(a) The purpose of this chapter is to establish procedures and standards, consistent with all applicable federal and state, laws, for the consideration, permitting, siting, construction, installation, collocation, modification, operation, regulation and removal of small wireless facilities ("SWF") in the public right-of-way of streets and roads.
(b) The intent of this chapter is to:
(1) Establish basic criteria for applications to install and/or collocate SWF in the public right-of-way;
(2) Ensure that SWF are appropriately designed, constructed, modified, maintained, and removed when no longer in use in conformance with all applicable health and safety regulations;
(3) Preserve the character of the Borough by minimizing the potentially adverse visual impact of SWF through careful design, siting, landscaping and camouflaging techniques to blend these facilities into their environment to the maximum extent practicable;
(4) Establish an application process and structure for payment of fees and charges to be uniformly applied to all applicants, operators and owners of SWF for such facilities;
(5) Comply with, and not conflict with or preempt, all applicable state and federal laws, as may be amended or superseded, and all FCC rules and regulations to interpret and implement applicable federal statutes; and
(6) Limit interference with the use of streets, sidewalks, alleys, parkways, public utilities, public views, certain city corridors, and other public ways and places.
(c) Zoning. Applications to collocate a small wireless facility or install or modify an associated utility pole in the rights-of-way shall be treated as a permitted use pursuant to Act 50 of 2021, the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act, and exempt from local zoning where required by the Act. Any other wireless facilities not meeting the definition of a small wireless facility shall remain subject to applicable zoning requirements.
(d) This chapter is intended to implement the requirements of the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. Failure of the Borough to include all language set forth in that Act in this chapter does not constitute a waiver by the Borough of any rights under the Act.
(Ord. 1093. Passed 10-12-21.)