A preliminary planned unit development that includes the erection of a ten story observation tower on the west side waterfront property of the Door County Maritime Museum received the blessing of a majority on the Sturgeon Bay city council Tuesday night. Dan Austad & Bob Desh, representing the Maritime Museum, said the tower needed to rise to 110 feet in order to provide a panoramic view of the waterfront. They said the structure, made to look like a lighthouse, would be an attraction that would increase the number of patrons visiting the facility. Alderman John Lodl, who sits on the city plan commission, has been a vocal critic of the tower project. However, he said he could support it if it wasn’t quite so tall & was placed somewhere else…[audio:http://wdor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/N217.mp3|titles=Alderman John Lodl]
Lodl said he preferred to have the tower located in front of the museum building. His attempt to lower the structure & locate it somewhere other than directly on the waterfront was rebuffed on a five to one vote.
