(A) All permit applications filed pursuant to this subchapter shall be reviewed for completeness by the city. The city shall notify the applicant via certified mail whether the application is complete within ten days of receiving the application.
(B) If the application is incomplete, the city shall notify the applicant, in writing, what specific information is missing from the application. All deadlines required by this section are tolled from the time the city sends the written notice of incompleteness to the time the city receives the missing information from the applicant.
(C) A complete application for collocation of a small wireless facility shall be processed within 60 days of the receipt of the complete application.
(D) A complete application for the installation, modification, or replacement of a utility pole in the right-of-way shall be processed within 90 days of the receipt of the complete application.
(E) Within 60 days of receiving a complete application for use of a city utility pole, the city shall provide a good faith estimate of any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support the requested collocation. If the applicant accepts the good faith estimate, the make-ready work shall be completed by the applicant within 60 days of acceptance. Requirements for make-ready work are as follows:
(1) The city may require replacement of the city utility pole only if it demonstrates that the collocation would make the city utility pole structurally unsound;
(2) The person owning, managing, or controlling the city utility pole may not require more make-ready work than is required to meet applicable codes or industry standards;
(3) Fees for make-ready work may not include costs related to preexisting or prior damage or noncompliance; and
(4) Fees for make-ready work, including any pole replacement, may not exceed the actual costs or the amount charged to other communications service providers for similar work and may not include any consultant fee or expense.
(F) Processing deadlines may also be tolled by agreement of the applicant and the city.
(G) The city may deny the application if the application:
(1) Materially interferes with the safe operation of traffic control equipment;
(2) Materially interferes with sight lines or clear zones for transportation or pedestrians;
(3) Materially interferes with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar federal or state standards regarding pedestrian access or movement;
(4) Fails to comply with the reasonable and nondiscriminatory spacing requirements of general application adopted by the city that concern the location of groundmounted equipment and utility poles, as specified in § 152.262;
(5) Fails to comply with the reasonable and nondiscriminatory rules approved by the city in § 152.268;
(6) Fails to comply with the design guidelines in § 152.262; or
(7) Fails to attest that a small wireless facility will comply with relevant FCC regulations.
(H) If the city denies the application, it shall document the basis for the denial, including the specific provision on which the denial was based, and send the documentation to the applicant on or before the day the city denies the application. The applicant may cure the deficiencies identified within 30 days without paying an additional application fee. If the applicant cures after 30 days, the applicant shall pay an additional application fee in order for the revised application to be considered. The city shall have 30 days to approve or deny the revised application.
(I) The installation or collocation shall be completed within one year after the permit issuance date unless the city and the applicant agree to extend the period or a delay is caused by the lack of commercial power or communications facilities at the site.
(J) Upon approval of the application and posting of the reasonable bond, escrow deposit, letter of credit, or other financial surety required by the city to ensure removal of abandoned or unused wireless facility or damage to the right-of-way or city property, the applicant may undertake the installation or collocation and operate and maintain the small wireless facilities and associated utility poles.
(K) An applicant may file a consolidated application and receive a single permit for the collocation of multiple small wireless facilities located within the city’s jurisdiction. The denial of one or more small wireless facilities in a consolidated application may not delay processing of any other small wireless facilities in the same batch.
(L) Permits issued under this subchapter authorize the applicant to operate and maintain the small wireless facilities and any associated utility poles that are covered by the permit for a period of ten years.
(Ord. 301, passed 8-18-2022) Penalty, see § 152.999