LINCOLNVILLE – The appeals board ruled Thursday night that the planning board erred in denying a permit for GridCom and Unicel to construct a cellular telephone tower on land off U.S. Route 1 near the Camden town line.

The appeals board sent the application back to the planning board.

Code enforcement officer Jana Wood said Friday the appeals board unanimously agreed the planning board made a mistake in the way it interpreted the ordinance.

The appeals board will issue a written order, expected next week, to direct the planning board on which part of its extensive review of the application it must reconsider.

GridCom, or National Grid Communications, and Unicel, or ROC Atlantic, applied to build the 190-foot tower last year. Opponents of the project argued it would violate the portion of the town ordinance that protects certain scenic views; specifically, the view from the summit of Bald Rock, which is accessible by a popular hiking trail.

But GridCom and Unicel argued in their appeal that the planning board wrongly required the application to meet seven criteria listed in the ordinance relating to cell towers in determining whether it would “unduly obstruct or have an unreasonable adverse impact” on a scenic view.

Instead, the appellants argued, the seven criteria were “merely examples of issues which can be discussed or weighed when determining” whether the tower would affect the view.

GridCom and Unicel noted the planning board ruled the application met five of the seven criteria.

The appeals board “questioned the board’s understanding of the ordinance,” Wood said, and in particular whether it calls for compliance with each and every standard. The appeals board concluded “the procedure [the planning board] used was faulty.”

The planning board is expected to take up the appeals board order and reconsider the cell tower application when it meets June 22.

If approved, the tower would be built on a 28-acre site owned by James Munroe. GridCom has leased an area 100 feet by 100 feet, and has proposed creating a fenced compound of 75 feet by 75 feet.

The monopole tower would accommodate antennas for four telecommunications carriers, including Unicel.

The tower would not be visible from Route 1, the applicants have said.