At first if you don’t succeed, apply again. That is Mariner Tower’s strategy to convince the Boothbay Board of Appeals to allow the construction of a cell phone tower in East Boothbay. But before a case can be heard again by the board of appeals, Mariner Tower must meet the criteria of a completeness review. 

May 27 marked the second time in less than a year that Mariner Tower, a Kennebunkport based company, has submitted an application for a variance to build a 120-foot cell tower on properties leased on Ocean Point Road. 

During the completeness review, the board of appeals said additional information must be provided by the applicant, as well as in an independent study from a civil engineer before the completeness review can continue. 

The most recent application submitted by Mariner Tower includes an affidavit from a radio frequency expert, as well as studies exploring alternative tower sites on Spyglass Hill Road and Bigelow Laboratories in East Boothbay. 

“I would like to see the application address the actual impact of the three alternative sites here,” said Scott Adams, the vice chairman of the appeals board. “We’re really talking about number of people impacted by any of these cell towers, and that hasn’t been discussed yet.”

Boothbay’s zoning laws currently prohibit cell towers in Ocean Point’s residential district, which ultimately led the appeals board last February to deny Mariner Tower the rights to build on property leased to the company by Pat Farrin, a local dirt contractor.

However, the lawyers representing both Mariner Tower and AT&T have said a significant coverage gap still exists that effectively prevents wireless services from reaching customers on the peninsula, a case they claim is backed by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.

While a federal lawsuit is pending against the town of Boothbay, Mariner Tower has leased another parcel owned by Lucy Spaulding, which abuts the previously intended tower site. Mariner Tower is pursuing the other property in hopes of getting another case heard by the board of appeals before any litigation ensues in a federal district court. 

By June 2, the board of appeals will submit additional questions they want addressed by the applicant, and resume its completeness review on June 18. If the application is accepted, a public hearing will be scheduled sometime is August, according to the board of appeals.