(a) Pre-Application Conference.
(1) The City requires pre-submittal conferences to meet with potential Applicants and discuss projects on a conceptual level. The conference is intended to identify the correct application type and content requirements for any given project, and also to create an informal forum in which Applicants and the City can discuss any concerns that should be addressed as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays in the processing of an application and deployment of wireless facilities in the City. The requirement for a pre-submittal conference may be waived by the Director of the Service Department or designee based on necessity and prior experience with the Applicant.
(2) An appointment is required for all pre-submittal conferences. An applicant must request a pre-submittal conference from the Service Department Director to take place not less than ten (10) days before submitting an application.
(b) Application Required.
(1) Prior to installation, modification, relocation or removal of a Small Cell Facility, relocation or removal of an existing Wireless Support Structure, installation of a new Wireless Support Structure, or Collocation on an existing Wireless Support Structure in the Right of Way, the Operator shall apply to the City and receive a Small Cell Permit from the City. Prior to submitting such application, the Applicant must possess a Telecommunications and Utilities Permit, as required by the City's Codified Ordinances Chapter 905
, Section 905.03.
A. The Director of the Service Department shall grant or deny the Small Cell Permit in accordance with the required timelines prescribed in Section 4939.031 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Director shall grant or deny an application to collocate small cell facilities on a wireless support structure or to replace or modify a small cell facility on a wireless support structure not later than ninety (90) days after the date of filing. The Director shall grant or deny an application to construct, modify, or replace a wireless support structure associated with a small cell facility not later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of filing.
If the City fails to approve or deny a Small Cell Permit within the required time period, provided that the time period is not otherwise tolled in accordance with the provisions of this section, the Small Cell Permit shall be deemed granted upon the requesting entity notifying the City that the time period for granting or denying the request of consent has lapsed.
B. If the number of requests for consent is likely to result in difficulty processing applications within the time limits set forth in Law due to the lack of resources of the City, then the City may toll the time limits as follows: The time period for the City to grant or deny a Small Cell Permit may be tolled for up to twenty-one (21) days for the first fifteen (15) requests for consent for Small Cell Facilities or Wireless Support Structures received by the City above an initial threshold of 15 applications.
(i) For every additional fifteen (15) requests for consent that the City receives after the first thirty (30), the City may toll the time period to grant or deny its consent for up to fifteen (15) additional days.
(ii) In no instance shall the city toll the time period for any Small Cell Facility or Wireless Support Structure Small Cell Permit by more than ninety (90) consecutive days.
(iii) Upon request by the Applicant, the City shall provide written notice of the time limit for a Small Cell Facility or Wireless Support Structure Small Cell Permit.
(c) Required Application Materials.
(1) Unless otherwise required by state or federal law, the application shall be submitted to the Service Department with the applicable fee and all required materials and information in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter and the Small Cell Design Guidelines in order for the application to be considered complete.
A. Requests for consent that do not meet the requirements listed on the application or stated herein or in the City's Small Cell Design Guidelines shall be deemed incomplete or shall otherwise be denied by the City.
B. If a Small Cell Permit is deemed incomplete, then within thirty (30) days of receiving the application, the City shall provide written notice to the Applicant that clearly and specifically delineates all missing documents or required information.
(i) Once the Applicant submits the documents or information in response to the City's notice of incompleteness, the time period for review resumes and the City shall grant, deny, or deem the Small Cell Wireless Permit to be incomplete due to not providing the information identified in the original notice of incompleteness.
(ii) For a Small Cell Permit that is deemed incomplete for a second or subsequent time, the City shall notify the Applicant within ten (10) days and continue to follow the process in Section 907.03
(c)(1) of this section until such time that a complete application is received from the Applicant or is withdrawn by the Applicant.
(d) Application Processing Fee. For processing an application for consent, the City may charge a one-time fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each Small Cell Facility and Wireless Support Structure requested as prescribed under Section 4939.0316 of the Ohio Revised Code and as listed on the associated application forms which shall be made available by the Service Department. The City may adjust this fee up to ten percent (10%) every five (5) years, rounded to the nearest five dollars ($5.00). During each five-year period, the adjustment may be applied incrementally or as a single adjustment.
(e) Denial. If a Small Cell Permit is denied, the City shall provide in writing its reasons for denying the request, supported by substantial, competent evidence, and such information that the Applicant may reasonably request to obtain consent. Except in the case of a Public Utility subject to the jurisdiction and recognized on the rolls of the public utilities commission or a Cable Operator possessing a valid franchise awarded pursuant to the "Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984," 98 Stat. 2779, 47 U.S.C.A. 541, the City, for good cause shown, may withhold, deny, or delay its consent to any Person based upon the Person's failure to possess the financial, technical, and managerial resources necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
(Ord. 2021-15. Passed 8-2-21.)