Chapter 22.122
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND SMALL CELL FACILITY REVIEW PERIODS
Sections:
22.122.020 Eligible facilities request.
22.122.040 New wireless communication facilities.
22.122.010 Purpose.
Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have, pursuant to the authority granted by 47 USC 253(c) and 47 USC 332(a), required local governments to act on wireless communication facility applications within a reasonable period of time and have established time limits for local review. The Washington State Legislature has also adopted similar limitations under the provisions of Chapter 35.99 RCW. Accordingly, the City adopts the following time limits for review of applications for eligible facility requests, small cell permits, and other approvals for service providers of telecommunication services. (Ord. 18-007 § 9 (Exh. A), 2018).
22.122.020 Eligible facilities request.
A. Application Review.
1. Application. The city manager shall prepare and make publicly available an application form which shall be limited to the information necessary for the City to consider whether an application is an eligible facilities request. The application may not require the applicant to demonstrate a need or business case for the proposed modification.
2. Type of Review. Upon receipt of an application for an eligible facilities request, the city manager shall review such application to determine whether the application qualifies as an eligible facilities request.
3. Time Frame for Review. Within 60 days of the date on which an applicant submits a complete eligible facilities request application, the city manager shall approve the application unless it determines that the application is not covered by this SVMC 22.122.020.
4. Tolling of the Time Frame for Review. The 60-day review period begins to run when the complete application is filed, and may be tolled only by mutual agreement by the city manager and the applicant or in cases where the city manager determines that the application is incomplete. The time frame for review of an eligible facilities request is not tolled by a moratorium on the review of applications.
a. To toll the time frame for incompleteness, the city manager shall provide written notice to the applicant within 30 days of receipt of the application, specifically delineating all missing documents or information required in the application.
b. The time frame for review begins running again when the applicant makes a compliant supplemental submission in response to the city manager’s notice of incompleteness.
c. Following a supplemental submission, the city manager shall notify the applicant within 10 days if the supplemental submission did not provide the information identified in the original notice delineating missing information. The time frame is tolled in the case of second or subsequent notices pursuant to the procedures identified in SVMC 22.122.020(A)(4). Second or subsequent notice of incompleteness may not specify missing documents or information that was not delineated in the original notice of incompleteness.
B. Determination That Application Is Not an Eligible Facilities Request. If the city manager determines that the applicant’s request does not qualify as an eligible facilities request, the time periods established by the applicable state or federal law and Chapter 22.122 SVMC begin to run from the issuance of the city manager’s decision that the application is not an eligible facilities request. To the extent additional information is necessary, the city manager may request such information from the applicant to evaluate the application under other provisions of Chapter 22.122 SVMC and applicable law.
C. Failure to Act. In the event the city manager fails to approve or deny a request for an eligible facilities request within the time frame for review (accounting for any tolling), the request shall be deemed granted. The deemed grant does not become effective until the applicant notifies the city manager in writing after the review period has expired (accounting for any tolling) that the application has been deemed granted.
D. Remedies. Both the applicant and the City may bring claims related to Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act to any court of competent jurisdiction. (Ord. 18-007 § 9 (Exh. A), 2018).
22.122.030 Collocation.
Eligible collocations shall be processed within 90 days of receipt of a complete application. The city manager shall notify the applicant within 30 days of receipt of an application whether it is complete or if additional information is required. The term collocation shall not apply to the initial placement of a small cell facility on a utility pole or on any other base station or tower that was not constructed for the sole or primary purpose of an FCC licensed antenna and its associated facilities. (Ord. 18-007 § 9 (Exh. A), 2018).
22.122.040 New wireless communication facilities.
New wireless communications facilities shall be processed within 150 days of receipt of a complete application. The city manager shall notify the applicant within 30 days of receipt of an application whether it is complete or if additional information is required. (Ord. 18-007 § 9 (Exh. A), 2018).