Marshall County BZA approves satellite facility aimed at expanding high‑speed internet

Marshall County’s Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a special‑use permit June 9 for a ground‑mounted satellite installation intended to provide high‑speed internet service to residents on an approximately 18‑acre parcel.

Staff explained the request mirrors a 2023 approval that lapsed because construction did not begin (no improvement location permit was pulled). The proposed installation will be located back from the road, is screened by trees and landscaping, and the closest residence is about 325 feet away. Staff and the Technical Review Committee recommended approval with the same landscaping and vinyl‑fence conditions that accompanied the prior approval.

Randy S. Jones, representing VIAD and Laura Baird, said the project will initially install one dish (about 6 feet in diameter) with a second to follow later. Dish aiming clearance was described in the hearing as roughly 8–10 feet depending on alignment; equipment will be mounted on a small platform or panel and transformers will be typical pedestal‑mounted units. Jones described buried cables linking the site to nearby fiber and said the facility will have minimal ongoing traffic and no regular employees onsite. Routine maintenance checks were described as quarterly.

Resident Spencer Southwell spoke in favor, saying his current provider (Marshall County Fiber) had performed poorly for his household and that the new service could offer faster, more reliable and more secure service.

After hearing from staff, the applicant and a resident in support, the board voted to approve the special use; board members reminded the applicant not to wait a year to initiate work and reiterated the importance of the previously agreed landscaping and fencing conditions.