OMAHA, Neb.—The village of Doniphan must allow the construction of a new cell tower within the village limits, a federal judge has ruled.
NE Colorado Cellular Inc., which does business as Viaero Wireless, sued the village in April for denying it a permit to build an 80-foot telecommunications tower. The company said in its lawsuit that it wants to improve service in southeastern Nebraska but can’t do so without the tower.
U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf vacated the denial on Wednesday and ordered the village to issue a permit and any other licenses needed for construction of the tower.
Randall Goyette, the attorney representing Doniphan, declined Thursday to comment on the ruling.
A message left for a Viaero attorney wasn’t immediately returned.
A village spokesman has said the denial was based on testimony at a public hearing in February. Residents who spoke at the hearing didn’t want the tower for aesthetic reasons. The proposed site is in a commercial zone that abuts a residential one.
NE Colorado Cellular said in its lawsuit that computer models show the tower needs to be in that location in order to provide service for Doniphan and the surrounding areas.
The company said in court documents that the village was violating federal telecommunications law by inhibiting its ability to provide cell phone service, among other things.
Doniphan is about 145 miles west-southwest of Omaha.
In 2008, Colorado Cellular successfully sued Saunders County, in eastern Nebraska, over a similar permit denial. The company wanted to build a 330-foot tower in the middle of a row crop.
The Fort Morgan, Colo.-based company operates in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.
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