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(a) The City Manager shall promulgate detailed Design Guidelines with objective, technically feasible criteria applied in a non-discriminatory manner that reasonably match the aesthetics and character of the immediate area regarding all of the following, which the City shall consider in reviewing an application:
(1) The location of any ground-mounted small cell facilities;
(2) The location of a small cell facility on a wireless support structure;
(3) The appearance and concealment of small cell facilities, including those relating to materials used for arranging, screening, and landscaping;
(4) The design and appearance of a wireless support structure.
(b) The Design Guidelines shall provide examples of small cell facilities preferences including visual depictions.
(c) The provisions in this section shall not limit or prohibit the City Manager's discretion to promulgate and make publicly available other information, materials or requirements in addition to, and separate from, Design Guidelines so long as the information, materials, or requirements do not conflict with state or federal law.
(d) The City Manager shall have authority to update or supplement the Design Guidelines to address relevant changes in law, technology, or administrative processes. In the event of any conflict between the Design Guidelines and the standards articulated in this Chapter of the City of Mentor Code of Ordinances, the language of this Chapter shall take precedence over the language of the Design Guidelines.
(Ord. 18-O-062. Passed 7-3-18.)
(a) Standard Conditions of Approval. Permission to site small cell facilities and wireless support structures in the right-of-way shall be conditioned on compliance with the standard conditions of approval provided in this Section 933.07. The City Manager or his or her designee may add or modify conditions of approval as necessary or appropriate to protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare.
(b) Small Cell Right-of-way Permit Duration. The City's approval term of an attachment to a wireless support structure shall be for a period of not less than ten years, with presumption of renewal for successive five-year terms, subject to terms providing for early termination or nonrenewal for cause or by mutual agreement and unless otherwise agreed to by both the operator and the City, except for generally applied permitting to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare. An operator may remove its small cell facilities at any time subject to applicable permit requirements and, following such removal, may stop paying annual charges or fees under Section 933.09.
(c) Compliance with All Applicable Laws.
(1) Operator shall at all times maintain compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations, ordinances, or other rules.
(2) If state or federal standards and regulations are amended, the owners of the small cell facilities and/or wireless support structures governed by this chapter shall bring any facilities and/or structures into compliance with the revised standards and regulations within six months of the effective date of the standards and regulations, unless a different compliance schedule is mandated by the regulating agency. Failure to bring small cell facilities and/or wireless support structures into compliance with any revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for removal at the owner's expense.
(d) Inspections; Emergencies. The City or its designee may inspect small cell facilities and wireless support structures in the right-of-way. The operator shall cooperate with all inspections. The City reserves the right to support, repair, disable, or remove any elements of the facility in emergencies or when the facility threatens imminent harm to persons or property.
(e) Relocation or Adjustment as Requested by City. If requested by the City, in order to accomplish construction and maintenance activities directly related to improvements for the health, safety, and welfare of the public, an operator shall relocate or adjust its facilities within the right-of-way at no cost to the City, as long as such request similarly binds all users in or on such public way. Such relocation or adjustment shall be completed in accordance with law.
(f) Contact Information for Responsible Parties. Operators with small cell facilities or wireless support structures in the right-of-way shall at all times maintain accurate contact information for all parties responsible for the facility, which shall include a phone number, street mailing address, and email address for at least one natural person. All such contact information for responsible parties shall be provided to the City Manager.
(g) Indemnification. Any operator who owns or operates small cell facilities or wireless support structures in the right-of-way shall indemnify, protect, defend, and hold the City and its elected officials, officers, employees, agents, and volunteers harmless against any and all claims, lawsuits, judgments, costs, liens, losses, expenses, fees to include reasonable attorney fees and costs of defense, proceedings, actions, demands, causes of action, liability and suits of any kind and nature, including personal or bodily injury or death, property damage or other harm for which recovery of damages is sought, to the extent that it is caused by the negligence of the operator who owns or operates small cell facilities and wireless service in the right-of-way, any agent, officer, director, representative, employee, affiliate, or subcontractor of the operator, or their respective officers, agents, employees, directors, or representatives while installing, repairing, or maintaining facilities in the right-of-way.
(h) Interference with Public Safety Radio Services. In occupying or using the right-of-way, no person shall unreasonably compromise the public health, safety, and welfare. Operators shall comply with the applicable provisions of 47 CFR 22.970-973 and 47 CFR 90.672-675 respectively, which define unacceptable interference, state the obligations of licensees to abate unacceptable interference, provide interference resolution procedures, and set forth a discretionary information exchange between public safety licensees and other licensees.
(i) Adverse Physical Impacts on Adjacent Properties. Operators shall undertake all reasonable efforts to avoid adverse physical impacts to adjacent properties and/or uses that may arise from the construction, operation, maintenance, modification, or removal of the small cell facility and/or wireless support structure.
(j) Good Condition Required. Small cell facilities and wireless support structures shall at all times be kept and maintained in good condition, order, and repair by qualified maintenance and construction personnel, so that the same shall not menace or endanger the health, safety or welfare of any person or property. Examples of poor condition include, but are not limited to: peeling, flaking, or blistered paint; rust or other visible deterioration of materials; or failure to maintain required landscape screening. All small cell facilities and wireless support structures shall be subject to generally applicable property maintenance requirements and to visual inspection by property maintenance inspectors. Notices and abatement of violations shall proceed as set forth in Chapter 1371 of the Codified Ordinances.
(k) Graffiti Abatement. Operators shall remove any graffiti on the small cell facility or wireless support structure at operator's sole expense.
(l) Rf Exposure Compliance. All facilities must comply with all standards and regulations of the FCC and any other state or federal government agency with the authority to regulate RF exposure standards.
(m) Relocation for Public Improvement Projects. Operators shall remove and relocate the permitted small cell facility and/or wireless support structure at operator's sole expense to accommodate construction of a public improvement project by the City.
(n) Removal of Small Cell Facilities If Use Discontinued or Abandoned.
(1) In the event that the use of a small cell facility and/or wireless support structure is discontinued, the owner or operator of the small cell facility and/ or wireless support structure shall submit a request for consent to remove the wireless support structure or small cell facility, as provided in Section 933.05(a)(3), and the date when the use shall be discontinued. If the small cell facility and/or wireless support structure is not removed within 365 days of discontinued use, the small cell facility and/ or wireless support structure shall be considered abandoned and the City may remove it at the owner's expense.
(2) Small cell facilities and wireless support structures determined by the City to be abandoned without notice from the owner may be removed by the City at the owner's expense to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare.
(3) The City reserves the right to inspect and to request information from the operator, which the operator shall provide following such request, as to the continued use of the operator's small cell facility(ies) or wireless support structure(s) within the right-of-way.
(Ord. 18-O-062. Passed 7-3-18.)
(a) Prevention of Failures and Accidents. Any person who owns a small cell facility and/or wireless support structure sited in the right-of-way shall at all times employ ordinary and reasonable care and install and maintain in use industry standard technology for preventing failures and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injury, or nuisance to the public.
(b) Compliance with Fire Safety and FCC Regulations. Small cell facilities, wires, cables, fixtures, and other equipment shall be installed and maintained in substantial compliance with the requirements of the National Electric Code, all FCC, state, and local regulations, and in such manner that will not interfere with the use of other property.
(c) Surety Bond or Equivalent Financial Tool for Cost of Removal. All owners must procure and provide to the City a bond, or must provide proof of an equivalent financial mechanism, to ensure compliance with all provisions of this Chapter. The bond or equivalent financial method must specifically cover the cost of removal of unused or abandoned small cell facilities and/ or wireless support structures or damage to City property caused by an operator or its agent of each small cell facility and/ or wireless support structure in case the City has to remove or pay for its removal. Two acceptable alternatives to a bond include a funds set-aside and a letter of credit.
(Ord. 18-O-062. Passed 7-3-18.)
(a) Application Processing Fee. For processing an application for consent, the City shall charge a fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each small cell facility and wireless support structure requested. The City may adjust this fee ten per cent every five years, rounded to the nearest five dollars.
(b) Annual Collocation Fee. For operator's attachment of small cell facilities to wireless support structures owned or operated by the City and located in the right-of-way, the City shall charge an annual fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) per small cell facility so attached. The City may adjust this fee ten per cent every five years, rounded to the nearest five dollars.
(c) Tax Liabilities and Assessments Not Applicable. Placement of small cell facilities in the right-of-way or attachment of small cell facilities to a wireless support structure and any fees associated therewith shall not subject the City to any state or local tax liabilities or assessments.
(Ord. 18-O-062. Passed 7-3-18.)
The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision or subsection, or the application of any provision or subsection to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remaining provisions, subsection, and applications of such ordinance to other persons or circumstances shall not be made invalid as well. It is declared to be the intent of this section that the remaining provisions would have been adopted had such invalid provisions not been included in this chapter when originally adopted by Council.
(Ord. 18-O-062. Passed 7-3-18.)
(a) In addition to any other penalties set forth in this chapter, any person violating any section in this chapter shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Each day the violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
(b) Placement or operation of small cell facilities or wireless support structures in violation of this Chapter is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. Nothing herein shall prevent the City from taking any other lawful action, including civil actions at law or in equity, including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions, as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violations.
(Ord. 18-O-062. Passed 7-3-18.)