9-593. Applicability; collocation of small wireless facilities; permits; application; fee

A. This section applies to the activities of a wireless provider within a right-of-way.

B. Except as provided in this section and sections 9-592, 9-594, 9-595, 9-597, 9-598 and 9-599, as applicable, an authority may not prohibit, regulate or charge for the collocation of small wireless facilities.

C. Subject to this section and section 9-592, subsection J, a small wireless facility is classified as a permitted use and is not subject to zoning review or approval if the small wireless facility is collocated in a right-of-way in any zone.

D. An authority may require an applicant to obtain one or more permits to collocate a small wireless facility if the permit requirement is of general applicability and does not apply exclusively to wireless facilities. An applicant seeking to collocate multiple small wireless facilities within the jurisdiction of a single authority may file a consolidated application for the collocation of up to twenty-five small wireless facilities if the collocations each involve substantially the same type of small wireless facilities and substantially the same type of structure.

E. An application must include an attestation that the small wireless facilities will be collocated on the utility pole or wireless support structure and that the small wireless facilities will be operational for use by a wireless services provider to provide service within one hundred eighty days after the permit issuance date, unless the authority and the wireless provider agree to extend this period or a delay is caused by a lack of commercial power at the site.

F. An authority:

1. Shall accept applications for, process and issue permits to collocate small wireless facilities.

2. Within twenty days after receiving an application, shall determine and notify the applicant whether the application is complete. If an applicant is not notified within the twenty-day period, the application is deemed complete. If an application is incomplete, the authority must specifically identify the information missing from the application.

3. Shall process each application on a nondiscriminatory basis. A complete application is deemed approved if the authority fails to approve or deny the application within seventy-five days after receiving a complete application.

4. Shall approve an application unless the application does not meet the applicable codes, local code provisions or regulations that concern public safety, objective design standards for decorative utility poles or reasonable stealth and concealment requirements or public safety and reasonable spacing requirements concerning the location of ground-mounted equipment in a right-of-way. If an authority determines that applicable codes or local code provisions or regulations require that the utility pole or wireless support structure be replaced before the requested collocation, approval may be conditioned on such replacement of the utility pole or wireless support structure. The wireless provider's request for a replacement utility pole or wireless support structure will be processed pursuant to section 9-592.

5. If an application is denied, shall document the basis for the denial, including the specific code provisions, regulations or requirements on which the denial was based, and send the documentation to the applicant on or before the date that the application is denied. The applicant may cure the deficiencies identified by the authority and resubmit the application within thirty days after the denial without paying an additional application fee. The authority shall approve or deny the revised application within thirty days after receiving the revised application. Any subsequent review is limited to the deficiencies cited in the denial.

6. If an application includes multiple small wireless facilities, may remove small wireless facility collocations from the application and treat separately small wireless facility collocations for which incomplete information has been provided or that do not qualify for consolidated treatment or that are denied. The authority may issue separate permits for each collocation that is approved in a consolidated application.

G. An authority may not:

1. Directly or indirectly require an applicant to perform services that are unrelated to the collocation for which approval is sought, such as in-kind contributions to the authority, including reserving fiber, conduit or pole space on the wireless provider's monopole or utility pole for the authority.

2. Require an applicant to provide more information to obtain a permit than the authority requires of a communications service provider that is not a wireless provider and that requests to attach facilities to a structure. An authority may require the applicant to certify that the small wireless facilities to be collocated comply with the federal communications commission's regulations concerning radio frequency emissions referenced in 47 United States Code section 332(c)(7)(B)(iv).

3. 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 a small wireless facility.

4. Require an application for routine maintenance or the replacement of small wireless facilities with small wireless facilities that are substantially similar or the same size or smaller. An authority may require a permit to work within a right-of-way for such activities, if applicable. A permit issued pursuant to this paragraph is subject to the requirements of this section.

H. Collocation for which a permit is granted shall be completed within one hundred eighty days after the permit issuance date, unless the authority and the wireless provider agree to extend this period or a delay is caused by the lack of commercial power at the site.

I. Approval of an application by an authority allows the applicant to do both of the following:

1. Collocate the small wireless facilities.

2. Subject to applicable relocation requirements, the wireless provider's right to terminate at any time and the authority's terms described in section 9-592, operate and maintain the small wireless facilities for a period of not less than ten years, which must be renewed for equivalent durations unless the authority makes a finding that the small wireless facilities do not comply with the applicable codes or local code provisions or regulations described in subsection F, paragraph 4 of this section.

J. An authority may charge an application fee that is limited to the actual, direct and reasonable costs that are incurred by the authority and that relate to the granting or processing of an application. An application fee shall be reasonably related in time to the incurring of such costs. If such costs are already recovered by existing fees, rates or taxes that are paid by a wireless provider, an authority may not charge an application fee to recover such costs. An application fee may not include:

1. Third-party travel expenses that are incurred to review an application.

2. The direct payment or reimbursement of third-party rates or fees that are charged on a contingency basis or pursuant to a result-based arrangement.

K. The total application fee, if allowed, may not exceed one hundred dollars each for up to five small wireless facilities addressed in an application and fifty dollars for each additional small wireless facility addressed in the application.

L. This article does not allow a person to collocate small wireless facilities on a privately owned utility pole, a privately owned wireless support structure or private property without the consent of the property owner.