Dec 10, 2015 2 min read

A Nov. 25 order from Judge Michael Lucas has sent Crown Communications back to the drawing board as the company looks to build a new communication tower on a site owned by Hidden Acres East Apartment Community.

Dennis Sluciak of 47 Grudevich Road, who owns 34 acres across from I-79 and the Southpointe Golf Club where the tower would be placed, appealed the setback variances requested by Crown.

In September 2014, Crown requested a setback variance from Cecil Township to construct a 200-foot tower at 78 Lewiciki Road. The parcel intersecting with the land is owned by Hidden Acres Apartments.

The standing ordinances dictate any self-supporting communication tower cannot be within 1,000 feet of other land divisions. Sluciak appealed after the company planned to build about 570 feet from the golf club and 200 feet from his undeveloped property. Crown already has a tower on the Hidden Acres parcel.

In Lucas’ ruling, he notes the record “does not contain substantial evidence to support … that Crown faces unnecessary hardship due to those conditions … and would not suffer an unnecessary hardship if it were to build a tower at another location on the property.

“The Court finds that (the Cecil Zoning Hearing Board) committed an error of law in misapplying the statutory factors and granting a variance on insufficient evidence … The decision to award a setback variance to Crown Communications is reversed,” the ruling said.

“Our decision was to grant their variance to build the tower where (the original one was), yet they went through some other processes and now they’re going to have to find a different location on the parcel or a different parcel altogether,” said zoning hearing board solicitor Jeffrey Ries.