Huntley sued over celltower rejection

Just weeks after Huntley trustees shot down a plan for a 175-foot-tall cell tower, the village is being sued.

SBA Towers, a Florida-based holding company, filed the suit last week in federal court, charging trustees and the village with violating the Federal Communications Act of 1996 when the plan was voted down on May 26.

According to the suit, SBA petitioned to build a celltower on a 2,500-square-foot parcel leased from the Union Pacific Railroad near a dairy plant that was zoned for manufacturing. The plan was rejected because the village said it failed to comply with the village’s zoning ordinance, that it was incompatible with surrounding properties and posed a threat to collapse, the suit stated.

“SBA introduced into the record substantial evidence that contradicts and refutes the findings,” the suit states.

The tower would have been used by Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular. SBA wants a judge to grant it the permits needed to build.

A message left with the Huntley village manager’s office and village president’s office was not immediately returned. No court date has been set.