FAYETTEVILLE — A communications company filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Washington County after the Quorum Court denied a cellphone tower project east of Prairie Grove.
The Quorum Court last month reversed a March Planning Board decision to approve a conditional use permit for Fayetteville-based Smith Communications. The permit would have allowed the company to build a tower near the intersection of Arkansas 265 and Storms Road.
“The complaint seeks the immediate issuance of the permits necessary for the construction and operation of the tower,” said Tom Kieklak, attorney for Smith Communications.
The lawsuit states the county violated the Federal Telecommunications Act because the county’s written notice to the company didn’t explain why the permit was denied.
The county sent two email messages to the company on June 28, the first with an attachment of the county’s denial letter dated June 27. The second email stated the minutes and video recordings from the Quorum Court’s special hearings on June 4 and June 24 were to also count as written notice for denial.
“The written denial is so brief, you can’t really get a sense of what’s in the minutes and video,” Kieklak said.
Quorum Court members cited specific county ordinances when voting to deny the cell tower permits during the June 24 hearing, after George Butler, county attorney, advised justices of the peace the county could be sued.
Most of the Quorum Court members who voted against the tower cited regulations requiring a project to be compatible with the surrounding area and not be “injurious” to the enjoyment of nearby properties.
The lawsuit states the telecommunications act forbids state and local governments to prohibit the provision of personal wireless services. Federal law also states written denials shall be supported by “substantial evidence,” according to the lawsuit.
Butler said Thursday courts considering similar denials for permits have allowed meeting minutes and videos to count as substantial evidence.
One of the reasons behind the federal government’s requirement of comprehensive denial letters are to expedite court reviews of the evidence, Kieklak said. The court will have to consider whether it should review videos of meetings that lasted several hours or read summaries with dozens of pages. The minutes from the June 24 meeting are comprised of 44 pages.
Smith received approval from the county for two other similar towers this year in Washington County to the north and northwest of Lincoln. Smith Communications said the tower east of Prairie Grove would improve cell phone coverage to users near the Hogeye community.
Butler said this is the first time the county has been sued over a cellphone tower project since it passed zoning laws a decade ago.