(1) General standards. The Director shall establish and maintain a set of standards for the installation, mounting, maintenance, modification, operation, or replacement of small wireless facilities and placing new or replacement wireless support structures in the public right-of-way applicable to all permittees under this section (the “general standards”). The general standards shall include, but not be limited to, information to be required in a small wireless facility permit application, design standards, construction standards, aesthetic standards, a form application, permitting conditions, insurance and security requirements, and rates and fees.
(2) Design standards. Any design standards established by the Director shall be:
(a) Reasonable and nondiscriminatory, and
(b) Include additional installation and construction details that do not conflict with this chapter, including, but not limited to, a requirement that:
1. An industry standard pole load analysis be completed and submitted and the city, indicating that the wireless support structure to which the small wireless facility is to be attached will safely support the load, and
2. Small wireless facility equipment on new and existing wireless support structures shall be placed higher than 15 feet above ground level. The Director shall additionally include the following in any design standards established under this chapter:
a. Any wireless support structure installed in the public right-of-way may not exceed 50 feet above ground level, unless the city agrees to a greater height, subject to local zoning regulations, and may be subject to separation requirements in relation to other wireless support structures.
b. Any wireless support structure replacing an existing wireless support structure that is more than 50 feet above ground level may be placed at the height of the existing wireless support structure, unless the city agrees to a greater height, subject to zoning regulations.
c. Wireless facilities constructed in the public right-of-way may not extend more than ten feet above an existing wireless support structure.
d. If necessary to collocate a small wireless facility, a wireless provider may replace a decorative pole, if the replacement pole reasonably conforms to the design and aesthetic qualities of the displaced decorative pole.
e. A wireless provider shall comply with the city’s requirements to install facilities underground, including, without limitation, compliance with § 304.19 (Undergrounding) of the city code.
f. All small wireless facilities collocated or wireless support structures installed in a design district or historic district shall comply with any design or concealment or other measures required by the city.
(3) Construction standards. Any construction standards established by the Director shall include at least the following terms and conditions:
(a) Compliance with applicable law.To the extent this requirement is not preempted or otherwise legally not enforceable, a permittee shall comply with all applicable law and applicable industry standards.
(b) Prevent interference. A permittee shall collocate, install, and continuously operate any authorized small wireless facilities and wireless support structures in a manner that prevents interference with other wireless facilities and other facilities in the right-of-way and the 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 or wireless support structure, maintain trees as prescribed by standards promulgated by the Department.
(c) 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.
(d) Restoration.
1. A permittee, after any excavation of a public right-of-way, shall provide for restoration of the affected public right-of-way and surrounding areas, including the pavement and its foundation, to the same condition that existed before the excavation. If a permittee fails to adequately restore the public right-of-way within a specified date, the Department may:
a. Itself restore the public right-of-way and recover from the permittee the reasonable costs of the surface restoration; or
b. Recover from the permittee a reasonable degradation fee associated with a decrease in the useful life of the public right-of-way caused by the excavation.
2. A permittee that disturbs uncultivated sod in the excavation or obstruction of the public right-of-way shall plant grasses that are native to Minnesota 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 public right-of-way traverses objects. In restoring the public right-of-way, the permittee shall consult with the Department of Wildlife Conservation regarding the species of native grasses that conform to the requirements of this division.
(e) Permittee’s liability. A permittee is solely responsible for the risk and expense of the collocation of the permittee’s small wireless facility and installing or replacing the permittee’s wireless support structure. The city neither warrants nor represents that any area within the public right-of-way is suitable for such collocation or installation or replacement. A permittee shall accept the public 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 wireless support structure in the public right-of-way.
(Ord. 01-19, passed 11-25-2019)