§ 159.104 APPLICATION REVIEW FOR APPLICATIONS IDENTIFIED FOR THE INITIAL PLACEMENT OR INSTALLATION OF TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT ON WIRELESS SUPPORT STRUCTURES, MODIFICATION OF AN EXISTING TOWER OR EXISTING BASE STATION THAT CONSTITUTES A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE, OR OTHER REQUESTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OR PLACEMENT OF TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT THAT DO NOT CONSTITUTE ELIGIBLE FACILITIES REQUESTS.
(A) Application. For those applications identified by applicant and determined by the BNS Director to be for the initial placement or installation of transmission equipment on wireless support structures, modification of an existing tower or existing base station that constitutes a substantial change, or other requests for construction or placement of transmission equipment that do not constitute eligible facilities requests, applicant shall submit the necessary copies and attachments of the application to the Building and Neighborhood Services Department and comply with applicable local ordinances concerning land use or regulations concerning land use and zoning and the appropriate local permitting processes.
(B) Timeframe for review. Within 90 days of the date on which applicant submits an application seeking approval to construct a new tower, the BNS Director shall approve or deny the application, unless another date is specified in a written agreement between the BNS Director and applicant. The BNS Director shall review the application for conformity with applicable local zoning regulations, building permit requirements, consistency with Iowa Code Chapter 8C, and all other requirements of this subchapter.
(C) Tolling of the timeframe for review. The 90-day review period begins to run when the application is filed and may be tolled only by agreement by the BNS Director and applicant, or in cases where the BNS Director determines that the application is incomplete. The BNS Director shall review the application for conformity with applicable local zoning regulations, building permit requirements, and consistency with this subchapter. The timeframe for review is not tolled by a moratorium on the review of applications.
(1) To toll the timeframe for incompleteness, the BNS Director must provide written notice to applicant within 30 days of receipt of the application, specifically delineating all missing documents or information required in the application and the BNS Director's timeframe to review is tolled beginning the date the notice is sent.
(2) The BNS Director's timeframe of 90 days for review begins running again when applicant makes a supplemental submission in response to the BNS Director's notice of incompleteness.
(3) The BNS Director's 90-day timeframe for review does not toll if the BNS Director requests information regarding any of the considerations the BNS Director may not consider as described in Iowa Code § 8C.3.
(4) Following a supplemental submission, the BNS Director will notify applicant within ten days that the supplemental submission did not provide the information identified in the original notice delineating missing information. The timeframe is again tolled in the case of second or subsequent notices. Second or subsequent notices of incompleteness may not specify missing documents or information that were not delineated in the original notice of incompleteness.
(5) The BNS Director shall make his/her final decision to approve or disapprove the application in writing within the timeframe.
(D) Failure to act. In the event the BNS Director fails to approve or deny a request seeking approval within the timeframe for review (accounting for any tolling), the request shall be deemed granted.
(Ord. 2598, passed 12-11-2018)