Additional Federal Supremacy on 5G

Lakewood residents mounted fierce opposition against the spread of 5G towers in Lakewood in July 2020. City Council at the time debated possibilities for hours. 5G remained an issue in the 2021 city election because of the high level of resident dissatisfaction. Residents cited concerns over health effects but Lakewood city officials said the law prohibits cell phone towers to be blocked on that basis. Now, residents who were involved in 2020 may be interested in new federal regulations that seek to expand prohibition powers.

It turns out those residents may be right to be concerned about health risks. According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal health officials quietly removed longstanding U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) webpages asserting that cellphone radiation poses no health risk.

As reported in the Defender: “The action comes as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches a new study into the health effects of wireless radiation — a step that advocates say reflects a major shift in federal policy.

“This move is signaling very strong steps in the right direction,” said Miriam Eckenfels, director of Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless Program.

“Decades of research already point to harm from radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by cellphones and cell towers, said Eckenfels, who criticized federal agencies for lagging behind the science. Kennedy “is the right person to correct that.”

New Federal Regulations Coming

Despite this news from the HHS, a separate branch of the federal government, the FCC is building new regulations to bypass more local laws.

From the Defender: “The Federal Communications Commission — which has oversight over wireless infrastructure — and legislative bills both pose a threat to local communities across the nation. If the powers that be have their way, these neighborhoods will lose power over placement, construction and modification of cell towers while environmental and historic preservation review is bypassed in the name of technological advancement.”

The FCC regulations work together with a major Congressional push for H.R.2289 – Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act which aims to close gaps and ensure federal government supremacy.

Local Government Defense

From wirelessestimator.com: “Filings in the FCC’s Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments proceeding (WT Docket No. 25-276) began appearing in late October 2025, weeks before the formal comment period, and have continued steadily as the docket has grown to more than 3,000 submissions.

“While the NPRM’s publication in the Federal Register triggered the formal deadlines—December 31, 2025, for initial comments and January 15, 2026, for reply comments—the docket itself has been active for months, underscoring the level of early engagement and controversy surrounding the proceeding.

“Cities and Counties Lead Early Opposition

“A significant portion of the filings to date have come from cities, counties, and municipal associations, many of which argue that the FCC’s proposals go beyond streamlining and instead represent an expansion of federal preemption over local zoning and land-use authority.”

Lakewood was not a defender of local zoning and land-use authority on this issue.

Just like Lakewood sacrificed home rule authority in the Colorado takeover of local zoning issues, the City is not involved in this fight for local control.

From the 2021 lookback by Lakewood staff: “Since the adoption of the revised wireless code, staff has reported no major issues as a result of the code changes. There has been 100% compliance with the code by all companies choosing to install new sites within the Lakewood. Staff is also not aware of any proposed legal challenges to the revised code.”