Mt. Pleasant cell tower opponents lose court appeal

MOUNT PLEASANT — Opponents of a 195-foot-tall cell phone tower in the Candlewood subdivision have lost a fight in the South Carolina Court of Appeals.

The court ruled in a Feb. 6 decision that the town Board of Zoning Appeals acted properly when it upheld a permit issued for the tower.

Eight residents of the neighborhood argued in the appeal that the BZA abused its power in an arbitrary and capricious decision on the issue. The appellants said they opposed the tower for reasons of health and safety and aesthetics. They also argued that SCANA could have located the cell phone communications equipment elsewhere.

“I’m quite disappointed,” said appellant Mark Bevivino. “My house looks like a boom box now with this huge antennae sticking up behind it,” he said.

He did not anticipate the group would pursue an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

“We lost twice so I think that’s it for us,” he said.