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Supreme Court No. 2000-51-Appeal. (KC 97-835) Michael Sousa et al. v. Town of Coventry et al. : : :

Present: Williams, C.J., Lederberg, Bourcier, Flanders, and Goldberg, JJ. OPINION PER CURIAM. This case came before the Court for oral argument on March 13, 2001, pursuant to an order that directed both parties to appear in order to show cause why the issues raised by this appeal should not be summarily decided. After hearing the arguments of counsel and examining the memoranda filed by the parties, we are of the opinion that cause has not been shown and that the issues raised by this appeal should be decided at this time. The facts insofar as pertinent to this appeal are as follows. Sprint Spectrum L.P. (Sprint) is a business that sells mobile telecommunications services. It is in the process of constructing a national wireless telecommunications network. In 1997, Sprint sought permission from the Coventry Zoning Board (zoning board) to construct a telecommunications tower on property in a residential area. The zoning board denied Sprint's request. Subsequently, on May 19, 1997, the Coventry Town Council (town council) amended its zoning ordinance to include the regulation of telecommunications towers. The amended ordinance provided that the "[l]ocation of communication

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towers, cable television equipment and related equipment on municipal property, i.e., town or school property, shall be allowed by-right, provided that a site plan, approved by the Director of Planning, is provided before a building permit may be issued." The amended zoning ordinance also set out a detailed process for gaining approval for a telecommunications tower. Specifically, it disallowed the placement of telecommunications towers in any of Coventry's residential zones without a party's first obtaining a special use permit. However, town property was exempted from the special use permit requirement. On July 21, 1997, the town council held a public meeting in which it authorized the town manager to lease town property, namely, a small portion of Foster Memorial Park, to Sprint so Sprint could construct a telecommunications tower on the leased property. The following day, Sprint applied for a building permit. The building permit was issued on July 29, 1997.1 On August 1, 1997, the Town of Coventry (Coventry) signed a lease with Sprint. On September 9, 1997, Sprint signed the same lease. The plaintiffs, Michael Sousa, Karen Amaral Sousa, Robert B. Hopkins, Sandra L. Hopkins, Patricia L. Cornell, Mitzi J. Hiller, Viola Gagnon, Mary Cole, and Station Street Neighborhood Alliance (plaintiffs), saw cement trucks arrive at Foster Memorial Park on September 16, 1997. Thereafter, they circulated a petition and contacted Coventry officials to oppose the telecommunications tower. Coventry officials informed plaintiffs that the thirty-day time period for challenging the building permit had expired. On September 26, 1997, plaintiffs filed suit, seeking to invalidate the amended zoning ordinance and to revoke Sprint's building permit. Both sides filed motions for summary judgment. On August 6,
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Northeastern Land Services, Ltd., actually applied for the permit on behalf of Sprint. -2-

1999, the motion justice issued a bench decision on the motions for summary judgment. She found that, pursuant to G.L. 1956

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