(1) Application fees. The Department shall charge a fee for reviewing and processing a small wireless facility permit application. The purpose of this fee is to enable the Department to recover its costs directly associated with reviewing a small wireless facility permit application.
(a) The Department shall charge a fee of $500 for a small wireless facility permit application seeking to collocate up to five small wireless facilities. This fee shall increase by $100 for each additional small wireless facility that an applicant seeks to collocate.
(b) The Department shall charge a fee of $1,000 for a small wireless facility permit application seeking to install or replace a wireless support structure in addition to collocating of a small wireless facility on the wireless support structure.
(c) Commencing January 1, 2020, the Department shall adjust the application fees annually by the consumer price index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
(2) Annual small wireless facility permit fee. The Department shall charge an annual small wireless permit fee for each small wireless facility permit issued to a permittee. The annual small wireless permit fee shall be determined by the Director and listed in the city's fee schedule. The annual small wireless permit fee shall be based upon the recovery of the city's rights-of-way management costs.
(3) City-owned wireless support structure fees. The Department shall charge the following fees to the owner of any small wireless facility collocated on a wireless support structure owned by the city or its assigns located in the public right-of-way:
(a) One-hundred-fifty dollars per year for rent to occupy space on the wireless support structure;
(b) Twenty-five dollars per year for maintenance associated with the space occupied on the wireless support structure; and
(c) a monthly fee for electricity used to operate the small wireless facility, if not purchased directly from a utility, at the rate of:
1. Seventy-three dollars per radio node less than or equal to 100 max watts;
2. One hundred eighty-two dollars per radio node over 100 max watts; or
3. The actual costs of electricity if the actual costs exceed the above.
(d) The applicant may opt to pay an annual fee upfront for the cost of electricity based on an annualized calculation.
(4) City-owned property fees. The Department shall charge an annual fee for collocating small wireless facilities on city-owned property not located in the public right-of-way. The Department shall determine a reasonable and nondiscriminatory annual fee on a per location and per request basis.
(5) Discretion to require additional fees. In instances where the review of a small wireless facility permit application is or will be unusually costly to the Department, the Director, in his or her discretion, may, after consulting with other applicable city departments, agencies, boards, or commissions, require an applicant to pay a sum in excess of the other fee amounts charged pursuant to this section. This additional sum shall be sufficient to recover the actual, reasonable costs incurred by the Department and/or other city departments, agencies, boards, or commissions, in connection with a small wireless facility permit application and shall be charged on a time and materials basis. Whenever additional fees are charged, the Director, upon request, shall provide in writing the basis for the additional fees and an estimate of the additional fees. The Department may not require a fee imposed under this chapter through the provision of in-kind services by an applicant as a condition of consent to use city's public rights-of-way or to obtain a small wireless facility permit.
(6) Reimbursement of city costs. The Department may determine that it requires the services of an expert in order to evaluate a small wireless facility permit application. In such cases, the Department shall not issue a small wireless facility permit pursuant to the application unless the applicant agrees to reimburse the Department for the actual, reasonable costs incurred for the services of a technical expert.
(Ord. 01-19, passed 11-25-2019)