Senate Bill 213
Enrolled Senate Bill (S)
DIGEST
Wireless support structures. Makes the following changes to the statute concerning the local permitting of wireless support structures: (1) Amends the definition of "small cell facility" to: (A) increase the maximum specified antenna volume from three cubic feet to six cubic feet per antenna; (B) eliminate the maximum specified total volume for all antennas; and (C) increase the maximum specified primary equipment enclosure volume from 17 cubic feet to 28 cubic feet. (2) Amends the definition of "utility pole" to: (A) mean a structure that is designed or used for certain specified purposes (versus existing statutory language defining the term
Wireless support structures. Makes the following changes to the statute concerning the local permitting of wireless support structures: (1) Amends the definition of "small cell facility" to: (A) increase the maximum specified antenna volume from three cubic feet to six cubic feet per antenna; (B) eliminate the maximum specified total volume for all antennas; and (C) increase the maximum specified primary equipment enclosure volume from 17 cubic feet to 28 cubic feet. (2) Amends the definition of "utility pole" to: (A) mean a structure that is designed or used for certain specified purposes (versus existing statutory language defining the term
to mean a structure that is designed and used for those specified purposes); and (B) include structures designed or used to provide traffic control or signage. (3) Amends the definition of "wireless support structure" to include structures that are capable of supporting (in addition to those designed to support) wireless facilities. (4) Defines the following terms: (A) "Communications service provider". (B) "Micro wireless facility". (C) "Wireless communications service". (5) Prohibits a permit authority from requiring an application or a permit for, or charging fees for: (A) the routine maintenance of wireless facilities; (B) the replacement of wireless facilities with others that are: (i) substantially similar to; or (ii) the same size or smaller than; those being replaced; or (C) the installation, placement, maintenance, or replacement of micro wireless facilities that are suspended on cables strung between existing utility poles in compliance with applicable codes. (6) Provides that with respect to the construction, placement, or use of small cell facilities and associated supporting structures, a permit authority may prohibit the placement of a new utility pole or wireless support structure in a right-of-way within an area that is designated before May 1, 2017, strictly for underground or buried utilities, if certain conditions are met. (7) Requires a permit authority to allow a neighborhood association or homeowners association to register with the permit authority to receive notice by United States mail of any application filed with the permit authority for the construction, placement, or use of a small cell facility on one or more new utility poles or one or more new wireless support structures in an area within the jurisdiction of the neighborhood association or homeowners association. (8) Provides that with respect to the permitting of small cell facilities and associated supporting structures within: (A) a historic preservation district; (B) a historic preservation area; or (C) an area within the jurisdiction of the Meridian Street preservation commission; a permit authority may apply any generally applicable procedures that require applicants to obtain a certificate of appropriateness. (9) Specifies that an applicant for the placement of a small cell facility and an associated supporting structure shall comply with applicable Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements and industry standards for identifying the owner's name and contact information. (10) Provides that the placement of a small cell facility and an associated supporting structure in the public right-of-way is considered a permitted use and is exempt from local zoning review if the height of the supporting structure does not exceed the greater of: (A) 50 feet measured from grade; or (B) the height of any utility pole in place on July 1, 2017, and within 500 feet of the proposed small cell facility, plus 10 feet. (11) Sets forth limits for application fees for a permit for the construction, placement, or use of small cell facilities. (12) Allows a permit authority to propose, as an alternative location for a proposed small cell facility at a location where a supporting structure does not exist, that the small cell facility be collocated on an existing utility pole or wireless support structure if the existing utility pole or wireless support structure is located within 50 feet of the location proposed in the application. (13) Provides that for an application for the construction, placement, or use of a small cell facility and the associated supporting structure, a permit authority has 60 days to approve or deny the application but shall otherwise follow the application procedures that apply to collocation permit applications under the statute. (14) Prohibits a permit authority from taking certain specified actions with respect to the construction, placement, or use of small cell facilities and the associated supporting structures. (15) Specifies that a permit authority is not prohibited from applying a reasonable and generally applicable safety regulation to the construction, placement, or use of small cell facilities and associated supporting structures in the public right-of-way. (16) With respect to the construction, placement, or use of small cell facilities on a utility pole owned or controlled by a governmental unit, sets forth certain requirements with which the unit must comply and certain actions that the unit is prohibited from taking, including a prohibition against the unit or a utility owned by the unit imposing a rental or other recurring fee for small cell facilities that are strung or located between utility poles if one or more of the utility poles has an associated attachment for which a rental rate is charged. (17) Provides that a unit may impose additional terms and conditions for the construction, placement, or use of small cell facilities on utility poles owned or controlled by the unit if the terms and conditions are: (A) consistent with the bill's requirements; (B) reasonable; (C) nondiscriminatory; and (D) generally applicable. (18) Specifies that the bill's provisions do not: (A) authorize the collocation of small cell facilities on privately owned utility poles, wireless support structures, or property without the consent of the property owner; (B) affect the duty of an entity seeking to place a small cell facility on a utility pole or wireless support structure owned, controlled, or operated by a public utility to obtain from the utility any necessary authority for the placement; or (C) affect the authority of a public utility that owns, controls, or operates a utility pole or wireless support structure with respect to the use of or attachment to the utility pole or wireless support structure, consistent with federal law and FCC decisions and rules.
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