Township Solicitor To Help In Cell Tower Case

South Whitehall's solicitor will help defend a Zoning Hearing Board that blocks construction of a 160-foot cell tower at the Dorneyville Shopping Center, township Commissioner Brad Osborne said this week.

Liberty Towers LLC, who wants to build the cell tower for wireless provider MetroPCS Communications Inc., is challenging the zoning board's decision in both .

Township solicitor Joseph Zator will defend the board's decision in federal court, while Zoning Hearing Board solicitor Maria Mullane will defend the decision in state court, Osborne said.

The zoning board in March denied Liberty's requests for height and use variances to build the cell tower. At the time, the board did not give a reason for its decision.

In its federal complaint, Liberty Towers, of Rockville, Md., alleges the board violated the Federal Telecommunications Act because, in effect, it is preventing MetroPCS from addressing coverage gaps. The complaint also alleges that the township had no "legitimate" reason to turn down Liberty's application to build the tower.

Liberty Towers is asking the federal court to reverse the zoning board's decision.

A similar complaint was filed in Lehigh County Court.

Earlier, the commissioners had said the township would not be a third-party to the case, which would have meant it was joining the litigation in both courts alongside the zoning board. The new approach will be more cost-effective, the commissioners said.

"We never disagreed with the Zoning Hearing Board decision," Commissioner Tori Morgan said. "We weren't going to be a third party to it."