The FCC is Moving to Strip Local Control and Override Local Laws for Cell Towers 
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing new rules to speed up the approval of cell towers and wireless equipment in neighborhoods across the country. In the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in Docket No. 25-276 entitled<a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-414414A1.pdf" target="_self"><ins> Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments</ins></a>, the FCC is proposing sweeping new rules that could override local authority and undermine community control over where and how cell towers, small cells, and wireless antennas are built. 
If passed, new FCC rules could impact our communities in these ways: 
<ul>
<li>Fast-track Cell Towers: Approving cell towers near homes and schools, even with strong community opposition, due to strict timelines imposed by the federal preemption.  </li>
<li>Strip Local Control: Limiting the power of city, state, and county governments to have thoughtful and responsible ordinances, zoning, fees, and permitting rules. </li>
<li>Bypass Public Input: Strict federal timelines will limit public participation, excluding the voices of those most affected - the people living beside the cell towers.</li>
<li>Drop Property Value: When unsightly cell towers go up very close to homes, property values can drop, <a href="https://ehsciences.org/cell-towers-drop-property-value/" target="_self"><ins>with estimates ranging from 5 to 20%.</ins></a></li>
</ul>
In short, if the FCC strips away local control for cell towers, communities could lose much of their say in cell tower approval decisions that directly affect their health, safety, and property value.
Many local governments have adopted strong ordinances to ensure cell towers are placed responsibly and in alignment with community values. However, these important safeguards could be undermined.  By imposing strict “shot clock” deadlines, automatic approvals, and referring to thoughtful local government ordinances as “impediments,” the FCC appears intent on fast-tracking tower approvals at the expense of local transparency and community participation.
Local Governments Must Submit Comments to the FCC
Local governments must act to preserve their control—by submitting formal comments to the FCC—opposing this sweeping federal preemption that threatens community values, property rights, and public health protections.
The 30-day public comment period will begin upon publication of the NPRM Docket No. 25-276 25-276 in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due 45 days after publication.
Join our letter-writing campaign to your federal, state, and local lawmakers. They must comment on the FCC proceeding to preserve local control.&nbsp;
<a href="https://ehsciences.org/fcc-fast-track-cell-towers-25-276/" target="_self"><ins>Resources and Factsheets on the FCC 25-276 at Environmental Health Sciences </ins></a>
<a href="https://ehsciences.org/cell-towers-drop-property-value/" target="_self"><ins>How Cell Towers Drop Property Value</ins></a>

Tell Your Lawmakers: Protect Community Control For Cell Towers —File Comments on FCC Docket 25-276

We are writing to urge you to formally submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)  titled “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments” (WT Docket No. 25-276).

This rulemaking requests comments on sweeping changes that could dramatically limit local and state authority over the siting, permitting, and regulation of wireless facilities—including macro towers, base stations, antennas, and 5G/4G wireless antenna infrastructure. The proposal would shift power away from local governments to the federal government. 

Here is why our state and local elected officials must submit comments in the proceeding: 

1. Expanded Federal Preemption: The FCC seeks to broaden its preemption and to override local siting regulations deemed to “inhibit deployment.”

2. Limited Local Government Authority: The proposal would constrain the ability of cities, towns, and counties to consider aesthetics, setbacks, concealment, and public safety factors in wireless siting decisions.

3. Limited Local Fees and Conditions: The FCC could cap or preempt locally adopted fees and permit renewals, jeopardizing municipal cost recovery and land-use oversight. 

4. Tighten Shot Clocks: The FCC could tighten shot clocks and if localities miss the new permit deadlines, cell tower proposals could be automatically approved. 

5. Property Values: When unsightly cell towers go up very close to homes, property values can drop, with estimates ranging from 5 to 20%.  

6. Public Safety: The FCC wants to fast-track cell towers but has not shown a proper evaluation of its 1996 cell tower radiofrequency (RF) exposure limits. In 2021, a federal court ordered the FCC to explain how its limits protect children and the public against long-term health effects. To this day, the FCC has failed to respond to the court’s mandate. How can such limits be relied on if they have not been properly reviewed?  

Collectively, the FCC's proposed measures could amount to an unprecedented federal takeover of local land-use authority, removing the ability of communities to ensure that wireless infrastructure is deployed consistent with community values. The FCC is also taking aim at local ordinances that have setbacks to distance cell towers from homes and schools in order to protect residents, property value and aesthetics. We cannot allow the federal government to override these vital local protections. 

We strongly encourage lawmakers and local governments to:
1. File Comments in the FCC docket once it is published in the Federal Register.
3. Coordinate with State, Municipal, and County Associations to submit joint comments.
4. Include a request that the FCC comply with the federal court mandate in EHT et al. v. FCC and ensure a proper, comprehensive, evidence-based scientific review of its 1996 cell tower radio-frequency radiation exposure limits.

Deadline for Comments to the FCC:
The 30-day public comment period will begin upon publication of the NPRM Docket No. 25-276 25-276 in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due 45 days after publication.

This rulemaking represents a fundamental threat to local democracy, land-use planning, and public safety. If adopted, it could significantly erode our community’s ability to manage the deployment of wireless telecommunications equipment in a responsible and thoughtful process. 

We respectfully request that you submit comments to the FCC’s NPRM. 

Thank you for your leadership and for defending the rights of local governments to protect the health, safety, property values, and general welfare of their residents.