Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo Partner Christopher Clough Quoted in KXAN Article: “City seeks land seizure for new tower overlooking Lake Austin”
Image courtesy of City of Austin
Austin City Council recently approved using eminent domain to acquire land for a new public safety communications tower. This decision follows failed negotiations with the current property owner, NW Communications of Austin Inc., a media entity for FOX 7 Austin. The 0.28-acre site sits in the hills above Lake Austin on Mount Larson Road, where multiple other broadcast towers already exist.
According to the City, this new radio tower is intended to enhance emergency communication capabilities and eliminate radio coverage gaps for police, fire, and medical services in central Austin.
Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo Partner Christopher Clough was interviewed by KXAN reporter Eric Henrikson to explain how the City came to its decision. “They’re choosing the property because it’s a good location for the public improvement they want to put in. Just like you would widen a highway and take the land next to it, the government takes property it has identified as ideal for the project,” Clough said.
The proposed tower would join the existing 17-tower Greater Austin-Travis County Regional Radio System, sharing construction and operational costs among the City of Austin, Travis County, Austin Independent School District, and the University of Texas at Austin. By bringing this infrastructure in-house, the City also expects to terminate a commercial lease at another location, saving approximately $200,000 annually.
The City has appraised the property to be valued at $61,505, though that figure could increase if any remainder damages are discovered beyond just the cost of the land itself. “If they don’t have enough room to continue operations or have to reconfigure the property, those impacts can be considered,” Clough said.
“Eminent domain with City Council is like a rubber stamp almost always,” Clough said on the permanence of eminent domain proceedings. “In many ways, it is a government‑friendly system, but the goal is to try to pay property owners fairly and make them whole.”
With final approvals secured, the project will now move to a hearing or trial, shifting the focus from whether the tower will be built to the final compensation amount the City must pay the landowner.
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