Stop the Tower

Item in The Northwest Current, 3/16/05

American Tower seeks to block city order

Elizabeth Wiener

American Tower Inc. is seeking to block a city order to tear down its half-built telecommunications tower in Tenleytown. The company last week asked the D.C. Superior Court to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the demolition order.

In mid-February, the city Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs gave the company 90 days to remove what the department called a "public nuisance." Since the fall of 2000, when the department revoked permits for the tower at 4623 41st St. NW, the company has fought an unsuccessful legal battle to continue construction or win multimillion-dollar damages.

Traci Hughes, a spokesperson for the city's attorney general, said the latest filing is expected and "just buys them time." Hughes said she expects the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to file a motion in opposition, after which a hearing would be set on the company's quest for an injunction. The company's filing stays the 90-day clock, Hughes said.

Last September, city attorneys asked D.C. Superior Court Judge Natalia Combs-Greene to dismiss American Tower's $250 million suit against the city, but the judge has not yet ruled, Hughes said.

Robert Cave, attorney for the Boston-based tower company, declined to comment.