DENVER — Spotty cell service is an issue all over Colorado, in both urban and rural areas. This session, lawmakers at the State Capitol are proposing a solution to speed up tower permitting with HB25-1056, which aims to expedite the approval process.
The bill’s prime sponsors, Democratic Reps. Meghan Lukens, Jennifer Bacon, and State Senators Dylan Roberts and Nick Hinrichsen said it would reduce unnecessary permitting delays while maintaining local control and increasing economic opportunity in the state.
The bill would require local governments to rule on cell phone towers within 90 days. If not, the application would be deemed approved and construction of the proposed tower would be allowed to proceed.
Colorado’s agricultural community often deals with gaps in cell phone coverage, which can present a public safety issue. That’s why groups like the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) support the legislation.
RMFU President Chad Franke told Denver7 he’s seen the issue firsthand in places like his hometown of Akron.
“You can pop over the hill and lose service. It's not just from a data and connection with the world standpoint, but from an emergency services standpoint,” he said. “It could be a life-or-death deal.
However, in urban areas like Cherry Hills Village, more cell sites are the last thing some neighbors want. For over a year, residents have been fighting the installation of three 100-foot poles in city.
The issue was originally supposed to be on the November 2024 ballot but was tabled indefinitely after local outcry.
“My hope is that people are looking at it more long-term and really thinking about the possible impacts of having something like that in their neighborhood when there's going to be other features available fairly soon,” said Anna Thauberger.
Residents like Thauberger said they hope for technological advances that could allow for less obstructive alternatives.
“It's not really worth it when we are going through a process of having these technology improvements that could take two to three years, which is not a long time, especially compared to how long it would take to build something like [a cell phone tower],” she said.
But according to RMFU, farmers in rural areas with poor cell phone coverage don’t have time to wait.
“When there's gaps in those areas, our members are falling behind and don't have access to everything that urban people have. So, we want to make sure that they're taken care of and get the coverage they need,” said Franke.
The bill passed in the House with a vote of 35-28.
It's now making its way to a state Senate hearing this week.
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