Madison's downtown skyline could be changing, and this time not because of new high-rise development.

Madison Gas and Electric wants to remove one of the four exhaust stacks from its Blount Generating Station at 717 E. Main St.

Madison's Landmarks Commission on Monday approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition of a 244-foot-tall tower that hasn't been in use since the power plant switched all production to natural gas in 2011.

The Blount Stack 5/6, as it is known in documents filed with the city, is the farthest west of the downtown plant's towers and has stood since 1922.

In a report to the commission, city preservation planner Amy Scanlon wrote that the exhaust stack is "identifiable as part of Madison's skyline" but not specifically mentioned for historical significance in a landmark nomination approved in 2002.

MGE's application to the Landmarks Commission said the stack has no adaptive reuse and added that the utility is concerned about potential for "a catastrophic unplanned collapse."