Federal bill threatens local control over cell tower placement
Published 1:30 am Monday, March 16, 2026
By Darrell Kirk
Staff reporter
A bill quietly moving through Congress could strip cities and counties across the United States of their authority to decide where cell towers and wireless antennas are placed — and local officials are sounding the alarm.
HR 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025, passed out of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Dec. 3, 2025, advancing alongside fourteen other broadband bills to the full House. If enacted, the legislation would preempt nearly all state and local land use authority over the placement of wireless facilities, forcing local governments to approve antennas on virtually any structure capable of supporting transmission equipment — from utility poles and light poles to apartment buildings, single-family homes and schools.
The bill would also convert existing FCC review timelines into hard deadlines — as short as 10 days for small cell applications — after which permits would be automatically granted, even if applications are incomplete. Historic preservation and environmental reviews under federal law would be largely exempted as well.
For Denice Kulseth, Town administrator for Friday Harbor, the bill represents an unprecedented intrusion into local governance. In an interview with the Journal, Kulseth shared her concerns about what the legislation would mean for her community. “Our biggest concern is that it usurps our authority to protect the way the town develops,” she said, “and that has traditionally been in the purview of local government.”
Kulseth noted that under HR 2289, local governments like Friday Harbor would lose the ability to determine where antennas are sited or what structures they are mounted on. Of particular concern is the possibility that carriers could place equipment on historic buildings — something the town’s Historic Preservation Review Board would never allow under current rules.
“It just feels like an inappropriate encroachment on our authority and our responsibility,” Kulseth said.
The National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and NATOA have all gone on record opposing the bill. Friday Harbor has reached out to its federal representatives, including senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen, urging them to oppose the measure.
