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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 1524 September Term, 1996

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RICHMARR HOLLY HILLS, INC. v. AMERICAN PCS, L.P., et al. ________________________________ Moylan, Harrell, Alpert, Paul E. (retired, specially assigned), JJ. ________________________________

Opinion by Harrell, J. ________________________________ Filed: October 30, 1997

Richmarr Holly Hills, Inc. (Richmarr), appellant, appeals from a decision of the Circuit Court for Frederick County (Stepler, J.) which affirmed the grant of a special exception by the Frederick County Board of Appeals (the Board). The special exception gave

permission to American PCS, L.P. (APC) to erect and operate a 250 foot tall communications tower, with attendant equipment storage structures, on agriculturally-zoned land leased by APC from the American Veterans Association Frederick Post #2, Inc. (Amvets).

Richmarr poses one question for our resolution in this appeal: Did the circuit court correctly uphold the Board's decision that the special exception use requested by APC was in harmony with the purpose and intent of the New Market Region Comprehensive Plan? We respond in the affirmative and, thus, shall affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND REGULATORY CONTEXT On 21 July 1995, APC, through an agent, filed with the Board a petition for special exception to permit the erection and

operation of a 250 foot tall "self-supporting lattice [metal] tower" as a base station for its wireless communications services network (including mobile and portable telephones, data and message services, and advanced paging services). The tower would have

installed on it "up to nine (9) panel antennas (each approximately 54" long by 10" wide by 12" deep) and two (2) microwave dishes (each 2' in diameter)." In addition, two ground-level equipment by 2'

storage cabinets (each "approximately 6' high by 5' long

deep") were proposed, along with the prospect of a future equipment shelter, at the tower's base. Coaxial antenna cables would connect Lighting, as required by

the equipment cabinets to the antennas.

the Federal Aviation Administration, would be installed on the tower to alert aircraft to its presence. No personnel would be

stationed on-site, and only periodic visits of one or two times per month by maintenance/repair staff were projected. The hours of A six

operation were twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

to ten foot high gated, chain link fence was proposed to secure the physical location of the structures.1 As noted supra, the site by APC from the Amvets.2 26.37

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