OCEAN CITY – The city will allow construction of a 120-foot cellphone tower on city property in the southern end of the island to resolve a lawsuit.

The City Council on March 27 introduced an ordinance permitting the construction and ending litigation filed in 2023 by Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless.

The suit was filed when the city failed to approve an application before the Planning Board to install antenna equipment on the roof of a private property.

Cellco’s argument in the lawsuit was that the city had acted in violation of federal telecommunications statutes.

Part of the ordinance sets rules for cell tower installation. City Attorney Dorothy McCrosson said one goal of the ordinance is to make sure companies in the future know what is expected of them if they wish to install such a tower.

Among those requirements is that cell towers can only be constructed on city property and only when a governing body resolution has permitted it.

The council also passed a resolution approving a settlement agreement in the litigation.

The ordinance still has to come up for public comment, which has been scheduled for a City Council meeting at 6 p.m. April 10 at City Hall. Following the hearing the council may vote on adoption of the ordinance.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.