Cell Tower Opponents Urge Cohasset Select Board to Abandon Wheelwright Park Monopole, Citing “Dinosaur” Technology and Legal Trust Conflicts
COHASSET - June 9, 2026 - Residents and local committee leaders issued a unified plea to the Cohasset Select Board, demanding they abandon plans to construct a monopole cell tower in Wheelwright Park. During a heated public comment period, speakers argued that emerging “small cell” wireless infrastructure has rendered the massive tower obsolete, while warning that the project directly violates the legal terms of the historic land trust established by the Wheelwright family.
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The debate over cellular connectivity in Cohasset took center stage as a succession of residents used the public comment session to challenge the town’s ongoing contract with Wireless Edge. Opponents targeted the location, legal validity, and technological necessity of the planned monopole in the protected municipal park.
Fred Zotos, a resident of Old Coach Road with an electrical engineering background, argued that the large tower approach is fundamentally outdated. Zotos pointed to a newly active 5G small cell antenna system functioning at the junction of Forest Avenue and Jerusalem Road, right across from Rocky Beach. He stated that the telephone poles and fiber infrastructure required to string similar small cells along the entirety of Jerusalem Road are already in place, making the massive monopole unnecessary.
The Open Space and Recreation Committee firmly aligned with the opposition. Committee Chair Ginny LeClair re-emphasized that town meeting voters previously expressed their clear desire to protect the land, noting a past citizens’ petition vote of 199 to 30 in favor of pursuing alternative locations. LeClair rejected claims that original trust restrictions had expired over time, asserting that the town holds the property strictly as a trustee under the express terms of the Wheelwright family’s will. She stated that Article 97 of the state constitution does not allow the town to circumvent a charitable trust without specific court authorization or legislative intervention joined by the Massachusetts Attorney General.
