(a) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(1) “Antenna” means an apparatus designed to emit radio frequency radiation and operate from a fixed location to provide wireless services, and includes materials used for arranging, screening, and camouflaging antenna equipment.
(2) “Antenna equipment” means equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters, or cabinets associated with an antenna and located at the same fixed location as the antenna.
(3) “Applicable standards” means engineering and safety standards, including building, fire, safety, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes that regulate or otherwise affect the installation, maintenance, and operation of the systems authorized or affected by this section, and includes the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
(4) “Collocate” means to install or mount a system on a pole.
(5) (i) “Make-ready work” means work that the County reasonably determines to be required to accommodate the installation of a system and to comply with all applicable standards;
(ii) “Make-ready work” includes repair, rearrangement, replacement, and construction of a pole; inspections; engineering work and certification; permitting work; tree trimming other than trimming performed for normal maintenance purposes; site preparation; and electrical power configuration; and
(iii) “Make-ready work” does not include routine maintenance.
(6) “Pole” means a pole or similar structure that is used or is capable of being used wholly or partly for the collocation of a system.
(7) “Preconstruction survey” means all work or operations required to determine the make-ready work necessary to accommodate a wireless provider’s facilities, including field inspection and administrative processing.
(8) “Wireless provider’s facility” means all appurtenances or tangible things related to a small cell system owned, leased, operated, or licensed by a utility or wireless provider that are or are proposed to be located in a County right-of-way.
(b) A small cell system on private property shall comply with all of the following requirements.
(1) The developer of a system shall:
(i) give notice, by certified mail, return receipt requested, not more than 60 days before filing an application for a building permit, to all owners of property located with a lot line within 250 feet of the proposed system, as listed on the tax rolls of the County, including the State, the County, and the Board of Education; and
(ii) file with the application for a building permit a list of the names and addresses of all property owners who were notified; a copy of the notice that was sent; copies of all return receipts; copies of the envelopes of any notices that were returned as undelivered; and an affidavit that notice was given as required.
(2) (i) The developer of a system shall obtain required approvals, including franchises and permits, before:
1. the initial installation or collocation of a system;
2. the installation of a pole; or
3. the modification of a system or a pole.
(ii) As part of the application process, the developer of a system shall provide:
1. detailed plans describing the installation, collocation, modification, or attachment, including any certifications that may be required;
2. a preconstruction survey;
3. a description of any necessary make-ready work being performed by the developer;
4. a proposed schedule for completion, certified by a licensed professional engineer; and
5. any other information required by the County that will allow the County to properly evaluate:
A. the safety of the installation, collocation, modification, or attachment; and
B. the compatibility of the installation in the neighborhood in which the installation is to be located, as set forth in the aesthetic standards promulgated by the County, which will include screening, spacing, height, and design of system and poles, and underground installation of wiring.
(iii) Developer of a system may file a consolidated application for wireless provider’s facilities to be collocated within the County pursuant to guidelines established by the County.
(iv) A system shall be fully operational within 180 days after the date the last or final permit is issued, unless, due to circumstances outside of the control of the developer, the County and the developer of the system agree to extend the period. If not, the County may cancel the approval of the system and require the removal of the system by the developer of the system at the wireless provider’s sole expense and in a reasonable time specified by the County.
(3) The developer of a system shall provide a certification from a registered engineer that the system, including any pole, will meet the applicable design standards of Article 15 of this Code for wind loads.
(4) The developer of a system and each applicant for a zoning certificate of use shall submit a certification from a consultant acceptable to the Information Technology Officer that the system or the use of the facility will not degrade or interfere with the County’s public safety communication systems.
(5) Within 30 days after the issuance of a zoning certificate of use for a system and by September 1 of each year thereafter, the holder of the certificate of use shall submit a certification from an engineer that the radio frequency radiation from the facility meets the applicable Federal Communications Commission standards and guidelines for those emissions and shall include all data in support of the certification. If at any time the owner or a user of the system cannot provide the certification required by this subsection for any system, the system shall be disabled by the owner or user until such time as the owner or user can provide the required certification, and any certificate of use may be revoked. Before the system may be re-enabled or the certificate of use reissued, the owner or user shall submit a certification from an engineer acceptable to the County that the engineer has visited and inspected the system and that the radio frequency radiation from the facility meets the applicable Federal Communications Commission standards and guidelines for those emissions.
(6) The owner or user of a system shall submit copies of all notifications from or to the Federal Communications Commission and reporting to the Federal Communications Commission for any system.
(7) A system, including any pole and accessory structures, shall be of a color and design that is compatible with the neighborhood in which the system is installed. A system to be constructed within sight of a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places shall mitigate any adverse visual impact of the system in the manner determined by the Office of Planning and Zoning. Advertising on a system is prohibited.
(8) A system may be located on the rooftop of an existing nonresidential structure or of multifamily dwellings with more than 10 units, but the system may not extend above the existing roof height by more than 15 feet.
(9) A system attached to a transmission line pole or tower may not laterally project more than 15 feet beyond the cross arms or other support extensions affixed to the pole or tower and may not project above the top of the pole or tower by more than 15 feet if the pole or tower will support one provider or 25 feet if the pole or tower will support more than one provider. The pole or tower, including all projections, may not exceed 199 feet in height. All accessory structures shall be underneath the transmission line within the drip line of the outermost lines or be located from the edge of the transmission line right-of-way by a distance equal to at least the minimum setback required for accessory structures in the zoning district in which the facility is located.
(10) A system that ceases operation for a period of 12 consecutive months shall be considered as terminated and shall be removed within 90 days of termination at the system owner’s expense.
(Bill No. 76-19; Bill No. 16-20; Bill No. 68-20; Bill No. 69-20; Bill No. 90-20; Bill No. 2-21; Bill No. 103-21; Bill No. 104-21; Bill No. 81-22; Bill No. 15-23; Bill No. 62-23; Bill No. 77-23)