has had support from the County to exempt MnDOT from the County’s ordinance as they supported the need and rationale to provide MnDOT the variance.”
From his answer, it sounds like the ball is in the county commissioners’ court. I urge them to stick to our county’s tower height ordinance and restriction and not grant a variance if requested. If MnDOT bypasses the commissioners, then at least we stood up for what we believe in and stuck to the ideals held in our ordinances.
Bryan Hansel
Grand Marais
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