Legal Documents of Sweetwater

Code of Sweetwater

Table of Contents » Title 16 Streets and Sidewalks, etc. » Chapter 7 Standards For Small Wireless Communication » § 16-703 Permitted use, application requirements, and fees.
Print This Page
PDF
Go to
16
Title 16
16-1
Title 16, Chapter 1
16-101
§ 16-101
Sweetwater
Title 16 : Streets and Sidewalks, etc.
Chapter 7 : Standards For Small Wireless Communication

16-703 : Permitted use, application requirements, and fees.

  1. Permitted use. The following uses within the Public ROW shall be permitted uses.
    1. Colocation of a small wireless facility that conforms with all standards including the design standards of § 16-705(1)(c).
    2. Modification of a NS/pole or support structure or replacement of a pole for colocation of a communications facility where the modification or replacement conforms with all standards including the design standards of § 16-705(1)(c).
    3. New PSS/poles that receive, proper administrative approval and conform with all standards including the design standards of § 16-705(1)(c).
    4. Construction of a communications facility, other than those set forth in this chapter, involving the installation of coaxial, fiber-optic or other cabling, that is installed underground or aboveground between two (2) or more existing PSS/poles or an existing PSS/pole and an existing tower and/or existing support structure, and related equipment and appurtenances.
  2. Permit required. No person may construct, install, and/or operate wireless facilities that occupy the right-of-way without first filing an application and obtaining a small wireless facility permit from the city. Any small wireless facility permit shall be reviewed, issued and administered in a non-discriminatory manner, shall be subject to such reasonable conditions as the city may from time to time establish for effective management of the right-of-way, and otherwise shall conform to the requirements of this chapter and applicable law.
  3. Compliance with permit.
    1. Policies and procedures. The city is authorized to establish such written policies and procedures consistent with this chapter, as the city reasonably deems necessary for the implementation of this chapter.
    2. Police powers. The city, by granting any permit or taking any other action pursuant to this chapter, does not waive, reduce, lessen or impair the lawful police powers vested in the city under applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. All construction practices and activities shall be in accordance with the permit and approved final plans and specifications. The authority and its representatives shall be provided access to the work site and such further information as they may require to ensure compliance with such requirements. All work that does not comply with the permit, the approved plans and specifications for the work, or the requirements of this chapter, shall be removed at the sole expense of the permittee. The authority may stop work in order to assure compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
  4. Emergency work. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of an emergency, a provider or its duly authorized representative may work in the public ROW prior to obtaining a permit, provided that the provider shall attempt to contact the authority prior to commencing the work and shall apply for a permit as soon as reasonably possible, but not later than the next business day after commencing the emergency work. For purposes of this subsection, an "emergency" means a circumstance in which immediate repair to damaged or malfunctioning facilities is necessary to restore lost service or prevent immediate harm to persons or property.
  5. Effect of permit. A permit from the authority authorizes an applicant to undertake only the activities in the public ROW specified in the application and permit and in accordance with this chapter and any general conditions included in the permit. Unless otherwise expressly stated, a permit does not authorize attachment to or use of existing PSS/poles, towers, support structures or other structures in the public ROW; a permittee or provider must obtain all necessary approvals from the owner of any PSS/pole, tower, support structure or other structure prior to any attachment or use. A permit does not create a property right or grant authority to the applicant to interfere with other existing uses of the public ROW.
  6. Other permits needed. In addition to obtaining a permit for installation of a communications facility, PSS/poles built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting communications facilities, or towers in the public ROW, an applicant must obtain all other required permits, including, but not limited to: building permits, electrical permits, TDOT permits, etc.
  7. No substitute for other required permissions. No small wireless facility permit includes, means or is, in whole or in part, a substitute for any other permit or authorization required by the laws and regulations of the city for the privilege of transacting and carrying on a business within the city or any permit or agreement for occupying any other property of the city.
  8. No waiver. The failure of the city to insist on timely performance or compliance by any permittee holding a small wireless facility permit shall not constitute a waiver of the city's right to later insist on timely performance or compliance by that permittee or any other permittee holding such small wireless facility permit. The failure of the city to enforce any provision of this chapter on any occasion shall not operate as a waiver or estoppel of its right to enforce any provision of this chapter on any other occasion, nor shall the failure to enforce any prior ordinance or city charter provision affecting the right-of-way, any wireless facilities, or any user or occupant of the right-of-way act as a waiver or estoppel against enforcement of this chapter or any other provision of applicable law.
  9. Safe condition. The provider shall, at its sole cost and expense, keep and maintain its communications facilities, PSS/poles, support structures and towers in the public ROW in a safe condition, and in good order and repair. If the authority determines communications facilities are in disrepair or the appearance is not kept in a satisfactory manner, the authority may require maintenance or removal of the communications facilities.
  10. Permit duration. Any small wireless facility permit for construction issued under this chapter shall be valid for a period of ninety (90) days after issuance, provided that the ninety (90) day period may be extended for up to an additional nine (9) months upon written request of the applicant (made prior to the end of the initial ninety (90) day period) if the failure to complete construction is as a result of circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the applicant.
  11. Ordinary maintenance and repair. A small wireless facility permit shall not be required for ordinary maintenance and repair. The provider or other person performing the ordinary maintenance and repair shall obtain any other permits required by applicable laws and shall notify the authority in writing at least ten (10) business days prior to performing the ordinary maintenance and repair.
  12. Small wireless facility permit applications required information. The application shall be made by the provider or its duly authorized representative and shall contain the following:
    1. The applicant's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, including emergency contact information for the applicant.
    2. The names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of all consultants, contractors and subcontractors, if any, acting on behalf of the applicant with respect to the filing of the application or who may be involved in doing any work on behalf of the applicant.
    3. A description of the proposed work and the purposes and intent of the proposed facility sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The applicant shall state whether the applicant believes the proposed work is subject to administrative review or discretionary review.
    4. A site plan for each proposed location with a diagram or engineering drawing depicting the design for installation of the small wireless facility with sufficient detail for the city to determine that the design of the installation and any new PSS or an modification of a PSS is consistent with all generally applicable safety and design requirements, including the requirements of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
    5. The location of the site(s), including the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the specific location of the site(s) using WGS84 as the coordinate system of reference with coordinates specified in decimal degrees to no less than three (3) significant digits or provide digitized spatial data (shape tiles) of the exact point of the proposed location.
    6. If applicable, the identification of any third party upon whose PSS the applicant intends to colocate and a copy of the authorization for use of the property from the PSS/pole, tower or support structure owner on or in which the communications facility will be placed or attached. If authorization is not complete at time of application, the application may proceed; however, the authorization information shalt be provided within the given application review time and before final approval can be issued.
    7. The applicant's identifying information and the identifying information of the owner of the small wireless facility, and certification by the applicant or the owner that such person agrees to pay applicable fees and rates, repair damage, and comply with all nondiscriminatory, and generally applicable public ROW requirements for deployment of an associated infrastructure that is not a small wireless facility and the contact information for the party that will respond in the event of an emergency related to the small wireless facility.
    8. The applicant's certification of compliance with surety bond, insurance or indemnification requirements (as set forth in §§ 16-705(3)(h) and 16-705(3)(i)); rules requiring maintenance of infrastructure deployed in the public ROW; rules requiring relocation or timely removal of infrastructure in the public ROW no longer utilized; and any rules requiring relocation or repair procedures for infrastructure in the public ROW under emergency conditions (as set forth in §§ 16-703(4) and 16-705(3)(f)), if any, that the city imposes on a general and non-discriminatory basis upon entities that are entitled to deploy infrastructure in the public ROW no longer utilized; and any rules requiring relocation or repair procedures for infrastructure in the public ROW under emergency conditions, if any, that the city imposes on a general and nondiscriminatory basis upon entities that are entitled to deploy infrastructure in the public ROW.
    9. The applicant's certification that the proposed site plan and design plans meet or exceed all applicable engineering, materials, electrical, and safety standards, including all standards related to the structural integrity and weight-bearing capacity of the PSS/pole and small wireless facility. Those standards relevant to engineering must be certified by a licensed professional engineer.
    10. To the extent the proposed facility involves colocation on a PSS/pole, tower or support structure, a structural report performed by a duly licensed engineer evidencing that the PSS/pole, tower or support structure will structurally support the colocation (or that the PSS/pole, tower or support structure will be modified to meet structural requirements) in accordance with applicable codes.
    11. A statement that all wireless facilities shall comply with all applicable codes.
    12. Detailed construction drawings regarding the proposed facility; and
    13. For any new aboveground facilities, accurate visual depictions or representations, if not included in the construction drawings.
  13. Proprietary or confidential information in application. Applications are public records that may be made publicly available pursuant to the Tennessee Public Records Act (Tennessee Code Annotated, §§ 10-7-101, et seq.). Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 portion of such materials accordingly, and the authority shall treat the information as proprietary and confidential, subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act (Tennessee Code Annotated, §§ 10-7-101, et seq.). The authority's determination that the applicant's request for confidential or proprietary treatment of application materials is reasonable. The authority shall not be required to incur any costs to protect the application materials from disclosure, other than the authority's routine procedures for complying with the Tennessee Public Records Act (Tennessee Code Annotated, §§ 10-7-101, et seq.).
  14. Batch application. An applicant may simultaneously submit an application for multiple small wireless facilities in a single application. A batch application may include not more than twenty (20) applications for small wireless facilities, or may file a single, consolidated permit application covering such communications facilities, provided that the proposed communications facilities are to be deployed on the same type of structure using similar equipment and within an adjacent, related geographic area of the authority. If the applicant files a consolidated application, the applicant shall pay the application fee as stated in § 16-703(20)(b) batch applications require a pre-application meeting with the city planner.
  15. Multiple permit applications at same location. If the city receives multiple applications seeking to deploy or colocate small wireless facilities at the same location in an incompatible manner, then the city may deny the later filed application.
  16. Approval or denial of application; response time. The city responds to the applications for permit per the timelines prescribed in federal law and in Tennessee Code Annotated, § 13-24-409(b), as may be amended, regarding the approval or denial of applications, and the city shall respond to applications per the specific requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated, § 13-24-409(b)(3), as may be amended. The city reserves the right to require a surcharge as indicated in Tennessee Code Annotated, § 13-24-409(b)(7)(F)(i), as may be amended, for high-volume applicants.
  17. Bridge and/or overpass special provision.
    1. If the applicant's site plan includes any colocation design that includes attachment of any facility or structure to a bridge or overpass, then the applicant must designate a safety contact. After the applicant's construction is complete, the applicant shall provide to the safety contact a licensed professional engineer's certification that the construction is consistent with the applicant's approved design, that the bridge or overpass maintains the same structural integrity as before the construction and installation process, and that during the construction and installation process neither the applicant nor its contractors have discovered evidence of damage to or deterioration of the bridge or overpass that compromises its structural integrity. If such evidence is discovered during construction, then the applicant shall provide notice of the evidence to the safety contact.
    2. Any bridge on a state or federal route or state-owned structure will require review and permission from the TDOT-structures division. Any local bridge twenty feet (20') or greater in length must also have a review by the Tennessee Department of Transportation Structures Division and have a letter from the division stating that the proposed attachment(s) will not cause structural damage or reduce the weight limit of the bridge. Review and possible permits will be required by the appropriate railroad when any bridge owned by the railroad, any bridge over the railroad, any tunnel under the railroad, and any structure on railroad ROW that is proposed to have any attachments. Railroad review and possible permits will be required when there is any proposal to cross over or under any railroad ROW, whether attached to a bridge or not with any device or line of any type. Additionally all bridges within the city that have attachment proposals shall be reviewed by the street department and Sweetwater Utility Board.
  18. Material changes. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the authority, any material changes to an application, as determined by the authority in its sole discretion, shall be considered a new application for purposes of the time limits set forth in § 16-704, unless otherwise provided by applicable laws.
  19. Information updates. Except as otherwise provided herein, any amendment to information contained in a permit application shall be submitted in writing to the city within thirty (30) days after the change necessitating the amendment.
  20. Fees and charges.
    1. Small wireless facility permit application fee. Every applicant shall pay a one (1) time permit application fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) at the time of their first application.
    2. Batch application. For every batch application, an applicant shall pay a permit application fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each of the first five (5) small cell facilities, and fifty dollars ($50.00) each for every facility thereafter for a maximum of twenty (20) small cell facilities per application.
    3. ROW use rate. In exchange for the privilege of non-exclusive occupancy of the public ROW, the provider shall pay the authority one hundred dollars ($100.00) per installation per year. The public ROW use fee shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days of issuance of the applicable permit(s) required under this chapter and annually thereafter.
    4. Other fees. The applicant or provider shall be subject to any other generally applicable fees of the authority or other government body such as those required for electrical permits, building permits, or other permits, which the applicant or provider shall pay as required in the applicable laws, as well as attachment fees for the use of authority owned PSS/poles, towers, support structures, ducts, conduits or other structures in the public ROW, as set forth in attachment agreements authorizing such use.
    5. No refund. Except as otherwise provided in a small wireless facility permit, the provider may remove its communications facilities, PSS/poles or towers from the public ROW at any time, upon not less than thirty (30) days prior written notice to the authority, and may cease paying to the authority any applicable recurring fees for such use, as of the date of the actual removal of the facilities and complete restoration of the public ROW. In no event shall a provider be entitled to a refund of fees paid prior to removal of its communications facilities, PSS/poles or towers. (as added by Ord. #976, Sept. 2019 Ch7_02-07-22)
Date Last Updated: 08/05/2024
Codification Date: 03/01/2004

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Doyle F. Lowe
Vice Mayor - Sam Moser
Commissioner - Lamar Hughes
Commissioner - Johanna Jinks
Commissioner - Alan Richeson
Commissioner - James A. Stutts
Recorder - Sonya Crush
City Attorney - John Cleveland
 

Date Last Updated: 08/05/2024
Codification Date: 03/01/2004

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Doyle F. Lowe
Vice Mayor - Sam Moser
Commissioner - Lamar Hughes
Commissioner - Johanna Jinks
Commissioner - Alan Richeson
Commissioner - James A. Stutts
Recorder - Sonya Crush
City Attorney - John Cleveland