Columbia Permitting provisions ordinance (§ 24-203)

(a) Permit requirements—Inside the right-of-way. Any company desiring to collocate small wireless facilities, or to install, replace, maintain or operate a utility pole, inside the right-of-way must first apply for and obtain a permit, in addition to any other required permit, license, or authorization that is generally applicable and does not apply exclusively to wireless facilities.

(1) The collocation of small wireless facilities and the installation, maintenance, modification, operation, and replacement of utility poles along, across, upon, and under the right-of-way is not subject to zoning review or approval; except that the placement of new or modified utility poles in the right-ofway in areas zoned single-family residential or as historic as of August 28, 2018, remain subject to any applicable zoning requirements that are consistent with RSMo. §§ 67.5090 to 67.5103.

(2) Small wireless facilities and utility poles shall be installed and maintained so as not to obstruct or hinder the usual travel, including pedestrian travel, or public safety on the right-of-way or obstruct the legal use of the right-of-way by the city or other authorized right-of-way users.

(3) A new, replacement, or modified utility pole installed in the right-of-way shall not be subject to zoning requirements so long as the utility pole does not exceed the greater of ten (10) feet in height above the tallest existing utility pole in place as of January 1, 2019 located within five hundred (500) feet of the new utility pole in the same right-of-way, or fifty feet (50) above ground level. A new, modified, or replacement utility pole that exceeds these height limits shall be subject to applicable city zoning requirements that apply to other utility poles, and that are consistent with RSMo. §§ 67.5090 to 67.5103.

(4) New small wireless facilities in the right-of-way shall not extend more than ten (10) feet above an existing utility pole in place as of August 28, 2018.

(5) Small wireless facilities on a new utility pole shall not extend above the height permitted for a new utility pole in subsection (3) above.

(6) A wireless provider shall be permitted to replace decorative poles when necessary to collocate a small wireless facility, but any replacement pole shall reasonably conform to the design aesthetics of the decorative pole or poles being replaced. The term "reasonably conform" as used herein, shall mean that the design aesthetics of the replacement pole shall be as nearly identical to the decorative pole replaced as is feasible. The director of public works or other designee is authorized to determine if the replacement pole reasonably conforms, based upon the reasonable objective design standards of the city.

(7) The city may require replacement of a city utility pole that is proposed to be used for a collocation on a nondiscriminatory basis for reasons of safety and reliability, including a demonstration that the collocation would make the city utility pole structurally unsound.

(b) Permit requirements—Outside the right-of-way.

(1) The collocation of small wireless facilities in or on property not zoned primarily for single-family residential use is not subject to zoning review or approval.

(2) The city will allow collocation of small wireless facilities on city wireless support structures and city utility poles that are located on city property outside the right-of-way to the same extent, if any, that it allows access to such structures for other commercial projects or uses. Any such collocations shall be subject to reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates, fees, and terms as provided in an agreement between the city and the wireless provider, and not otherwise governed by this code.

(3) The city shall not enter into an exclusive agreement with a wireless provider concerning city utility poles or city wireless support structures that are located on city property outside the right-of-way, including stadiums and enclosed arenas, unless the agreement meets the following requirements:

a. The wireless provider provides service using a shared network of wireless facilities that it makes available for access by other wireless providers on reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates and terms that shall include use of the entire shared network, as to itself, an affiliate, or any other entity; or

b. The wireless provider allows other wireless providers to collocate small wireless facilities on reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates and terms, as to itself, an affiliate, or any other entity.

(c) Permit process. The permit process for an applicant seeking to construct small wireless facilities in or outside the right-of-way, or to install, replace, maintain or operate a utility pole inside the right-of-way shall be as follows:

(1) An applicant seeking to collocate small wireless facilities in or outside the right-of-way, or to install, replace, maintain or operate a utility pole inside the right-of-way, must first submit an application for a permit to the director of public works or the director's designee. The director of public works or the director's designee shall design and make available to applicants a standard application form, consistent with the provisions of this article which all applicants must use in order to accomplish the purposes of this article. Except for the requirements in subsection (2)b. below, an applicant shall not be required to provide more information to obtain a permit under this article than other communications service providers that are not wireless providers.

(2) An application for a permit shall include the following:

a. Construction and engineering drawings which demonstrate compliance with the criteria in section (4)f.;

b. An attestation that the small wireless facilities comply with the volumetric limitations in the definition of small wireless facility;

c. Information on the height of any new, replacement, or modified utility pole;

d. Applicable indemnity, insurance, performance bond information required in section 24-205;

e. An applicant that is not a wireless services provider must provide evidence of agreements or plans demonstrating that the small wireless facilities will be operational for use by a wireless services provider within one (1) year after the permit issuance date, unless the city and the

applicant agree to extend this period or if the applicant notifies the city the delay is caused by lack of commercial power or communications transport facilities. An applicant that is a wireless services provider must provide this information by attestation;

f. Plans and detailed cost estimates for any make-ready work as needed; the applicant shall be solely responsible for the cost of any make-ready work;

g. Projected commencement and termination dates for the permit, or if such dates are unknown at the time the permit is issued, a provision requiring the permit holder to provide the director of public works or the director's designee with reasonable advance notice of such dates once they are determined; and

h. An application for electric service, if required.

(d) Fees and rates. Each such application shall be accompanied by payment of fees as designated in this article.

(1) General.

a. The city may not require or accept in-kind services in lieu of any fee.

b. The rates to collocate on city utility poles shall be nondiscriminatory.

(2) Application fee.

a. The total fee for an application for the collocation of a small wireless facility on an existing city utility pole is one hundred dollars ($100.00) per small wireless facility.

b. An applicant filing a consolidated application shall pay one hundred dollars ($100.00) per small wireless facility included in the consolidated application.

c. The total fee for an application for the installation, modification, or replacement of a utility pole together with the collocation of an associated small wireless facility is five hundred dollars ($500.00) per utility pole.

(3) Collocation rate.

a. The rate for collocation of a small wireless facility to a city utility pole is one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per city utility pole per year.

(e) Timing for processing of an application.

(1) Within fifteen (15) days of receiving an application, the city shall determine and notify the applicant in writing whether the application is complete. If an application is incomplete, the city shall specifically identify the missing information in writing. The processing deadline set out in subsection (e)(2) of this section is tolled from the time the city sends the notice of incompleteness to the time the applicant provides the missing information. That processing deadline may also be tolled by agreement of the applicant and the city.

(2) The city shall process and approve or deny an application for collocation of a small wireless facility within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the application. The application shall be deemed approved if not approved or denied within this forty-five (45) day period.

(3) The city shall process and approve or deny an application for installation of a new, modified, or replacement utility pole associated with a small wireless facility within sixty (60) days of receipt of the application.

(4) An applicant may file a consolidated application and receive a single permit for the collocation of multiple small wireless facilities.

a. An application may include up to twenty (20) separate small wireless facilities; provided that the application is for the same or materially same design of small wireless facility being collocated on the same or materially the same type of utility pole or wireless support structure, and geographically proximate. The application shall provide information sufficient for the director of public works or the director's designee to determine whether the applicant has met the requirements of this subsection. The director of public works or the director's designee shall have discretion to determine whether the application meets the requirements of this subsection.

b. If the city receives individual applications for approval of more than fifty (50) small wireless facilities or consolidated applications for approval of more than seventy-five (75) small wireless facilities within a fourteen (14) day period, whether from a single applicant or multiple applicants, the city may, upon its own request, obtain an automatic thirty (30) day extension for any additional collocation or replacement or installation application submitted during that fourteen

(14) day period or in the fourteen day period immediately following the prior fourteen (14) day period. The city will promptly communicate its request to each and any affected applicant.

c. The denial of one or more small wireless facilities in a consolidated application shall not delay processing or constitute a basis for denial of any other small wireless facilities in the same consolidated application or the consolidated application as a whole.

(5) The city shall provide a good faith estimate for any make-ready work necessary to enable a city utility pole to support the requested collocation by a wireless provider, including pole replacement if necessary, within sixty (60) days after receipt of a complete application. Make-ready work, including any pole replacement, shall be completed within sixty (60) days of written acceptance of the good faith estimate and advance payment, if required, by the applicant.

(6) For any application denied:

a. The city shall document the complete basis for a denial in writing, and send the documentation to the applicant on the day the city denies the application.

b. The applicant may cure the deficiencies identified by the city and resubmit the application within thirty (30) days of the denial without paying an additional application fee.

c. The city shall approve or deny the revised application within thirty (30) days. Any subsequent review shall be limited to the deficiencies cited in the denial.

(7) The city will not institute, either expressly or de facto, a moratorium on filing, receiving, or processing applications or issuing permits or other approvals, if any, for the collocation of small wireless facilities or the installation, modification, or replacement of utility poles to support small wireless facilities.

a. If doing so would be consistent with 47 U.S.C. § 253(a), particularly as interpreted by the Federal Communications Commission's declaratory ruling adopted on August 2, 2018 (FCC 18-111), the city may institute a temporary moratorium on applications for small wireless facilities and the collocation thereof for no more than thirty (30) days in the event of a major and protracted staffing shortage that reduces the number of personnel necessary to receive, review, process, and approve or deny applications for the collocation of small wireless facilities by more than fifty

(50) percent.

(f) Denial of an application. An application for a proposed collocation of a small wireless facility or installation, modification, or replacement of a utility pole otherwise meeting the requirements of section 24-203(a)(1) or 24-203(b)(1) may be denied if the action proposed in the application could reasonably be expected to:

(1) Materially interfere with the safe operation of traffic control equipment or city-owned communications equipment;

(2) Materially interfere with sight lines or clear zones for transportation, pedestrians, or non-motorized vehicles;

(3) Materially interfere with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or similar federal or state standards regarding pedestrian access or movement;

(4) Materially obstruct or hinder the usual travel or public safety on the right-of-way;

(5) Materially obstruct the legal use of the right-of-way by the city, utility, or other third party;

(6) Fail to comply with applicable codes, including nationally recognized engineering standards for utility poles or wireless support structures;

(7) Fail to comply with the reasonably objective and documented aesthetics of a decorative pole and the applicant does not agree to pay to match the applicable decorative elements;

(8) Fail to comply with city's written policy or code requirements for undergrounding, or subsequently enacted for new developments, that require all utility facilities in the area to be placed underground and prohibit the installation of new or the modification of existing utility poles in a right-of-way without prior approval; or

(9) Any other reason not prohibited by applicable law.

(g) Approval of an application.

(1) The director of public works or the director's designee shall review each application for a permit and, upon determining that:

a. The applicant has submitted all necessary information;

b. There is no basis under section 24-203(g) to deny the application; and

c. The applicant has paid the appropriate fee;

the director of public works or the director's designee shall issue the permit.

(2) If the city approves an application, the applicant is authorized to:

a. Undertake the installation or collocation;

b. Operate and maintain the small wireless facilities and any associated utility pole covered by the permit for a period of not less than ten (10) years, unless the applicant and city agree to a term of less than ten (10) years, which shall be renewed for equivalent durations so long as the applicant is in compliance with the criteria listed in section 24-203(f) and current on all fees due the city.

(3) The city may approve a permit subject to a reservation to reclaim space on the utility pole, when and if needed, to meet the utility pole owner's core utility purpose or a documented city plan projected at the time of the application.

(h) No application required. No application is required under this article for:

(1) Routine maintenance on previously permitted small wireless facilities;

(2) The replacement of small wireless facilities with small wireless facilities that are the same or smaller in size, weight, and height;

(3) The installation, placement, maintenance, operation, or replacement of micro wireless facilities that are strung on cables between utility poles in compliance with applicable codes; or

(4) Attachment of a small wireless facility to a city-owned electric distribution pole or facility where the city and a wireless services provider have an agreement in place that governs attachment to a cityowned electric utility distribution pole or facility.

A person performing the permitted acts under this subsection may be required to provide the city with a description of any new equipment installed so that the city may maintain an accurate inventory of the small wireless facilities at a particular location. And provider shall immediately inform the city when a pole or pole attachment is no longer in use.