Clover cell tower opponents file lawsuit to stop ‘monstrosity’

Opponents of a proposed cell tower in Clover have filed a lawsuit against the town and its zoning board’s decision to allow the tower. The filing halts any potential construction until a judge rules on the suit – which could take months.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday says that because the zoning board had an illegal member during its January hearing where residents appealed the town’s approval of the tower Clover should throw out the zoning decision and hold a new set of hearings.

Clover town officials now have 30 days to respond to Tuesday’s court filing, and then a hearing in front of a circuit judge will be scheduled after that.

On Jan. 14, the zoning board of appeals in Clover approved the town’s decision granting a permit for Verizon to build a 180-foot tower just 40 yards from homes near the southern edge of the town. Ed Dees Jr., whose house is closest to where the tower would be built, filed the lawsuit Tuesday after spending the last two months fighting the tower.

“This is the next step in our fight to stop the tower,” Dees said Tuesday.

Dees’ initial objection to the tower has sparked mass opposition from Clover residents to not just the tower, but the secret way the tower was planned. Neighbors, including Clover Town Councilman Todd Blanton, have been against the tower since Blanton discovered in October the town had approved it without saying anything to neighbors. Dozens of neighbors have called the tower a monstrosity and vowed to fight its construction.

Town officials themselves found out after the vote Jan. 14 that the vice-chairman of the board, a town employee, should not have been on the appeals board. The town’s lawyer advised Dees that the zoning board could reconvene without the member, but the zoning board has not yet reconvened to reconsider the vote.

Dees wants a new hearing in front of a proper zoning board that addresses all the concerns of residents.

Town officials have said that the tower falls under current zoning for the land, and that safety measures for construction allow it to be close to homes and a church.

Efforts to reach Al Haselden, lawyer for the town of Clover, were unsuccessful Tuesday but court officials said Clover town officials are aware of the lawsuit.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Clover cell tower opponents file lawsuit to stop ‘monstrosity’."