Editorial year in review January-March

OUR OPINIONS

Jan. 12: First Pittsfield, then Lenox and now Sheffield. Heated debates over the safety of cell towers are igniting in communities across the Berkshires. As the “fifth-generation” buildout of wireless communication facilities continues — and many Berkshire towns try to catch up to previous generations’ cell reception standards — these debates will keep popping up. ...

Even as we view the more strident cell tower health concerns with skepticism, this status quo is unfair to concerned citizens and unhelpful for the local officials trying to do right by those constituents. As with any matter with a lot of data to sift through and more heat than light shed on it, updating and expanding this regulatory guidance is a big ask. But it’s one that the feds owe local officials who are going to keep running into this wall as wireless network expectations expand and more powerful towers are cited. The wireless communications industry won’t be thrilled with a closer and overdue examination of their operations, while some cell tower opponents are dug in enough that no amount of contrary evidence will be enough to move them. But when it comes to questions like these at the intersection of technological development and public health, the government owes citizens and local officials alike a closer look at the truth to be found somewhere between these poles.

Now: As we predicted, towns like Great Barrington and Sheffield are at odds with the state over their local efforts to regulate 5G wireless installations. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office notified the towns that their bylaws run counter to Federal Communications Commission regulations and Massachusetts law, which prohibits towns and cities from barring wireless equipment if it meets town regulations. These debates and conflicts seem bound to proliferate unless local officials and concerned citizens are given updated state and federal regulations regarding the known safety record of modern wireless technology and a clearer scope of what local regulations can and should accomplish. Until then, we foresee the same controversies extending and more piling on in communities across the Berkshires.