Chilmark is on its way to improving cell service in town.
This week, the Chilmark select board held a joint meeting with the planning board to initiate a zoning bylaw change that would allow the town to build additional cell towers. The boards are trying to expand the reach of cell service in areas prone to spotty reception and dead zones.
The boards’ eventual goal is to construct a macro cell tower on the top of Peaked Hill, which is currently prohibited in the town bylaws.
“We need to get started,” said select board member Matt Poole at Monday’s meeting.
There has been broad support for efforts to expand cell service in the up-Island town after residents raised safety concerns connected to the lack of coverage. At the town election, residents voted in favor of three referendum questions that asked about different strategies to improve service.
The non-binding questions were intended to gauge public interest ahead of any proposed bylaw change. The select board now hopes to bring amendments to the next town meeting.
The site that the boards are eyeing for a cell tower, Peaked Hill, is conservation-restricted land. The U.S. Coast Guard currently has a tower at the site, but Chilmark would need a public safety override from the federal and state government in order to build a new tower there or build up the Coast Guard’s tower, according to town administrator Tim Carroll.
Members of the select board said they hope to build two towers in total, with one ideally in Aquinnah to provide maximum coverage up-Island. The towers could top out at 165 feet above the hill, more than double the current limit of 70 feet above natural grading.
“My immediate reaction is: does it need to be that high?” said Mr. Poole. “We’re looking at something that, no matter what, is probably significantly taller than your current Peaked Hill.”
The select board also hopes to extend lease terms on cell towers. Currently, leases of cell towers can last up to 10 years.
The select board, which is consulting with a Chilmark resident familiar with cell towers, will draft proposed bylaw changes at the August 18 meeting. Once the planning board agrees on changes to the bylaw, they will open a public hearing.
Changes require a ⅔ vote at annual town meeting to pass, and ⅔ vote in order to petition the government to build a tower on conservation-restricted land.
Former select board member Marie Larsen appeared at a Chilmark select board meeting last week, describing an incident where someone had a medical issue at Great Rock Bight and had no service to call someone.
Currently, Chilmark relies on a distributed antennae system (DAS), a network of small nodes connected to small antennas on poles around town that was implemented in the late 2000s. At that time, voters made a “concerted effort” to oppose the construction of macro cell towers, hoping to protect the visual character of Chilmark, according to Mr. Carroll.
While some board members hesitated over the prospect of a 165 feet tower, they agreed it should be as tall as necessary to provide coverage.
“If we’re gonna [build a tower], you might as well have it meet the public safety needs for the town,” said select board member Rebecca Haag. “There’s…no reason to make it less than that when the town voters have spoken so strongly that they want a tower that will solve our communication problems.”
This article appears in August 14, 2026.
SB Member Rebecca Haag: “There’s…no reason to make it less than that when the town voters have spoken so strongly that they want a tower that will solve our communication problems.”
Finally, a voice of reason in this town’s leadership. Finally.
As a team player, I doubt Ms. Haag appreciates being singled out here at the expense of her two excellent colleagues. Unnecessary and unkind.
Further, I remember a piece a few years back on NPR reporting on a national telecomm conference, with experts weighing in on public safety. The last word on this was ‘keep your land line, it works when nothing else does’.
This has to happen ASAP.
Huge liability for the town if we’re waiting for a tragedy.
Inexcusable.
Can someone explain to me the town legal exposure or as stated in the comments above, assume a ” Huge liability ” for not building a communication tower for private sector companies that operate a for profit business that people sign up for and pay by choice?
Cellular phone service isn’t a governmental provided or mandated public safety communications system.