[Approved 11-24-2021 by Ch. No. 3247]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this article is to establish policies and
procedures for the placement of small wireless facilities on municipal-owned
or -operated infrastructures within the City pursuant to Rhode Island
General Laws Title 39, Chapter 32, which will provide public benefit
consistent with the preservation of the integrity, safe usage, and
visual qualities of the City rights-of-way and the City as a whole.
B.
New poles. A request by a wireless provider for a grant of location
to install a new pole in the right-of-way in order to support small
wireless facilities shall be processed and determined in a nondiscriminatory
manner that is consistent with the provisions of the Small Cells Siting
Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See R.I.G.L. § 39-32-1 et seq.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
To install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or replace
wireless facilities on a pole, including a municipal pole, or on a
building, water tower or other structure, including a municipal structure.
"Collocation" has a corresponding meaning.
A cable operator, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 522(5);
a provider of information service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(24);
a telecommunications carrier, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(51);
or a wireless service provider.
The Director of Public Works or his or her designee.
A pole owned or controlled by the City and includes metal,
composite, concrete, or wood poles as well as decorative poles.
A building, water tower or other structure owned or controlled
by the City, but not a municipal pole.
An individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership,
association, trust or other entity or organization, including an authority.
A utility pole, light pole, light standard or similar structure
that is used in whole or in part for telephone service, wireless service,
cable television service, information service, electric service, lighting,
traffic control, signage or similar function.
A pole owned or controlled by the City in a public way, including
state highways and freeways, and includes metal, composite, concrete,
wood and decorative poles.
The area on, below, or above a public roadway, highway, street,
sidewalk, alley, utility easement, or similar property, but not including
a federal interstate highway, in the City.
A wireless facility with antennas of no more than six cubic
feet in cumulative volume and associated equipment with a cumulative
volume no larger than 28 cubic feet. The following types of associated
equipment may be located outside the primary enclosure and are not
included in the calculation of equipment volume: electric meter, concealment,
telecommunications demarcation box, ground-based enclosures, backup
power system, grounding equipment, power transfer switch, cutoff switch,
and cable and conduit runs for the connection of power and other services.
Equipment that is concealed from public view within or behind an existing
structure or concealment is not included in the volume calculations.
Equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless communications
between user equipment and a communications network, including, but
not limited to:
Equipment associated with wireless services, such as private,
broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed wireless
services and fixed wireless services, such as microwave backhaul;
and
Radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable,
regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless
of technological configuration.
The term "wireless facilities" includes small wireless facilities
but does not include the structure or improvements on, under or within
which the equipment is collocated; wireline backhaul facilities; coaxial
or fiber-optic cable that is between wireless support structures or
poles; or coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is otherwise not immediately
adjacent to, or directly associated with, an antenna.
A person who provides wireless service as well as a person
who builds, installs or maintains wireless communications transmission
equipment, wireless facilities or wireless support structures.
Any services using licensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum,
whether at a fixed location or mobile, provided using wireless facilities.
A freestanding structure, such as a monopole; a tower, either
guyed or self-supporting; billboard; or other existing or proposed
structure designed to support or capable of supporting wireless facilities.
Such term does not include a pole.
A.
The rates, fees, terms and conditions established pursuant to this
article shall apply to applications for small wireless facilities
submitted after the effective date of this article. An agreement with
the City for the installation and operation of small wireless facilities
on regulated poles in effect as of September 27, 2017, shall not be
subject to this article unless and until that agreement expires or
terminates.
B.
A wireless service provider authorized to do business in this state
or a contractor acting on its behalf may collocate small wireless
facilities on regulated poles and may construct conduit, cables, and
facilities between such small wireless facility and other equipment
or services located on or adjacent to the regulated pole, subject
to the provisions of this article.
C.
Any small wireless facilities installed on a regulated pole or a
City structure without a permit issued under this article will be
subject to a fine of not less than $500 per day of wrongful attachment
and the unauthorized small wireless facilities will be subject to
removal at the owner's expense
A.
Permit required. No person shall collocate a small wireless facility
on a municipal pole without first obtaining a permit for it, except
as otherwise provided in this article.
B.
Application. A wireless provider seeking such a permit, or its duly
authorized representative, shall apply to the Director on a form,
paper or electronic, provided by the City. The applicant may designate
portions of its application materials that it reasonably believes
contain proprietary or confidential information as "proprietary" or
"confidential" by clearly marking each page of such materials accordingly.
C.
Application requirements.
(1)
The application shall contain the following:
(a)
The wireless provider's name, address, telephone number, and
email address;
(b)
The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the
wireless provider's representative, if different than the wireless
provider;
(c)
A general description of the proposed work and an engineering
diagram showing the small wireless facility as mounted on the municipal
pole or structure, with dimensions.
(d)
A site plan, with sufficient detail to identify the location
of the site and show the proposed location of the facilities, including
any manholes or poles and the size, type, and depth of any conduit
or enclosure.
(2)
No application will be accepted or processed if, and as long as the
applicant or any entity affiliated with the application has any unpaid
and overdue tax bills or other fees such as those affiliated with
police details or penalties pending payment with the City.
D.
When permit not required. Collocation of small wireless facilities
on poles or structures other than municipal poles or structures, for
example, utility poles owned by investor-owned power and telephone
companies, does not require a permit under R.I.G.L. 39-32-6(a) or
these procedures. In addition, a permit is not required for:
E.
Application fee. Each application or consolidated application shall
be accompanied by a fee of $100.
A.
Review of small wireless facility applications.
(1)
Within 14 days of receiving an application, the Director will determine and notify the applicant by email whether the application is complete. If an application is incomplete, the Director will specifically identify the missing information. The processing deadline in Subsection A(4) is tolled from the date of the email notice of incompleteness to the date the applicant provides the missing information. That processing deadline also may be tolled by agreement of the applicant and the Director.
(2)
The Director will approve an application unless the proposed collocation
fails to comply with applicable building or electrical codes in effect
in the City at the time or, if the municipal pole is located in a
ROW, standards for construction in the right-of-way, provided that
such codes and standards are of general applicability. The Director
will issue a permit immediately upon approval of an application.
(3)
Pursuant to R.I.G.L. 39-32-2(c), small wireless facilities are permitted
uses in all zoning districts in the City and are not subject to zoning
review or approval.
(4)
All applications shall be processed on a nondiscriminatory basis.
An application is deemed approved and the permit is deemed issued
if the Director fails to approve or deny the application within 60
days of receipt of the application.
(5)
The Director will document the basis for a denial, including the
specific code provisions or standards on which the denial is based,
and send the documentation to the applicant on or before the day the
Director denies the application. The applicant may cure the deficiencies
identified by the Director and resubmit the application within 30
days of the denial without paying an additional application fee. The
Director shall approve or deny the revised application within 30 days.
Any subsequent review shall be limited to the deficiencies cited in
the denial.
(6)
A wireless provider may, in its discretion, file a consolidated application and receive a single permit for the collocation of multiple small wireless facilities; provided, however, that the denial of one or more facilities in a consolidated application shall not delay processing of any other facilities in the same application. If any facility in a consolidated application is denied, each such facility may be the subject of a resubmitted application as provided in Subsection A(5) of this section.
(7)
Small wireless facilities shall be in accordance with R.I.G.L. § 39-32-1
et seq.
(8)
All electrical components of the small wireless facility shall conform
to relevant and applicable local, state, and national codes, laws
and regulations. To the greatest extent possible, all wiring shall
be internal to the regulated pole or City structure, and external
conduits shall not be allowed.
(9)
The installation shall comply with any emissions standards established
by the Federal Communication Commission and shall not cause radio
frequency radiation that could put the public, City workers or contractors
in danger or expose them to emissions that require special conditions,
training, or safeguards. An on/off switch must be provided or else
the City reserves the right to disconnect the small wireless facility
at the base of the regulated pole or City structure during maintenance
activity, without notice.
B.
Decorative poles. Where a wireless provider seeks to collocate small
wireless facilities on a municipal pole that is a decorative pole,
the Director may require the wireless provider to replace the pole
when necessary, and any replacement pole must reasonably conform to
the design aesthetics of the decorative pole being replaced. As used
in this subsection, a "decorative pole" means a municipal pole that
is specially designed and placed for aesthetic purposes and on which
no appurtenances or attachments, other than a small wireless facility,
specially designed informational or direction signage, or temporary
holiday or special event attachments have been placed or are permitted
to be placed.
C.
Permit duration. A permit issued under these procedures shall be
of unlimited duration; provided, however, that initial construction
must be completed within 180 days after the date on which the permit
is issued, unless a delay is caused by the lack of commercial power
at the site, in which case the construction period is automatically
extended until six months after such power becomes available at the
site. The Director and the wireless provider may also extend the construction
period by agreement.
D.
Historic districts. A permit issued by the City under this article
does not authorize a wireless provider to collocate small wireless
facilities on a municipal pole located within an historic district
as defined in R.I.G.L. § 45-24.1-1.1 without review and
approval of the appropriate historic district commission.
A.
Installation. All small wireless facilities collocated on municipally
owned or operated infrastructures in the ROW shall be installed in
accordance with all applicable building and electrical codes and any
standards for construction in the ROW in force at the time of installation.
The Director may waive one or more of the requirements in this subsection
upon good cause shown, as determined by the Director. Such waivers
shall be granted in a nondiscriminatory manner.
B.
Access. Wireless providers and their employees, agents, and contractors
shall have the right of access to permitted small wireless facilities
and municipal poles in the ROW in accordance with the reasonable and
nondiscriminatory policies of the City applicable to all utilities
with facilities in the ROW or doing work in the ROW.
C.
Rates.
(1)
In addition to the application processing fee, the permit holder
must pay an annual recurring fee of no more than $150 or the rate
produced by applying the formula adopted by the Federal Communications
Commission for telecommunications attachments under 47 U.S.C. § 224(e)
for each collocation of a small wireless facility on a regulated poles.
(2)
In addition to the application processing fee, the permit holder
must pay an annual recurring fee of $1,500 for each collocation of
a small wireless facility on a municipal structure.
D.
Make-ready work. Within 60 days after receipt of a complete application
to collocate small wireless facilities on a municipal pole, the City
will provide a good faith description of any make-ready work necessary
to enable the municipal pole to support the requested collocation,
including pole replacement if necessary. The City will require make-ready
work only as necessary to meet applicable codes or industry standards.
E.
Repairs. A wireless provider shall repair, at its sole cost and expense,
any damage to City streets, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, trees, parkways,
City poles or other property, utility lines and systems, or sewer
or water systems or lines resulting from the collocation of a small
wireless facility in the ROW. The wireless provider shall restore
such areas, structures and systems to substantially the same condition
in which they existed prior to the damage, to the satisfaction of
the Director.
F.
Removal. Within 90 days following written notice from the City, a
wireless provider shall, at its own expense, protect, support, temporarily
or permanently disconnect, remove, relocate, change or alter the position
of any small wireless facilities collocated on a City pole whenever
the City has reasonably determined that such action is necessary for
the construction, repair, maintenance, or installation of any City
improvement in the ROW or the operations of the City in the ROW.
G.
Abandonment. The City may require a wireless provider to remove a
small wireless facility permitted hereunder within 180 days after
the date that the facility ceases to be used unless the wireless provider
gives the City reasonable evidence that it is diligently working to
place the facility or pole back in service. Should the wireless provider
fail to timely remove the small wireless facility or pole, the City
may remove such facility and recover the actual, reasonable cost of
such removal from the wireless provider.
A.
A wireless provider may collocate small wireless facilities on a municipal pole or poles not located in the ROW with the approval of the Director. The application shall be filed and processed pursuant to the provisions of §§ 364-38 and 364-39, and the collocation shall be subject to the provisions of § 364-40, except that:
(1)
The Director may deny the application to the extent that the City
does not permit access to municipal poles outside of the ROW for other
commercial projects or uses and may approve such collocation although
the City has not previously permitted such access; and
(2)
The rate for collocation of small wireless facilities on a municipal
pole outside of the ROW shall be subject to agreement between the
City and the wireless provider, but in any event shall be reasonable,
nondiscriminatory and shall not exceed the amount charged for similar
commercial projects or uses to occupy or use the same amount of space
on similarly situated property.
B.
A wireless provider may collocate small wireless facilities on a
municipal structure, whether located within or outside the ROW, only
pursuant to a written agreement with the Director. The agreement shall
authorize such collocation to the same extent the City allows access
to such structures for other commercial projects or uses and may authorize
such collocation if the City has not previously permitted such access.
The agreement shall include reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates,
terms and conditions, and shall not charge on an annual recurring
basis more for such a collocation than the amount charged for similar
commercial projects or uses to occupy or use the same amount of space
on similarly situated property.
C.
Insurance. A wireless provider that has been granted a permit to
collocate a small wireless facility on a municipal pole inside or
outside of the ROW or on a municipal structure shall maintain in effect,
during the time that its small wireless facility is so collocated
in the ROW, commercial general liability insurance and commercial
automobile liability insurance covering the City against claims, injury
or damage to persons or property caused by the proposed work, in amounts
of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 annual aggregate, and
$2,000,000 for each personal injury liability. Such wireless provider
shall provide certificates of insurance or other evidence of the above
coverage. Such a provider may self-insure any required coverage as
long as it or its parent maintains a net worth of at least $200 million.
D.
Indemnification. A wireless provider granted a permit to collocate
a small wireless facility on a municipal pole inside or outside of
the ROW or on a municipal structure shall defend, indemnify, and hold
harmless the City, its Council, boards, commissions, officials, officers,
agents, contractors, volunteers, and employees from and against any
and all loss, damages, liability, claims, suits, costs and expenses,
including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees resulting from
the negligence of the wireless provider, its officers, agents, or
employees in connection with the permitted work. This indemnity provision
shall apply regardless of the merit or outcome of such claim or suit.
