Morrisville wins tower appeal

Providence Place residents in Morrisville won't see a cell tower in their future skyline.

A Wake County judge upheld the town of Morrisville's decision denying American Tower a special use permit to build a 175-foot cellphone tower near the subdivision after the company appealed.

"It is always good to confirm that the town's ordinances and procedures accommodate the desires of the residents and they stand the test of legal challenge," said Town Manager John Whitson in a statement.

The town must pay its own legal fees as part of the decision, said Morrisville Town Attorney Frank Gray.

The ruling is the latest volley in the battle over the construction of cellphone towers in western Wake County. This is the second court challenge in the past year in which towns were forced to defend how they balance growth and infrastructure while protecting aesthetics and property values. In March, a judge overturned Cary's decision to reject a 110-foot monopole proposed by American Tower after the company appealed.

It is unknown whether American Tower plans to challenge the judge's latest decision. The company's attorney, Thomas Johnson, did not return calls for comment.

Town challenged report

The two sides were in court for two days debating whether the company met the town's requirements for a tower permit near the intersection of N.C. 54 and N.C. 540.

In December, the Morrisville council denied American Tower's request because the company failed to show the proposed tower would conform to the town's comprehensive land use plan, fit the neighborhood's character and not substantially injure property values.

American Tower argued that the town's decision was not supported "by facts or logic" and Morrisville violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996 by denying service to an intended area, according to court documents.

The company submitted a report showing the tower would not substantially affect property values and highlighted the fact that it received a go-ahead from town staff and the planning board.

Gray successfully argued that the report did not provide an accurate analysis of the tower's effect on property values.

Both subdivisions used for comparison in the report had cellphone towers in place before the homes were built. The report also failed to set benchmarks against other developments or the market, the town asserted in court documents.

Morrisville found that the tower's 175-foot height did not conform to the neighborhood's character, and as a result, did not meet the town's criteria for a special use permit.

The homes in the vicinity are less than 30-feet tall and the proposed tower would rise above the skyline and be out of scale with the neighborhood, the town said..

It was a sentiment echoed by homeowners in Providence Place who opposed the tower, saying it would diminish property values and prove to be an eyesore.

"What we were initially worried about is how our neighborhood would change with this tower," resident Srinivas Cheemalapati said at the council's December meeting.

The properties closest to the proposed cell tower are worth about $500,000, according to court documents.

American Tower also claimed Morrisville violated the Telecommunications Act, which says state and local regulations shall not prohibit the provision of personal wireless service.

However, the town did not ban the construction of cellphone towers, it argued. It merely rejected an individual application.

Towns rewrite rules

American Tower used an argument against Morrisville much like the one in the Cary case: The council hadn't heard competent evidence in arguments against the proposed tower. But it didn't work a second time.

In the wake of these legal battles, Cary and Morrisville are working to revise their policies to toughen standards for the placement of cellphone towers.

In May, Cary began requiring that independent experts assist the town in checking companies' proposals and agreed to recruit a group of industry insiders to help the town tweak its rules.

The outside consultants could help navigate the discussions of tower location, signal strength and height that come with a company's application.