Bill Text: GA SB192 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Wireless Communications Tower Siting Act; provide planning for the construction of wireless facilities/wireless support structures
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-11 - Senate Recommitted [SB192 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-SB192-Comm_Sub.html
09 LC 28
4713ERS
The
Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee offered the following
substitute to SB 192:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local
government, so as to provide a short title; to provide legislative findings; to
provide for definitions; to provide for planning for the construction of
wireless facilities and wireless support structures; to provide for the
procedure and manner of permitting of such structures; to provide for the
collocating of wireless communication antennas on existing structures where
possible; to provide for certain limitations with regard to such structures; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local government, is
amended by adding a new chapter to read as follows:
"CHAPTER
66B
36-66B-1.
This
chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Wireless Communications Tower
Siting Act.'
36-66B-2.
The
General Assembly finds that the enactment of this chapter is necessary for the
purpose of:
(1)
Ensuring the safe and efficient integration of facilities necessary for the
provision of broadband and other advanced wireless communications services
throughout this state; and
(2)
Ensuring the ready availability of reliable wireless service to the public and
government agencies and first responders, with the intention of furthering
public safety and general welfare.
It
is not the intent of this chapter to limit or preempt the scope of a zoning
authority's review of applications for the siting of wireless facilities or
wireless support structures.
36-66B-3.
As
used in this chapter, the term:
(1)
'Antenna' means communications equipment that transmits and receives
electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of all types of wireless
communications services.
(2)
'Application' means a formal request submitted to the local authority to
construct or modify a wireless support structure or a wireless
facility.
(3)
'Authority' means a municipality or county that has adopted planning and zoning
regulations for all or the majority of land uses within its
jurisdiction.
(4)
'Building permit' means an official administrative authorization issued by the
local authority prior to beginning construction of any new or existing support
structure. The issuance of a building permit is not a mechanism for the
approval or denial of a zoning or land use application.
(5)
'Collocation' means the placement or installation of wireless facilities on
existing structures, including towers, buildings, utility poles, and water
tanks, in a manner that negates the need to construct a new freestanding support
structure, such as a tower.
(6)
'Equipment enclosure' means an enclosed structure, cabinet, or shelter used to
contain radio or other equipment necessary for the transmission or reception of
wireless communication signals.
(7)
'Existing tower' means a freestanding support structure constructed prior to the
effective date of this chapter that is used to provide wireless
services.
(8)
'High-voltage electrical transmission tower' means a structure owned or operated
by a public utility, municipality, electric membership corporation, or rural
electric cooperative that is designed specifically for and used to carry lines,
cables, or wires for the long distance transmission of high-voltage electricity.
Such term shall not include a utility pole.
(9)
'Utility pole' means a structure owned or operated by a public utility,
municipality, electric membership corporation, or rural electric cooperative
that is designed specifically for and used to carry lines, cables, or wires for
telephony, cable television, or electricity or to provide lighting.
(10)
'Wireless facility' means the set of equipment and network components, exclusive
of the underlying support structure or tower, including, but not limited to,
antennas, transmitters, receivers, base stations, power supplies cabling, and
associated equipment necessary to provide wireless services to a discrete
geographic area.
(11)
'Wireless support structure' means, other than a utility pole, a freestanding
structure, such as a monopole or tower, designed to support wireless
facilities.
36-66B-4.
(a)
An authority may plan for and regulate the siting of wireless facilities and
wireless support structures in accordance with locally adopted planning or
zoning regulations and in conformity with this title.
(b)
Any person that is engaged in the business of providing wireless
telecommunications services, or the wireless telecommunications infrastructure
required therefor, and that proposes to construct a wireless support structure
within the jurisdiction of any planning authority that has adopted planning and
zoning regulations in accordance with this title shall:
(1)
Submit the necessary copies and attachments of the completed application to the
appropriate planning authority to construct a wireless support structure;
and
(2)
Comply with any local ordinances concerning land use and the appropriate
permitting processes, subject to the limitations imposed by this
chapter;
(c)
All records, such as documents, electronic data, and the like, in the possession
or custody of authority personnel shall be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of
Title 50. Disclosure of such records shall be consistent with applicable state
laws;
(d)
After the submission of a completed application to construct a wireless support
structure, the authority shall, within 75 days commencing from the date that the
application is deemed complete by the authority or within a date certain
specified in a written agreement between the authority and the
applicant:
(1)
Review the completed application in light of relevant building code
regulations;
(2)
Make its final decision to approve or disapprove the application;
and
(3)
Advise the applicant in writing of its final decision.
(e)
A party aggrieved by the final action of an authority denying an application
under the provisions of this chapter may bring an action for review in any court
of competent jurisdiction.
36-66B-5.
(a)
In deploying or expanding commercial and public safety wireless networks, the
collocation of new antennas and equipment on existing support structures,
including buildings, utility poles, water towers, or existing conforming
communication towers, shall be preferred over the construction of new towers or
support structures; provided, however, that the authority shall not permit or
authorize the placing or collocating of antennas on high-voltage electrical
transmission towers. Further preference shall be given to neutral third-party
infrastructure providers.
(b)
Irrespective of subsection (a) of this Code section, an application for
collocation on an existing structure other than a utility pole may be subject to
the issuance of a building permit and any cost based fee associated with such
building permit.
(c)
The authority may deny an application to construct a new wireless support
structure based on an applicant's unwillingness to evaluate the reasonable
feasibility of collocating new antennas and equipment on an existing structure
or structures within the applicant's search ring.
(d)
The authority shall not deny an application to construct a new wireless
communications support structure under subsection (c) of this Code section if
evidence is provided that collocation on an existing structure is technically
infeasible.
(e)
After an applicant submits a completed application, the authority shall, within
45 days commencing from the date that an application for collocation of new
antennas and equipment on existing support structures is deemed complete by the
authority or within a date certain specified in a written agreement between the
authority and the applicant:
(1)
Review the completed application in light of relevant building code
regulations;
(2)
Make its final decision to approve or disapprove the application;
and
(3)
Advise the applicant in writing of its final decision.
36-66B-6.
An
authority shall not:
(1)
Impose environmental testing, sampling, or monitoring requirements or other
compliance measures for radio frequency emissions on wireless communications
facilities that are categorically excluded under the Federal Communications
Commission's rules for radio frequency emissions pursuant to 47 CFR
1.1307(b)(1);
(2)
Institute a moratorium on the construction of new wireless support structures
lasting over 90 days in duration or institute any such moratorium within six
months of the conclusion of any previous moratorium on the construction of
wireless support structures unless authorized or directed by a state or federal
agency;
(3)
Charge an application fee, consulting fee, or other fee associated with the
submission, review, processing, and approval of a building permit that is not
required for other types of commercial development within the authority's
jurisdiction. Fees imposed by a local authority or by a third-party entity
providing review or technical consultation to the local authority shall not
exceed what is usual and customary. Any charges or fees assessed by an
authority on account of an outside consultant shall be fixed in advance and
incorporated into a permit or application fee and shall not exceed $2,500.00 for
a collocation or $5,000.00 for the placement and construction of a new wireless
facility, antenna, or support structures;
(4)
Permit third-party consultants to charge wireless telecommunications service
providers for any travel expenses incurred in the consultant's review of
wireless telecommunications permits;
(5)
Establish or enforce regulations or procedures for radio frequency signal
strength or the adequacy of service quality in the consideration of any
application for the construction, modification, maintenance, or operation of a
wireless facility or support structure;
(6)
Impose surety requirements, including removal bonds, escrow deposits, or any
other type of financial surety, to ensure that abandoned or unused facilities
can be removed unless such requirements are directly related to the actual costs
of removal, competitively neutral, and nondiscriminatory;
(7)
Prohibit the placement of emergency power systems that comply with federal and
state environmental requirements; provided, however, that the local authority
may impose reasonable conditions on the testing and placement of such
systems;
(8)
Condition the approval of a new support structure or collocation on the
agreement of the structure owner to provide space on the structure for local
governmental services at less than the market rate;
(9)
Limit the duration of any building permit for a wireless facility or support
structure to less than 365 days from the issuance of such permit;
(10)
Require an applicant to construct a distributed antenna system; or
(11)
Require a utility pole owner to accept a request for wireless facility
attachments to utility
poles."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.