(A) General standards. The Director shall establish and maintain a set of standards for collocating small wireless facilities in the right-of-way applicable to all permittees under this subchapter. The general standards shall include, but not be limited to, information to be required in an application, design standards, construction standards, aesthetic standards, an application form, permitting conditions, insurance and rates and fees. The general standards shall be published and made publicly available no later than 4-14-2019.
(B) Design standards.
(1) (a) Any design standards established by the Director shall be:
1. Reasonable and non-discriminatory; and
2. Include additional installation and construction details that do not conflict with this subchapter, including a requirement that:
a. An industry standard pole load analysis be completed by a mutually agreed upon engineering firm and at the applicant’s expense and submitted to the Department, indicating that the utility pole or wireless support structure to which the small wireless facility is to be attached will safely support the load; and
b. Small wireless facility equipment on new and existing utility poles and wireless support structures be placed higher than eight feet above ground level.
(b) The Director shall additionally include the following in any design standards established under this subchapter.
(2) A new, modified or replaced utility pole or wireless support structure that has a collocated small wireless facility and that is installed in the right-of-way may not exceed 50 feet above ground level.
(3) An antenna or a small wireless facility may not extend more than ten feet above the top of a utility pole existing on or before 9-1-2018.
(4) If necessary, to collocate a small wireless facility, a wireless service provider may replace a decorative pole, if the replacement pole reasonably conforms to the design aesthetic of the displaced decorative pole.
(5) A wireless service provider shall comply with the city’s requirements to underground any facilities, including, without limitation, compliance with § 155.274 of this code of ordinances.
(6) All small wireless facilities, wireless support structures, and utility poles collocated or installed in a design district or historic district shall comply with any design or concealment measurements required by the city.
(C) Construction standards. Any construction standards established by the Director shall include at least the following terms and conditions.
(1) Compliance with applicable law and applicable codes. To the extent this requirement is not preempted or otherwise legally unenforceable, a permittee shall comply with all applicable law and applicable industry standards.
(2) Prevent interference. A permittee shall collocate and continuously operate an authorized small wireless facility and install, modify or replace an authorized utility pole or wireless support structure to prevent interference with other facilities in the right-of-way and their operation thereof. With appropriate permissions from the Department, a permittee shall, as is necessary for the safe and reliable operation, use and maintenance of an authorized small wireless facility, utility pole or wireless support structure, maintain trees as prescribed by the standards promulgated by the Department.
(3) Other rights not affected. A permittee shall not construe a contract, permit, correspondence, or other communication from the city as affecting a right, privilege or duty previously conferred or imposed by the Department to or on another person.
(4) Restoration.
(a) A permittee shall provide for restoration of the affected right-of-way and surrounding areas, including the pavement and its foundation, to substantially the same condition that existed before the permittee’s activities. If a permittee fails to adequately restore the right-of-way within a reasonable time after written notice, the Department may:
1. Make the required repair; and
2. Charge the permittee the reasonable, documented, actual cost for the repair.
(b) If damage caused by a permittee causes an urgent safety hazard, no written notice is required to be given to the permittee. A permittee that disturbs uncultivated sod in the excavation or obstruction of the right-of-way shall plant grasses that are native to the state and, wherever practicable, that are of the local eco-type, as part of the restoration required under this section, unless the owner of the real property over which the right-of-way traverses objects. In restoring the right-of-way, the permittee shall consult with the state’s Division of Wildlife Resources regarding the species of native grasses that conform to the requirements of this division (C)(4).
(5) Relocation. Upon request by the city, a permittee shall relocate any authorized small wireless facility, utility pole or wireless support structure in accordance with the city code.
(6) Permittee’s liability. A permittee is solely responsible for the risk and expense of collocation of the permittee’s small wireless facility and installation, modification or replacement of the permittee’s utility pole or wireless support structure. The city neither warrants, nor represents, that any area within the city’s right-of-way is suitable for such collocation or installation, modification or replacement. A permittee shall accept the city’s right-of-way “as is” and “where is” and assumes all risks related to any use. The city is not liable for damage to small wireless facilities due to an event of damage to a utility pole or wireless support structure in the right-of-way.
(Prior Code, § 33.02.040) (Ord. 19-06, passed 2-15-2019)