A three-judge Federal Appeals court has rejected two tower companies’ suits against the town of Rome, ME on the grounds the companies had not exhausted the appeals process. Global Tower Assets, LLC and Northeast Wireless Networks cannot sue the town under the Telecom Act, according to the 31-page decision released January 8.
Two US First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that companies trying to build a cell tower on The Mountain hadn’t exhausted the local appeals process.
The two companies in 2013 applied to build a 190-foot tower on property sited on the hill known as The Mountain, which overlooks Great and Long ponds and is a popular hiking area, CentralMaine.com reported. The planning board rejected that application in February, 2014, because it didn’t meet the requirements of the town’s communications tower ordinance.
The court said the companies should have taken the case to the Rome Zoning Board of Appeals before filing suit under the Telecommunications Act, which provides relief to applicants who have been denied at the local level.
“As a matter of state law, the planning board’s denial may be reviewed in state court only after the local board of appeals has exercised its own independent review,” the decision said. “As a result, we agree with the appellees — the planning board and the Town of Rome, Maine— that the planning board’s decision does not mark the end of the administrative process and thus is not a ‘final action’ for TCA purposes.”
