[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of West Springfield 6-21-2022. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Town of West Springfield finds that it is necessary and beneficial to establish a uniform and comprehensive set of regulations and standards for the placement and operation of small cell wireless facilities within the public rights-of-way; it being understood that these regulations are necessary to protect public safety, to protect the ecological, scenic, historical, and recreational values of the Town and to ensure that adverse visual and operational effects will not contribute to deleterious effects upon the surrounding neighborhood.
B. 
These regulations are intended to prescribe a clear and reasonable criteria to assess and process applications in a consistent and expeditious manner, while reducing the impacts associated with small cell wireless facilities.
A. 
Applications shall be submitted to the Town of West Springfield Town Council through the Town Clerk's office, accompanied by the application fee of $500 per application, payable to the "Town of West Springfield." The $500 fee will cover up to five installations. Each application for more than five installations is subject to a separate fee of $100 per installation.
B. 
If the application relates to a request for installation of a new non-Town-owned pole or other structure, a one-time $1,000 fee shall be required for each such new pole or other structure in addition to said annual recurring fee outlined below.
C. 
Applicants shall provide notice by first class mail to all other wireless providers ("other providers") within the applicant's knowledge after inquiry to the Town, who may request use of the public right-of-way for wireless services in this location and/or within 500 feet of this location, indicating the applicant's intent to apply for utilization of a particular pole or other structure in the public way. Proof of mailing of such notice shall be provided within three business days of application submission, and may be provided by submission of an affidavit.
D. 
The Clerk of the Council shall circulate a copy of the application to the following departments for review and comment: Building, Engineering, Planning, Health, Police, Fire, Conservation Commission, and any other departments the Clerk, in his or her sole discretion, determines.
E. 
Upon receipt, the Clerk of the Council shall make a determination as to the completeness of the application, including making a determination as to whether the applicant has provided all the above required notices, and notify the applicant in writing within 10 days if the application is incomplete. If the applicant is notified that the application is incomplete, the time periods set forth in this chapter shall be tolled until such time as a complete application has been submitted. The Clerk's determination of the completeness of an application is administrative and not substantive in nature; it does not imply or concede that the Town Council will not find the application defective and/or that it will ultimately be approved by the Town Council.
F. 
Once the Clerk of the Council has determined that an application is complete, the Town Council President will schedule and convene a public hearing to consider the application, such that a determination may be made on any application for any installation(s) on an existing structure within 60 days of initial receipt of the application, and on a new structure within 90 days of receipt of the application.
G. 
The applicant shall notify all other providers, as applicable, of the hearing date, and of any continued or rescheduled hearing date, within three business days after such hearing date is scheduled. The applicant shall, within three business days after such hearing date is scheduled, notify all owners of properties within a three-hundred-foot radius of the proposed project location/installation (hereinafter "abutters"), by first class mail, of the scheduled hearing date, and of any continued or rescheduled hearing date. Proof of mailing of such notice shall be provided within three business days of mailing, and may be made by submission of an affidavit. Failure to notify all abutters and other providers may result in denial of the application.
H. 
Recipients of notice provided under Subsection C, above, are strongly encouraged to consider collocation with the applicant, and the applicant shall in good faith entertain proposals to cooperate in order to minimize the impact of deployments in the Town. In particular, applicants and other providers are strongly encouraged to utilize shared conduit or trenching in order to both minimize their individual costs, and in pursuit of mutually beneficial common trench policies to speed deployment and minimize harmful excavation in the Town's streets and sidewalks. The applicant is required, throughout the review of any application, to promptly notify the Town of any request for cooperation received from any other provider, and if the applicant elects not to cooperate, it shall supplement its application with an explanation as to why it is so electing.
I. 
The Town Council may grant, grant with conditions, or deny an application. A denial may be based on criteria including but not limited to any of the following:
(1) 
Inadequate capacity of the pole or mounting structure;
(2) 
Safety concerns or reliability concerns;
(3) 
Failure to meet applicable engineering standards;
(4) 
Failure to meet the Town Council's design standards which follow applicable law;
(5) 
Failure of the applicant to comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations or other requirements;
(6) 
There are more convenient or favorable nearby locations such that the applicant may densify its network through such nearby locations which are more consistent with the Town's preferred locations as otherwise described herein, or where there may be an opportunity for a collocation;
(7) 
False statements made in the application or submitted therewith, or at the hearing before the Town; and
(8) 
Any other legally valid reason to deny such application.
J. 
Any approval granted to an applicant shall be only for the specific applicant and application.
K. 
Any material changes to an application, as determined by the Town, in its sole discretion, shall constitute a new application for the purposes of the time standards. Where a changed or new application is submitted, the prior application shall be deemed withdrawn.
L. 
The Town of West Springfield is particularly sensitive to the visual impacts of small cell wireless infrastructures. Therefore, any structures installed pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to the requirements of the Small Wireless Facility Design Rules and Regulations Policy as adopted by the Planning Board.
Applications shall include the following information, in digital form:
A. 
Applicant's name, address, telephone number and email address.
B. 
Names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of anyone acting on behalf of the applicant with respect to the application.
C. 
Detailed drawings and descriptions of the equipment to be installed, signed by a Massachusetts-licensed engineer, whether mounted on poles or on the ground, or otherwise, including:
(1) 
Type of equipment.
(2) 
Specifications of equipment (including but not limited to dimensions and weight).
(3) 
Equipment mount type and material.
(4) 
Power and/or communication source and/or sources for equipment, including route of any necessary fiber, wires, cables, and conduit, distance and direction from the power and/or communication or conduit sources, and maps of any proposed excavation, and extent of excavation needed.
(5) 
Expected life of equipment.
(6) 
Coverage area of equipment, including:
(a) 
Number of antennas.
(b) 
Antenna model.
(c) 
Antenna length.
(d) 
Antenna height.
(e) 
Typical coverage area radius.
(7) 
Hardening, including:
(a) 
If there is a battery backup.
(b) 
If there is a generator backup.
(8) 
Rendering and elevation of equipment.
(9) 
Photo simulations, from four different angles, showing the pole and streetscape before the installation, as well as after installation.
D. 
A detailed map in a digital format acceptable to the Town with locations of the poles or other property on which equipment is to be located, including specific pole type, and pole identification number, if applicable.
E. 
Affidavit from a radiofrequency engineer outlining the network/network service requirements in West Springfield and how each installation addresses that need in West Springfield. Such affidavit should characterize, through or with coverage maps, the current level of coverage and how the desired installation(s) will change the current level of coverage, including current and proposed coverage, and the breakdown of "excellent," "good," and "poor" reception areas.
F. 
Insurance certificates with the following minimum coverages: general liability insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate; workers' compensation insurance not less than the amount of $100,000 per accident and $500,000 per illness or the statutorily required amount, whichever is greater; and umbrella insurance in an amount not less than $5,000,000. The Town must be an additionally named insured, and such policies shall indicate that the insurance company shall provide 30 business days' prior written notice to the Town of lapse or cancellation. All insurance carriers shall carry an A.M. Best rating of "A-" or better. Such insurance shall provide for the waiver by the insurance carrier of any subrogation rights against Town, its agents, servants and employees.
G. 
Any and all permits and approvals, including but not limited to any permits from the Department of Public Works, the Building Department, Historical Commission, Community Development Department, Planning Department or any other Town department or federal or state agency required for the proposed installation, shall be applied for on the same day as the submission of the application, or promptly thereafter, but not before the submission of the application, and such that any such permits and approvals are valid at the time of any grant of location hereunder. The applicant shall reapply for any approvals or permits that have expired prior to any grant of location being approved under this policy.
H. 
A description as to why the desired location is superior to other similar locations, including, but not limited to:
(1) 
Aspects showing that the installation will not incommode the public way;
(2) 
Visual aspects; and
(3) 
Proximity to residential buildings and descriptions of efforts to prevent any blocking of views from windows.
I. 
A description of efforts to collocate the equipment on existing structures, poles, or towers which currently exist or are under construction. A good faith effort to collocate is required and evidence of such efforts must be included within the application.
J. 
An affidavit from the applicant which certifies that it will maintain the installations in good repair and according to Federal Communications Commission standards, and will remove any installation not in such good repair, or not in use, within 60 days of being no longer in good repair or no longer in use.
K. 
An affidavit(s) from a Massachusetts-licensed engineer(s) attesting:
(1) 
The applicant, or the carrier intending to use the installation, is in good standing and currently licensed by the Federal Communications Commission;
(2) 
The proposed installation complies with any regulations of the Federal Communications Commission;
(3) 
The proposed installation(s) complies with the maximum safe distance from the antennas and equipment for prolonged and discrete human or animal exposure under the Federal Communications Commission regulations, including, but not limited to, a description of the distances (in feet) considered safe and compliant with Federal Communications Commission regulations in terms of radiation emissions exposure limitations with respect to a human and/or animal from the proposed antennas for one year, one month, one day, and one hour, and a description of the circumstances, if any, under which a nontrespassing individual (i.e., an adjacent property owner) may come within those distances.
(4) 
That the pole or property will safely support the proposed equipment and proposed installation(s);
(5) 
That all other installations by the applicant or parent company which are no longer in use have been removed and the annual recertification has been submitted for such installations, and all fees and fines paid with regard to such installations, and any Town property, including the public way, has been restored to the condition existing prior to such installation, in accordance with all Town standards and at the applicant's expense;
(6) 
A detailed explanation of how the proposed installation(s) will provide service in the Town, including a description of services to be improved or newly provided, and which shall include evidence of the current level of coverage in the area, how the desired installation(s) will change the current level of coverage, and an explanation as to why the applicant believes denial of the proposed installation would constitute an effective prohibition of an entity's ability to provide wireless services; and
(7) 
Any supporting documentation proving the foregoing, including, but not limited to, a detailed map (in digital format acceptable to the Town) showing the applicant's existing and proposed installation(s) within 500 feet of the application site, and amount of cellular coverage in the area.
A. 
Each year, no later than January 1, the small cell wireless equipment owner shall submit an affidavit to the Town which shall list, by location, all small cell wireless installation(s) it owns within the Town of West Springfield and shall certify:
(1) 
Each such installation that remains in use;
(2) 
That such in-use installations remain covered by liability insurance naming the Town as an additional insured; and
(3) 
Each such installation which is no longer in use.
B. 
The equipment owner shall pay an annual recertification fee of $270, or any such higher rate designated by the Town that is permitted under the Federal Communications Commission rules or federal law, per installation which remains in use to the Town.
C. 
Any small cell wireless installation which is no longer in use, abandoned or is no longer authorized to operate by law or other regulation shall be considered in default and shall be removed by the owner, at the owner's expense, within 60 days of receipt of the annual recertification affidavit.
D. 
Any small cell wireless installation which is not removed within 60 days after being listed as no longer in use in the annual recertification affidavit shall be subject to a fine of $100/day until such installation is removed.
E. 
Where such annual recertification has not been timely submitted, or equipment no longer in use has not been removed within the sixty-day period, no further applications for small cell wireless installations will be accepted by the Town Clerk's office until such time as the annual recertification has been submitted and all fees and/or fines have been paid.
If any provision, paragraph, word, section, or article of this chapter is invalidated by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions, paragraphs, words, sections, and chapters shall not be affected and shall continue in full force and effect.