(A) General review provisions.
(1) Review period. The Administrative Official must approve or deny all SCF permit applications pursuant to this subchapter within 90 days after the date an application is filed for an SCF permit application to place a new utility pole or SCF support structure or within 60 days after the date an application is filed for collocation of an SCF. If approved, the permit shall be issued on or before day 90 or 60.
(2) Tolling of review period. An applicant and the Administrative Official can mutually agree in writing to toll the applicable review period at any time.
(3) Final decision. By the end of the applicable review period, the city must advise the applicant in writing of its final decision. If the final decision is to deny the application, the final decision shall state the basis for denial including specific code provisions on which the denial is based.
(4) Nondiscrimination. The Administrative Official shall process all applicants under this subchapter in a nondiscriminatory manner. Aesthetic requirements shall be reasonable, no more burdensome than for other types of infrastructure deployments, objective, and published in advance.
(B) Administrative review process. An application submitted pursuant to this subchapter shall be reviewed as follows:
(1) Submission of application. Applicant shall submit a complete SCF application accompanied by any corresponding application fee to the Administrative Official.
(2) Review for completeness.
(a) The Administrative Official shall review the application for completeness following submittal. The Administrative Official must provide a written notice of incompleteness to the applicant within ten days of receipt of the SCF permit application clearly and specifically delineating all missing information. Information specified in a notice of incompleteness shall be limited to that which is relevant to the approval or denial of an application under this subchapter.
(b) The applicant shall then submit all information specified in the notice of incompleteness. The applicable review period shall restart at zero on the date the applicant provides the missing information to complete the application.
(c) For subsequent determinations of incompleteness, the applicable review period shall be tolled if the Administrative Official provides written notice within ten days that the supplemental submission did not provide the information identified in the original notice delineating missing information. The applicable review period will continue and shall not restart at zero on the date the applicant provides the missing information identified in a subsequent incompleteness review.
(3) Approval. An application may not be approved via the administrative review process unless the proposed SCF, utility pole, or SCF support structure meets all applicable location and design requirements of this subchapter. An application shall be approved via the administrative review process if the proposed SCF, utility pole, or SCF support structure meets all applicable location and design requirements of this subchapter.
(C) Special review process. An applicant may request a special review of an application which is not eligible for administrative approval due to not meeting the applicable location or design requirements of this subchapter and where compliance with said requirements is not technically feasible, economically feasible, or poses an undue burden. Special reviews shall be conducted by the Board of Adjustment in a public meeting. Notice of such meeting shall comply with SDCL § 1-25-1.1. The review hearing and final decision shall take place within the applicable 60-or-90 day review period which shall begin on the date a complete application is submitted to the Administrative Official.
(D) Vote of approval. The Board of Adjustment must approve, by majority vote of all members, an SCF application upon finding that the proposed installation has no reasonable alternative which better fits the location and design requirements of this subchapter. The Board shall deny an application which does have a reasonable alternative which better fits the location and design requirements of this subchapter. For an alternative to be reasonable, the alternative must be technically feasible, economically feasible, and must not impose an undue burden.
(E) After final determination. After the Board of Adjustment has made a determination on an SCF application, the Administrative Official shall issue an SCF permit if the application was approved. If denied, the Administrative Official shall provide a notice of final decision including the grounds upon which the Board of Adjustment denied the application.
(Ord. 591, passed 10-21-2019)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see SDCL § -25-1.1