OTISFIELD — Town officials have scheduled a hearing Oct. 18 on a second appeal by a group that alleges the Planning Board did not follow a town ordinance in approving a permit to build a telecommunications tower on Scribner Hill.
Friends of Scribner Hill filed a three-page appeal to the Board of Appeals nearly two weeks ago, disputing the Findings of Fact issued by the Planning Board in the case.
The Planning Board was ordered by Oxford County Superior Court Justice Robert Clifford to file the findings. The order came after “Friends” appealed to the court to overturn the Board of Appeals’ decision, which said planners did not err in approving the permit this past January.
The court has not ruled on that appeal.
Selectman Rick Micklon said Wednesday that the hearing will be at 7 p.m. in the East Otisfield Community Hall on Route 121, unless Oxford County Superior Court says it cannot.
The town attorney has recommended officials go forward with the hearing to follow the town ordinance, he said.
“How can a town rule on something a court hasn’t ruled on?” Micklon asked.
“We’re requesting communication with the court as quickly as the court can comply,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be any communication from the court. We don’t know why, but we’re not trying to read anything into it.”
In the latest appeal to the Board of Appeals, Friends charges the Planning Board failed to follow the Otisfield Wireless Telecommunications Facility Siting Ordinance and other pertinent ordinances before approving U.S. Cellular’s permit application.
It also lists concerns including the risk to public health, the contention that 16 abutters were not properly notified, that the Planning Board only looked at one other site in town, which was deemed inappropriate, and that the proposed tower will have a visual impact on a town scenic resource, namely Heniger Park.
Micklon said the bottom line for him is simple: The Friends of Scribner Hill has the right to continue to file appeals, but the town needs to follow the court’s orders.
“As a town we have said from day one we’re going to follow whatever the legal system says,” Micklon said.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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