(A) No new SWF shall be constructed in the public right-of-way and no collocation or modification to any SWF in the public right-of-way may occur except after a written request from an applicant, reviewed and approved by the city in accordance with this chapter, and after execution of a collocation agreement with the city, if required, for the use of city-owned structures, or other legal right or approval, to use such structure by its owner; and upon issuance of a permit under this § 158.007 and a building permit. All work done pursuant to SWF applications must be completed in accordance with all applicable building and safety requirements as set forth in this code and any other applicable regulations.
(B) Small wireless facility right-of-way permits. A small wireless facility permit is required for a right-of-way user to erect, install, or maintain a small wireless support structure, to collocate a small wireless facility, or to otherwise install a small wireless facility in the public right-or-way of the city. Once an application is granted, it shall be considered a SWF permit, which shall remain in effect for the length of time the facility is in use, unless revoked for breach of the terms of the permit, this chapter, or for other lawful reason. The granting of a SWF permit does not preclude the need for a building permit, lane closure permit or any other similar authorization as may be required by the North Mankato Code.
(C) Application requirements. The Administrator shall prepare, and from time to time revise and make publicly available, an application form. The application for a small wireless facility permit is made to the city. The application will be considered complete only upon compliance with all of the following requirements:
(1) The applicant shall identify each existing wireless support structure on which it seeks to collocate a small wireless facility and, if applicable, identify each new wireless support structure to be erected for the purpose of installation, operation and maintenance of a small wireless facility. Identification includes submittal of a scaled site plan, photo simulation, scaled elevation view and other supporting drawings and calculations, showing the location and dimension of all improvements, including information concerning topography, tower height, materials and colors of poles and equipment, setbacks, adjacent uses, drainage, compliance with the city's intersection and driveway sight distance standards and other information deemed by the Administrator to be necessary to assess compliance with this section. Documents requiring signatures and seals by appropriate qualified professionals shall be provided by applicant after approval of the application by the Administrator.
(2) If neither the applicant nor the city will be the owner of the existing or to be erected wireless support structure, applicant must provide a proof of authorization by which the owner of the structure grants applicant authority to utilize the support structure for locating or collocating a small cell wireless facility.
(3) Applicant shall submit design drawings and information explaining how the small wireless facility and the wireless support structure shall blend into the surrounding environment to the maximum extent possible, with consideration given to the use of conforming building materials, color, texture, and screening. The facility and ground-mounted equipment shall minimize exposed cabling and mounting hardware, and shall match the structure it is attached to in color and, as close as practicable, in material and design.
(4) An applicant shall submit a radio frequency emissions letter signed by the applicant or the owner that the applicant is representing, representing that all SWFs that are the subject of the application shall comply with federal standards for radio frequency emissions.
(5) An applicant shall submit a signal non-interference letter signed by the applicant or the owner that the applicant is representing, representing that all SWFs that are the subject of the application shall be designed, sited and operated in accordance with applicable federal regulations addressing radio frequency interference.
(6) The city may recover its rights-of-way management costs by imposing a fee for each small cell wireless facility permit, or, when appropriate, a fee applicable to a particular telecommunications right-of-way user when that user causes the city to incur costs as a result of actions or inactions of that user. These fees must be in compliance with the provisions and limitations of M.S. § 237.163, Subd. 6 and Subd. 7, and applicable federal law.
(7) Where an applicant proposes to replace a wireless support structure owned by the city, the city may impose reasonable restocking, replacement, or relocation requirements on the replacement of such structure.
(D) Consolidated applications.
(1) An applicant may file a consolidated small wireless facility permit application addressing the proposed collocation of up to 15 small wireless facilities, or a greater number if agreed to by the city, provided that all small wireless facilities in the application:
(a) Are located within a two-mile radius;
(b) Consist of substantially similar equipment; and
(c) Are to be placed on similar types of wireless support structures.
(2) In rendering a decision on a consolidated permit application, the city may approve some small wireless facilities and deny others, but may not use denial of one or more permits as a basis to deny all small wireless facilities in the application.
(E) Small cell wireless facility agreement. If a small cell wireless facility is to be located or collocated on a wireless support structure owned or controlled by the city, or on any other city asset in the right-of-way, the applicant shall execute a small cell wireless facility collocation agreement with the city. The collocation agreement may require payment of the following:
(1) Up to $150 per year for rent to collocate on the city structure;
(2) $25 per year for maintenance associated with the collocation;
(3) A monthly fee for electrical service as follows:
(a) $73 per radio node less than or equal to 100 maximum watts;
(b) $182 per radio node over 100 maximum watts; or
(c) The actual costs of electricity, if the actual costs exceed the foregoing.
(4) The collocation agreement shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the required small wireless facility permit, provided, however, that the applicant shall not be additionally required to obtain a license or franchise in order to collocate. Issuance of a small wireless facility permit does not supersede, alter or affect any then-existing agreement between the city and applicant, nor does it limit or impact the ability of the city to generally manage its public rights-of-way as provided under M.S. § 237.163 Subd. 2, or to recover its rights-of-way management costs as provided for herein and under state law.
(F) Abandonment and removal. Prior to approval, the applicant shall acknowledge in writing that it is responsible for the removal of a SWF that is abandoned or is unused for a period of 6 months.
(G) Application review. Applications for SWFs shall be reviewed and approved by the Administrator for conformance to this chapter and the code. The Administrator reserves the right to forward any application that does not conform with the requirements of this chapter to the City Council for final action. Applications for SWFs shall be reviewed in accordance with M.S. § 237.163, Subd. 3c, and to the extent not inconsistent with state law and local zoning requirements of the city.
(H) Decision. Unless otherwise provided by applicable law, within 90 days of the date upon which an applicant submits an application, the city shall render a decision on the application for a SWF under this chapter, unless the collocation is on an existing wireless support structure, which, in those instances, the city shall approve or deny the small wireless facility permit within 60 days. Any decisions to approve, approve with conditions, or deny an application for a SWF, shall be in writing and supported by substantial evidence in a written record. The applicant shall receive a copy of the decision. The foregoing shall apply only to applications for SWFs under this chapter and shall not apply to any building, right-of-way, or any other permit issued by the city pursuant to the provisions of this code.
(1) Tolling of deadline on small wireless facility permit. The deadline for action on a small wireless facility permit application may be tolled if:
(a) The city receives applications from one or more applicants seeking approval of permits for more than 30 small wireless facilities within a seven-day period. In such case, the city may extend the deadline for all such applications by 30 days and shall inform the affected applicant in writing of such extension;
(b) The applicant fails to submit all required documents or information and the city provides written notice of incompleteness to the applicant within 30 days of receipt of the application. Upon submission of additional documents or information, the city shall have 10 days to notify the applicant in writing of any still-missing information; or
(c) The city and a small wireless facility applicant agree in writing to toll the review period.
(2) Upon applicant's submittal of additional documents or information in response to a notice of incompleteness, the city has 10 days to notify the applicant in writing of any information requested in the initial notice of incompleteness that is still missing. Second or subsequent notices of incompleteness may not specify documents or information that were not delineated in the original notice of incompleteness. Requests for information not requested in the initial notice of incompleteness do not toll the 90-day deadline for action.
(Ord. 115, 4th series, passed 5-20-2019)