North American Towers sued the city, claiming the request to rezone 10.9 acres from multi-family to limited development, which would have paved the way to construct a 150-foot monopole tower, was improper. In its filing, the plaintiff alleged that the denial was not supported by "competent, substantial evidence."
"The citizen testimony, in its entirety, lacks sufficient factual content to support a finding that the Proposed Tower will have an undue adverse effect upon any nearby property and cannot support a denial," the plaintiff said, according to filed court documents. "What is clear from the record is that the Commission denied the rezoning and conditional use application, based on the generalized statements of objections from a handful of residents. However sincere the objections of the neighbors may have been, the Board must base its decision on substantial evidence, not public sentiment."