Letter: Lenox Planners Should Consider Residents in Cell-Tower Siting Bylaw

To the Editor:

I have been attending meetings in regard to the new wireless zoning bylaw for the last 18 months. As a Lenox resident, the biggest concern is that the new bylaw is not protective of its residents. The new bylaw is industry-friendly and makes it difficult, if not impossible to push back on an application if you find one being proposed for next to, or on your home. The only recourse that was shared with us, if an application is approved, is private litigation. 

Private litigation would be against the town and against the telecom company. Hiring an experienced attorney who specializes in fighting inappropriately sited wireless installations is cost prohibited for many, especially elderly, low-income and disabled residents who don't want cellular antennas on the roof of our home at the Curtis.

Private litigation may or may not be more affordable for those on Delafield Drive, whose closest property line is 250 feet from a hypothetically proposed cell tower at the wastewater treatment facility, a site that was identified to offer additional coverage to Lenox Dale.

Well-resourced neighborhoods may be able to afford litigation, whereas less-resourced neighborhoods may be stuck with a cell tower they are not comfortable with. 

Diane Sheldon
Lenox, Mass.

Berkshire Delegation Details Efforts to Help Berkshires

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:20PM / Tuesday, April 07, 2026

BCAC Executive Director Deborah Leonczyk opens the conversation. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Legislators say they are advocating for programs and services that Berkshire County residents need the most, amidst federal funding cuts. 

 

State Sen. Paul Mark said state lawmakers are trying to ensure programs that are important to this region are funded well, have resources, and work in rural communities. 

 

When it comes to policy, he said, they are trying to make decisions that better reflect the things people need to get out of economically challenging times. For example, the Legislature recently provided $35 million for fuel assistance in the current fiscal year.

 

The senator said he understood how some are struggling, recalling how when he was young, his father lost his job and his family "fell on some really hard times that lasted for a really long time."

 

"Whenever I talk about going through those hard times, I always like to point out that most of the time, my father still worked, and it didn't matter. We still needed food stamps. We still lost our house repeatedly. We still had to move around. I went to four different elementary schools because we were challenged through no fault of our own," Mark said. 

 

"And so whenever I have a chance to talk, I tell that story, some version of it, because it's important to also remember there's a stigma, and that stigma doesn't need to be there. It shouldn't be there." 

 

His comments came during Berkshire Community Action Council's March 27 community conversation on poverty featuring professionals in mental health care, housing, food, transportation, child care, financial literacy, and education.