Verizon Challenges N.J. Borough’s Denial of Its Small-Cells Application

Verizon filed suit against Lavallette, New Jersey, and its council to challenge their “unreasonable and unsupported denial” of the carrier's application for permit approval for the installation of five small wireless facilities within the borough’s public right of way, said its complaint Wednesday (docket 3:23-cv-23072) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Trenton. The proposed SWFs are necessary to remedy a significant gap in reliable wireless service, and are the least intrusive means to remedy that gap, said the complaint. The denial materially inhibited the provision of personal wireless and telecommunications services, in violation of Section 704 of the Communications Act, it said. The borough denied the application without substantial evidence contained in the written record, and unreasonably delayed the application, it said. Lavallette also illegally based the denial on the federally preempted issue of environmental effects of RF emissions, it said. The borough also imposed “unreasonable and prohibitive” application and code requirements, including unreasonable, excessive and prohibitive escrow charges and application fees, that materially inhibit or limit Verizon’s ability to provide personal wireless and telecommunications services to the public. The borough’s conduct warrants injunctive relief mandating that it issue all required approvals for the construction of the SWFs under the Communications Act, the complaint said.