Industrial Tower and Wireless LLC filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Hancock on Friday after the town denied its application for a cell tower.
The company argues the Hancock Planning Board violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996 by making its decision without “substantial evidence” and imposing regulations so strict that they amount to an “effective prohibition” of wireless service in town.
It asks the judge to recognize those as violations and overrule the town’s decision to allow construction of the cell tower “without further delay.”
The planning board denied the application, 3-1, on Sept. 2, after four public hearings where residents spoke overwhelmingly against the proposal. The chair of the board resigned over the matter in August.
Planning board members said they based their decision on a peer review study showing that constructing a cell tower would negatively affect property values.
The proposed cell tower was to be located off Lee Farm Road, and ITW changed the original plans from a 150-foot tower to a 120-foot tower in hopes of addressing some neighbors’ concerns.
The town of Hancock didn’t respond to the Ledger-Transcript’s request for comment by publication time.
At a previous meeting on Aug. 5, the board requested the peer review study by Louis Manias of Capital Appraisal Associates after ITW provided a study by Mark Correnti of FairMarket Advisors showing that a cell tower wouldn’t impact property values.
The Hancock Telecommunications Facilities Regulation requires proof that a tower would not affect property values, which led the board to reject the application altogether.
The board said it preferred the third-party study it contracted because it used a paired sales analysis methodology with market value comparisons. The board also cited errors and outdated data in the original report.
The case filed by ITW argues the peer review does not count as “substantial evidence” as required in federal law and states the third party’s methodology was “flawed and contrary [to] generally accepted appraisal standards.”
ITW also argues the board’s decision, in effect, prohibits wireless services in the Hancock because of the coverage gap and the inability to build elsewhere in the town, which similarly violates the Telecommunications Act.
Since being notified of the lawsuit on Oct. 2, Hancock has 30 days to sign the notice and 60 days to answer the complaint.