5G Towers Approved: Council Allows Antennae Installations In MOCO

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Installation of 5G cell towers is now permitted in Montgomery County, after the County Council voted Tuesday to allow the next generation of cell technology.

Under the new guidelines antennae are allowed on telephone poles that already exist or replace existing utility, streetlight, or parking lot lighting poles, some as close as 30 feet to homes. 5G is the “fifth generation” of wireless cell technology — the Federal Communications Commission says that 5G can deliver speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G technology.

Critics of the bill say that the 5G towers are unsightly and could have unintended consequences on the environment and vulnerable communities. The Montgomery County Coalition to Protect Neighborhoods, a local group that has protested against the 5G towers, asked councilors to delay the vote until after the County Council’s August recess, which begins after this Thursday.

“I’ve heard complaints that this legislation is being rushed,” County Council President Tom Hucker said at the vote. “I just want to correct the record — in fact an iteration of this ZTA has been in front of the county council for over four years.”

Councilmember Craig Rice said this bill will actually improve racial equity and social justice by bringing more technology and access to people who need it.

"The reality is the majority of people are looking for ways to try and keep their families connected, "said Rice. "So much so that they would bring their children and put them in the parking lots of their jobs just so they could log on to Zoom and make sure they had access to their classwork and their classmates."

Councilmember Hans Riemer said he's heard that constituents are concerned about health risks from the towers — a worry that is unsubstantiated, according to the World Health Organization.

If the county doesn’t allow the 5G towers, they could be vulnerable to a lawsuit from cell companies that want to offer the service, Hucker said at the vote. The county’s bill was introduced in October 2019 after the FCC said that local governments cannot prevent cell providers from offering 5G service and that everyone should have the opportunity to access the fastest technology available.

“We don’t really have the option of remaining out of compliance with federal regulations surrounding 5G,” said Hucker.

Montgomery County’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee has voted in favor of the proposal, with some recommendations for increasing the community’s opportunity to object to new towers that are near their homes.

“We have a federal agency who’s told us we have to comply with their order and that we’re not allowed, legally, to consider certain community concerns,” said Hucker. “So regardless of the merits of the issue and how anybody feels about it, I imagine none of my colleagues like being told by a federal agency that we have to take action and that our authority is very limited in the details of how we respond to that order, but that’s where we are.”