(A) No city permit shall be required under this chapter to excavate any portion of a street that is a part of the state highway system and for which a state permit is required.
(B) Exceptions pertaining to any provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, exceptions from findings that would otherwise justify denial, may be granted by the Director if the Director make the finding that:
(1) Denial of the wireless support structure as proposed would violate federal or state law;
(2) A provision of this chapter, as applied to the applicant, would deprive applicant of its rights under federal or state law;
(3) Strict application of this chapter would be contrary to the public interest because the harm to the public of strict application would be greater than the harm caused by granting an exception.
(C) An applicant may only request an exception under division (B) at the time of applying for a wireless telecommunications facility permit. The request must include both the specific provisions of this chapter from which the exception is sought and the basis of the request. Any request for an exception after the city has deemed an application compete and accepted it shall be treated as a new application.
(D) The applicant shall have the burden of proving that denial of the facility as proposed would violate federal or state law, or the provisions of this chapter, as applied to applicant, would deprive applicant of its rights under federal or state law, using evidentiary standards required by the law at issue. The city shall have the right to hire an independent consultant, at the applicant's expense, to evaluate the issues raised by the exception request and shall have the right to submit rebuttal evidence to refute the applicant's claim.
(Ord. 2020-1, passed 1-15-2020)