Zoning Variance Approved For Lancaster Communications Tower

Lancaster Zoning Board of Appeals members have approved a zoning variance for the Grant County Sheriff’s Department’s new communications tower. The proposed tower will be 350 feet tall, exceeding a height limit for its proximity to Lancaster Municipal Airport. The height limitation says structures 100 feet or less are permitted within the height limitation zone, which is from 1 to 3 miles from the airport boundary. The Federal Aviation Administration has ruled the new tower would present no hazard to air navigation. The tower installation work is not to exceed $1.2 million. The cost was not included in the bonding for the new county government office building located near Orchard Manor Nursing Home at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 129. Until the tower is installed and connected to the communications equipment, the communications center for the sheriff’s department remains in the former law enforcement building on the north side of Lancaster.