The town of Nobleboro is rejecting claims that it improperly denied a permit for a cell phone tower in a court filing earlier this month.
Blue Sky Towers III LLC, a Massachusetts company that assists Verizon and other telecom companies with locating and permitting telecom towers, filed a federal lawsuit against the town in February. The company wanted to build a nearly 200 foot tall cell phone tower in an area where the town’s zoning laws do not allow such structures.
The company’s request for an exemption to these laws was denied by the town’s appeals board earlier this year.
Nobleboro only allows wireless facilities within 300 yards of Route 1 and the proposed tower is located outside of this area.
In its lawsuit, which also names the town’s appeals board and planning board as defendants, the company argued that the tower is necessary to address a “significant” gap in Verizon’s coverage of certain parts of the town. The company claims that Nobleboro violated federal law by effectively prohibiting personal wireless service in parts of town.
The town denied the allegations in its response to the lawsuit. At its recent town meeting, voters appropriated $50,000 to respond to the lawsuit, said Kristin Collins, the town’s attorney, though she said she couldn’t comment further on the specifics of the suit.
Collins also noted that Blue Sky is also proposing building a tower in Waldoboro, which borders Nobleboro to the East. Waldoboro has a similar zoning ordinance for telecom towers.
A lawyer for Blue Sky Towers declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
The town’s appeals board denied the company a permit for the tower on the grounds that it lacked the authority to grant the variance the company requested.
Since the company first proposed the tower in June 2025, people in town have raised concerns that it would decrease property values, alter the character of the area it was proposed for and expose residents to potential health risks because of the electromagnetic fields it would emit, according to minutes from a public hearing last year.
Residents also voiced skepticism about the company’s claim there is a significant lack of cell phone coverage in the area the tower would serve, arguing that even if Verizon service doesn’t fully cover the area, other wireless carriers do.
In its lawsuit, Blue Sky asked the court to declare that the town’s zoning restriction on wireless facilities is void and invalid and to order the planning board to approve the company’s proposal within 30 days of its resubmission. It also asked the court to award compensation for attorney fees “and any and all other damages and interest to which plaintiff is lawfully entitled.”
The town and company will be designating expert witnesses and proceeding with discovery until July, and will then present the case to a judge, said Collins.