While striving to keep the charming character of their town intact, the Planning Board in Lenox, MA acknowledges that it needs better broadband coverage. As the Berkshire Eagle reports, both residents and emergency responders have complained about the dangers of spotty reception in the region, which currently hosts only one notable cell tower.
“Lenox has to do something, purely from a public safety standpoint and a business standpoint,” said state Representative William “Smitty” Pignatelli. “I think the town is being left behind. If you’re trying to be in business in the center of the business district, it’s near impossible,” he said. “Clearly, we’ve become a wireless society.”
Pignatelli added that there is further stress on strained resources from people who relocated to rural Lenox during the pandemic, according to Berkshire Eagle. The town’s Planning Board agreed that there was an urgent need to revise the town’s bylaws to accommodate better connectivity without compromising town aesthetics.
Although no decisions were reached, the Board spit-balled ideas to research and discuss at future meetings. On the list were items such as meeting the needs of the town without running afoul of FCC regulations, possible zoning revisions, and what sort of tower arrangement would work best for Lenox. The matter of which providers to involve, or the benefits of one large cell tower versus several smaller, less visible ones, will be on the docket of upcoming Planning Board meetings.
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