04-10-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and Members of City Council FROM: Chris Heineman, City Adminsitrator Bill Dircks, Public Works Director Jessica Jagoe, Associate Planner DATE: April 5, 2019 RE: Small Cell Wireless Design Guidelines In December 2017, the City Council approved amending Chapter 2302 of the City Code, Telecommunications, to include regulations for small cell wireless sites in the City. Small cell wireless sites are part of the next phase of upgrades to 5G for cellular phone carriers. They will likely be placed on existing utility and streetlight poles or on newly installed poles intended for the small cell wireless equipment. The ordinance that was adopted was based on the League of Minnesota Cities model ordinance and it incorporated all of the major points of emphasis that needed to be addressed. City staff had been working with Michael Bradley, an attorney who works with CTV among other clients. He had proposed helping numerous cities with the ordinance at a cost of $750 per city but did not have anything ready by the January 1, 2018 deadline. If Mr. Bradley’s ordinance varied significantly from the model ordinance provided by the League, staff may have recommended switching, but the end product was not much different from the previously adopted ordinance. The Federal Communication Commission order addressing the deployment of small cell wireless facilities became effective on January 14, 2019. The order did allow for cities to regulate the aesthetics of the small cell wireless facilities provided those regulations were not overly burdensome. Cities were given until April 15, 180 days following the order, to develop aesthetic guidelines for aesthetics for small cell wireless facilities. The League of Minnesota Cities was very helpful in providing guidelines and policies put together by other cities. After looking at those that were provided, staff decided to follow the template put together by Northfield and later used by Winthrop. The guidelines are very thorough and cover issues that will likely arise from applications. The key highlights include where the City prefers these sites be located in the City, how high they need to be, what color they need to be, how the equipment needs to be secured, and numerous other details that will help keep the sites relatively camouflaged within their surroundings. Staff recommends approving the small cell wireless design guidelines as presented.