By Virginia Bridges

South Durham residents fighting a planned cell tower that would be disguised as a pine tree will have another chance to make their case after the Board of Adjustment returned the case to a review panel Tuesday.

An application for the controversial 120-foot-tall tower, which would be located by St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church at 8306 N.C. 751, was submitted on behalf of an engineer who would be developing the tower for the Sprint Nextel Corp.

In general, land-use rules in the city and the county require applications for freestanding concealed towers to be complete and demonstrate that the structure would be compatible with adjacent structures and landscapes.  The Development Review Board, an internal review board that approves such towers, determined in June that the application met all the requirements by an 8-1 vote.