[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order
No. 2020-012]
Utilities under this chapter shall be subject to federal, state
and City codes and regulations, including but not limited to the following:
A. Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities standards, including
220 CMR.
B. Standard Specifications for Highway and Bridges.
C. Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
D. City of Quincy Design Criteria.
E. National Fire Protection Code.
F. National Electrical Code.
G. American Water Works Association standards.
H. American National Standards Institute.
I. City of Quincy Health Commissioner regulations.
J. American Society for Testing and Materials.
L. National Institutes of Health.
M. Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
N. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
[Added 4-22-2019 by Order
No. 2018-101]
A. Purpose.
It is the purpose of this section to establish specific standards
and procedures to authorize the installation of small cell wireless
facilities on utility poles located in the public way or in the utility
easement area adjacent to the public way. Notwithstanding any provision
in the Quincy Municipal Code to the contrary, this section shall govern
such installations.
B. Definitions.
(1) As
used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
SMALL CELL FACILITY
The antenna, radio, power source and meter, disconnect switch,
fiber-optic cable, and supporting equipment, if any, installed on
a utility pole.
UTILITY POLE
A privately owned or publicly owned utility pole located
in the public right-of-way or in the utility easement area adjacent
to the public right-of-way.
[Amended 6-1-2020 by Order
No. 2020-052]
(2) When
not inconsistent with the context, words in the singular number include
the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely
directory.
C. Authority. Consistent with MGL c. 166, by amending the general ordinances to include this section, the City Council has voted to authorize the Director of Inspectional Services to issue permits for small cell facilities that satisfy the criteria identified in Subsection
E and authorizes the Director of Inspectional Services to ensure that petitions to install small cell facilities comply with such criteria.
D. Petitions.
All petitions submitted pursuant to this section shall include the
information described below. A petition may seek permits for small
cell facilities at multiple locations and, if so, shall include the
following information for each such location:
(1) Application
stating: petitioner's name and address; name and address of the owner(s)
of the utility pole; name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address
of petitioner's attorney or agent; utility pole number; and address
of nearest property and address of nearest property, if different,
which contains a residential structure or fire station.
(2) Plan,
signed by a professional engineer, showing the subject utility pole
and the proposed small cell facility.
(3) Letter
or license from the owner(s) of the utility pole authorizing the installation
of the small cell facility. Such a letter or license shall be deemed
to constitute a structural certification by the owner(s) of the utility
pole attesting to the integrity of the utility pole to support the
small cell facility.
(4) Evidence
sufficient to reasonably satisfy the Director of Inspectional Services
that the utility pole has an existing grant of location. Utility poles
that support existing wires and cables shall be deemed to have an
existing grant of location for purposes of this section.
(5) License(s)
from the Federal Communications Commission evidencing petitioner's
authority to transmit and receive wireless telecommunications, unless
such license is already on file with the City.
(6) Proof
of liability insurance, including completed operation coverage or
its substantial equivalent.
(7) Radio
frequency (RF) affidavit, signed by a professional radio frequency
engineer, that includes a brief explanation of how the proposed small
cell facility addresses a significant gap in coverage, or capacity,
or both, and why the proposed utility pole is the most feasible to
install the small cell facility.
(8) Radio
frequency (RF) emissions report demonstrating that the proposed small
cell facility complies with the maximum permissible exposures adopted
by the Federal Communications Commission, unless such a report has
previously been filed with the City for the specific equipment to
be used in the small cell facility
(9) A
fee equal to $500 for a single petition including up to five locations
and a fee of $100 for each additional location, with check payable
to the City of Quincy.
(10) Certification by petitioner that all members of the City Council
have been notified, at the time the petition is filed, of said petition,
such notification to include the location and number of the utility
pole where the proposed small cell facility is to be installed, the
address of the nearest property, and the address of the nearest property,
if different, which contains a residential structure, and that, at
the expense of the applicant, a public notice of the petition has
been advertised, that an abutters list of direct abutters has been
pulled through the Assessor's office, and that notification to those
abutters has been made through certified mail.
E. Standard
of review.
(1) The
small cell facility does not interfere with the safety and convenience
of ordinary travel over the public right-of-way.
(2) The
small cell facility does not exceed 60 feet in height above the ground.
(3) The
appearance of the small cell facility is similar to the existing equipment
on the utility pole or on other nearby utility poles, the color of
the utility pole, or another color reasonably requested by the Director
of Inspectional Services or his designee.
(4) The
dimensions of the antenna do not exceed 16 inches in diameter or 40
inches in height; provided, however, that as new technology becomes
available, the Director of Inspectional Services is hereby authorized
to permit antenna configurations that are otherwise consistent with
the Federal Communications Commission's definition of small cell wireless
facility.
[Amended 5-3-2021 by Order No. 2021-036]
(5) No
part of the small cell facility projects from the utility pole further
than four feet if installed 20 feet or higher above the ground or
further than two feet if installed below 20 feet above the ground.
(6) No
part of the small cell facility shall extend below eight feet above
ground level.
(7) No
other small cell facility is installed on a utility pole within 180
feet of the subject utility pole, including the subject utility pole.
(8) The
subject utility pole does not measure more than 20° out of plumb
in any direction.
(9) The
subject utility pole is not a double pole.
(10) A small cell facility has not already been installed on, or approved
for installation on, the subject utility pole.
(11) The proposed small cell facility complies with the maximum permissible
exposures adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.
(12) The proposed small cell facility shall not be installed at any location
which is within 20 feet of any residential structure, school building,
child day-care structure or fire station.
(13) The subject utility pole is not within five feet of another utility
pole.
(14) The Director of Inspectional Services (DIS) shall notify the Ward
Councillor in whose ward the proposed small cell facility is to be
located of the intention of the DIS to grant a permit; such notification
shall occur at least 14 days prior to the issuance of said permit.
F. Effect of permit. Upon the issuance of a permit to install a small cell facility, or after the passage of 90 days from filing with no action on the petition, a petitioner shall be authorized to commence installation. Any proposed changes to the dimensions or specifications detailed in Subsection
E shall require a new petition, except that:
(1) No
approval is required for the refurbishment, repair, or replacement
of any small cell facility component; and
(2) In
the event that a petitioner proposes, or is required, to change the
approved position of a small cell facility component, the petitioner
shall submit revisions to the approved plan for such small cell facility
to the Director of Inspectional Services, who may approve the change
so long as the change does not reduce ground clearance to less than
eight feet above ground level or cause the height of the small cell
facility to exceed 60 feet in height above the ground.
G. Effect
of denial; appeal. In the event that the Director of Inspectional
Services denies a petition to install a small cell facility, he or
she shall provide a written explanation for the denial to the petitioner.
Following issuance of such denial and explanation, the petitioner
may:
(1) Submit
a new petition that satisfactorily addresses the reasons for denial,
at which time the Director of Inspectional Services shall consider
the new petition pursuant to this section; or
(2) Within 30 days of issuance of such denial, appeal the denial to the City Council. Upon receipt of an appeal under this section, the City Council shall consider the matter as a new application (i.e., de novo) at a publicly noticed hearing and allow the petitioner to appear before the City Council to support the appeal, submit further evidence to rebut the written explanation provided by the Director of Inspectional Services, and demonstrate that it has satisfied the standard of review established in Subsection
E and demonstrated that the relevant criteria contained in Subsection
E have been met. The City Council shall reach a final decision and act on any appeal within 60 days. The petitioner has the right of further appeal available under law.
H. Removal
of small cell facilities.
(1) Any
small cell facility approved pursuant to this section shall be removed
and the relevant permit terminated if the City requires the removal
of the utility pole where the small cell facility is located.
(2) The
permit holder shall notify the City if the small cell wireless facility
ceases to be used for its intended purpose and shall remove all the
permitted equipment no later than 60 days following cessation of use.
(3) Except
as otherwise provided for in this section, the City may remove small
cell facilities approved pursuant to this section and terminate the
relevant permit(s) by using the procedures established for the removal
of overhead structures and equipment contained in MGL c. 166, §§ 22A
to 22N.
(4) The Director of Inspectional Services, or his designee, is authorized under this section to order the removal of any small cell facility installed on a utility pole that has not been authorized pursuant to this section. Any party installing any such small cell facility shall be subject to penalties consistent with Chapter
1, Article
I, General Penalty, of this Code.
I. Relationship to Zoning Code. This section shall govern the installation of small cell facilities on utility poles located in the public right-of-way or in the public utility easement area adjacent to the public right-of-way. Except as otherwise stated herein, the provisions of Chapter
375, Zoning, do not govern such installations.