There was good reason for celebrating this week at Pu'uwai Momi, the public housing complex in Halawa where a cell phone antenna system had sat atop the low-rise buildings for four years.

T-Mobile's eight-antenna array was dismantled this week, a happy ending for residents who had lobbied long and hard for their removal.

They actually had hoped for that relief early in 2004, when the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development told the state that, under the terms of the lease with T-Mobile, public consultation should have taken place. Based on the residents' concerns, the state then wisely decided to negotiate an early termination of the lease, which ended up costing the state $60,000.

There's not enough evidence at this point to suggest that erecting cell equipment in a housing area poses any health risks, and no federal or state regulations restricting its construction in residential areas. But the Pu'uwai Momi array was placed within closer reach of residents than most and was certainly a particularly undesirable location.

State officials say they'll proceed more carefully before considering future leases, hoping to avoid unnecessary community upheaval or contract disruptions, and rightly so. Residents of public housing — and taxpayers in general — deserve that consideration.