By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
Early in his career, Greg Rapisarda learned an important lesson about teamwork. In Stafford County, Virginia, a client wanted to propose a tower on a little triangular island of agriculturally culturally zoned land surrounded by an ocean of residential zoning and housing developments. At that time, towers were prohibited in residential districts but permitted by special exception in ag districts. To his surprise, the partner he worked for at the time, Karl Nelson, turned the tower down.
“He told me that, absent rezoning or text amendments, there was 0% chance of winning and taking the case would destroy our credibility and sour existing and future relationships,” Rapisarda said. “The client will probably build another dozen sites in this county and we won’t add much value if we’ve burned relationships and damaged our credibility, and damaged our client’s credibility as well.”
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP is a full-service law firm, which among other areas, provides the wireless industry with legal assistance: managing siting, zoning and related litigation for macro, small cell and DAS infrastructure development. The firm manages large and small raw land site builds for macro and small cells, pursuing expedited approvals of telecom projects under Section 6409 of the Telecommunications Act and, when needed, litigating against local municipalities in federal and state courts.
Today, Rapisarda is a Partner in the firm, chairs the telecommunications practice and primarily handles land use, zoning, and telecom related litigation. He works with tower companies and wireless service providers to plan out and obtain government approvals for new facilities and infrastructure. Across the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia, he knows the landscape and helps firms with site planning and acquisition, and throughout the zoning and permitting processes.
From this vantage point, Rapisarda develops a knowledge of the buildout that helps him fend off challenges from a municipality, whether in discussions or even going to court. “More important than actually winning in court is having a case so strong you win before even have to go there,” he said. “If a jurisdiction is not compliant with Section 6409(a) of the Telecommunications Act, or something may be arbitrary or capricious in their zoning approvals, we make our case and initiate discussions with the jurisdiction as soon as possible.”
Rapisarda approaches a municipality as a partner whenever possible, so the relationship doesn’t become too adversarial. By making sure a tower is located in a way that can be justified under each of the municipality’s necessary criteria, Rapisarda ensures a record to support approval, or at least support a reversal under state or federal law if a site is denied.
“With the importance of time to market, we try to avoid litigation,” he said. “A lot of times, municipalities can be hard to engage and they see litigation as a necessary evil, but that takes the most time, so putting together a cut-and-dried winnable case early can help bring people to the table to compromise.”
Wireless communications service providers and tower companies also come to Rapisarda with search rings and communications needs, particularly in urban areas, where land is limited. Rapisarda understands that if those sites don’t get approved, there may not be other possibilities, so failure is not an option.
“We look at all the angles and try to anticipate what opposition or challenges we may face. Planning ahead is what prepares you for success,” he said. “In most cases, a proposed tower can be located, designed, and framed in a way that will be advantageous. Once you cover those bases, you can move toward approval.”
For more information about Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP, visit https://www.saul.com/.
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