§ 62-64. Small wireless facilities.
(a)
Purpose: The regulations and requirements set forth herein are intended to accomplish the following purposes:
(1)
Provide for compliance with F.S. § 337.401, as amended on July 1, 2017, relating to the use of public (municipality or county) right-of-way, and structures located within right-of-way, for broadband or wireless facility infrastructure.
(2)
To supplement the provisions of section 62-63 of the Town's Code so as to apply only to small wireless facilities, section 62-63 will continue to apply to all wireless communications towers and antennas not covered by this section of the Code.
(b)
Definitions:
Application means a request submitted by an applicant to the town for a permit to collocate small wireless facilities.
Authority utility pole means a utility pole owned by the town in the right-of-way. The term does not include a utility pole located in the right-of-way of the Lakeside Retirement Community.
Collocate or collocation means to install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or replace one or more wireless facilities on, under, within, or adjacent to a wireless support structure or utility pole. The term does not include the installation of a new utility pole or similar structure 15 feet in height or less unless the town grants a waiver for such a pole.
Micro wireless facility means a small wireless facility having dimensions no larger than 24 inches in length, 15 inches in width, 12 inches in height and an exterior antenna, if any, no longer than 11 inches.
Small wireless facility means a wireless facility that meets the following qualifications:
(a)
Each antenna associated with the facility is located inside an enclosure of no more than six cubic feet in volume or, in the case of antennas that have exposed elements, each antenna and all of its exposed elements could fit within an enclosure of no more than six cubic feet in volume; and
(b)
All other wireless equipment associated with the facility is cumulatively no more than 28 cubic feet in volume. The following types of associated ancillary equipment are not included in the calculation of equipment volume: electric meters, concealment elements, telecommunications demarcation boxes, ground based enclosures, grounding equipment, power transfer switches, cutoff switches, vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other services, and utility poles or other support structures.
Wireless facility means equipment at a fixed location which enables wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network, including radio transceivers, antennas, wires, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, or other cables, regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration, and equipment associated with wireless communications. The term includes small wireless facilities. The term does not include:
(a)
The structure or improvements on, under, within, or adjacent to the structure on which the equipment is collocated;
(b)
Wireline backhaul facilities; or
(c)
Coaxial or fiber optic cable that is between wireless structures or utility poles or that is otherwise not immediately adjacent to or directly associated with a particular antenna.
Wireless support structure means a freestanding structure, such as a monopole, a guyed or self-supporting tower, or another existing or proposed structure designed to support or capable of supporting wireless facilities. The term does not include a utility pole.
(c)
Location; alternative location procedure . Small wireless facilities shall not be subject to the minimum separation distances set forth in section 62-63(e)(3)b of the Town Code, except as expressly permitted by law. Within 14 days after the date of filing a complete application for a small wireless facility, the town may request that the proposed location of a small wireless facility may be moved to another location in the right-of-way and placed on an alternative town utility pole or support structure or may place a new utility pole. The town and the applicant may negotiate the alternative location, including any objective design standards, consistent with design standards set forth in section 62-63(f) of the Town Code, and reasonable spacing requirements for ground-based equipment, for 30 days after the date of request. At the conclusion of the negotiation period, if the alternative location is accepted by the applicant, the applicant must notify the town of such acceptance and the application shall be deemed granted for the new location for which there is agreement and all other locations in the application. If an agreement is not reached, the applicant must notify the town of such non-agreement and the town shall grant or deny the original application within 90 days after the date the application was filed. A request for an alternative location, or a rejection of an alternative location, must be in writing and provided by electronic mail.
All proposed improvements at grade level such as the ancillary equipment elements shall be reviewed per the development review process located in chapter 32, article II of this Code.
(d)
Height. The height of a small wireless facility shall not exceed 10 feet above the utility pole or structure upon which the small wireless facility is to be collocated. The height for a new utility pole is limited to the tallest existing utility pole as of July 1, 2017, located in the same right-of-way, other than a utility pole for which a waiver has previously been granted, measured from grade in place within 500 feet of the proposed location of the small wireless facility. If there is no utility pole within 500 feet, the height of the utility pole upon which the small wireless facility is to be collocated shall not exceed 50 feet and shall only be as high as reasonably necessary to achieve its intended purpose.
(e)
Collocation application process. Within 14 days after receiving an application for a permit to collocate a small wireless facility, the town shall determine and notify the applicant by electronic mail as to whether the application is complete. If an application is deemed incomplete, the town shall specifically identify the missing information. An application is deemed complete if the town fails to provide notification to the applicant within 14 days. Pursuant to Section 337.401(7), Florida Statutes, as amended from time to time, a complete application to collocate a small wireless facility is deemed approved if the town fails to approve or deny the application within 60 days after receipt of the application. If the town does not use the 30-day negotiation period provided in subsection (b) above, the parties may mutually agree to extend the 60-day application review period. The town shall grant or deny the application at the end of the extended period. A permit issued pursuant to an approved collocation application shall remain effective for one year unless extended by the town.
(f)
Written approval or denial. The town shall notify the applicant of approval or denial by electronic mail. The town shall approve a complete application unless it does not meet the applicable codes. If the application is denied, the town shall specify in writing the basis for denial, including the specific code provision(s) on which the denial was based, and send the documentation to the applicant by electronic mail on the day the town denies the application. The applicant may cure the deficiencies identified by the town and resubmit the application within 30 days after notice of the denial is sent to the applicant. The town shall approve or deny the revised application within 30 days after receipt or the application is deemed approved. Any subsequent review shall be limited to the deficiencies cited in the denial.
(g)
Consolidated application process. An applicant seeking to collocate small wireless facilities within the town may, at the applicant's discretion, file a consolidated application and receive a single permit for the collocation of up to 30 small wireless facilities. If the application includes multiple small wireless facilities, the town may separately address small wireless facility collections for which incomplete information has been received or which are denied.
(h)
Basis for denial. The town may deny a proposed collocation of a small wireless facility in the public rights-of-way if the proposed collocation:
(1)
Materially interferes with the safe operation of traffic and control equipment;
(2)
Materially interferes with sight lines or clear zones for transportation, pedestrians, or public safety purposes:
(3)
Materially interferes with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar federal or state standards regarding pedestrian access or movement;
(4)
Materially fails to comply with the 2010 edition of the Florida Department of Transportation Utility Accommodation Manual; or
(5)
Fails to comply with applicable codes.
(i)
Collocation on town utility poles.
(1)
The rate to collocate a small wireless facility on a town utility pole shall be $150.00 per pole annually.
(2)
The town may reserve space on town utility poles for future public safety uses. If replacement of the town utility pole is necessary to accommodate the collocation of the small wireless facility and the future public safety use, the pole replacement is subject to make-ready provisions and the replaced pole shall accommodate the future public safety use.
(3)
For a town utility pole that supports an aerial facility used to provide communication services or electrical service, the town and applicant shall comply with the process for make-ready work under 47 U.S.C. s. 224 and implementing regulations. The good faith estimate of the town for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support the requested collocation will include pole replacement, if necessary.
(4)
For a town pole that does not support an aerial facility used to provide communications services or electric service, the authority shall provide a good faith estimate for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support the requested collocation, including necessary pole replacement, within 60 days after receipt of a complete application. Make-ready work, including any pole replacement, shall be completed within 60 days after written acceptance of the good faith estimate by the applicant. Alternatively, the town may require the applicant seeking to collocate a small wireless facility to provide a make-ready estimate at the applicant's expense for the work necessary to support the small wireless facility, including pole replacement, and perform the make-ready work. If pole replacement is required, the scope of the make-ready estimate is limited to the design, fabrication, and installation of a utility pole that is substantially similar in color and composition.
(5)
The make-ready work specified in subsections (3) and (4) shall be subject to the town's usual construction restoration standards for work in the right-of-way. The replaced or altered town utility pole shall remain the property of the town.
(j)
Design standards. The town's design standards set forth below, and other applicable sections of the code may be waived by the Town Council upon a showing that the design standards are not reasonably compatible for the particular location of a small wireless facility or that the design standards impose an excessive expense for a small wireless facility. The waiver shall be granted or denied within 45 days after the date of request.
(1)
Above-ground communications facilities, including wireless communications facilities and support structures, shall be designed in such a manner that the facilities and structures are compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and minimize any negative visual impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
(2)
Stealth design for above-ground communications facilities, and in particular, communications facility poles and wireless support structures, shall be utilized wherever possible in order to minimize the visual impact of communications facilities on, and preserve compatibility with, surrounding neighborhoods, and in order to eliminate the need to locate any ground or elevated equipment on the exterior of a communications facility or existing structure. Stealth design is not required with respect to wireline pole attachment installations made in the communication space of utility poles. To the extent reasonably practicable for the site, stealth design features shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
a.
Equipment wraps (the imagery in a wrap shall not contain any advertising).
b.
Other stealth design proposed by an applicant and approved by the town based on unique circumstances applicable to the facility or the location or both.
All stealth designed communication facilities components, including associated hardware, shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the high velocity zone criteria specified in the Florida Building Code, Chapter 16 and considered as structures under the building risk category II. Design and wind load calculations shall be provided per ASCE 7-10 (170 MPH). Calculations should be accompanied by Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance (NOA)/Product Approvals.
(3)
No signage shall be placed or maintained on communications facilities in town rights-of-way, unless otherwise required by federal or state law, provided; however, that existing structures that lawfully supported signage before being repurposed may continue to support signage as otherwise permitted by law or town code, as may be amended from time to time.
(4)
Communications facilities not requiring FAA painting or marking shall have an exterior finish that enhances compatibility with adjacent uses, as approved by the town right-of-way director.
(5)
A communications facility shall not have any type of lighted signal, lights, or illuminations unless required by applicable federal, State, or local rules, regulation, the FAA or law; provided, however, the town may require the installation of an LED street light on a new communications facility pole or wireless support structure or an existing structure functioning as a light pole.
(k)
Permitting. An applicant for installation of a small wireless facility shall obtain a right-of-way permit from the town for any work that involves excavation, closure of a sidewalk or multi-purpose trail or closure of a vehicular lane.
Pursuant to section 50-14 of the Town's Code, all applicable right-of-way permit fees shall apply to the installation of small wireless facilities.
(l)
Airport airspace. A structure granted a permit and installed pursuant to this section shall comply with chapter 333, Florida Statutes, and federal regulations pertaining to airport airspace protections.
(m)
No authorization to collocate on town utility poles; no application to HOA restricted pole . This section does not authorize a person to collocate small wireless facilities or micro wireless facilities on a town utility pole, unless otherwise permitted by applicable law, or erect a wireless support structure in a location subject to covenants, conditions, restrictions articles of incorporation, and bylaws of a homeowners' association.
(Ord. No. C-422 , § 2, 10-2-2017)