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Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of Thursday, February 28, 2019 <br />Chair Kleissler called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. <br />PRESENT: Arcand, Derr, Fry, Kleissler, Luchsinger, Mulvihill, Tjemlund. <br />ABSENT: Lessard. <br />STAFF: Rachel Juba, Community Development Director <br />Emily Weber, Community Development Assistant <br />Approval of Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of January 24, 2018 <br />Commissioner Derr made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Tjernlund, to approve minutes for the meeting <br />of January 24, 2018. <br />All Ayes. Motion carried. <br />Public Hearing — Amendments to Right-of-way and Telecommunications Ordinance to Regulate Small <br />Wireless Facilities <br />Weber provided background on the Right-of-way (ROW) and Telecommunications Ordinances and why <br />amendments need to be made. The City's public ROW is the area along City streets and is usually ten feet from <br />the edge of the road. The City has a ROW ordinance so they can properly manage the public ROW and any ROW <br />user, including the small wireless facility providers. <br />A small wireless facility is a newer technology that is a complimentary piece of equipment to traditional cell <br />towers and provides additional cellular data coverage for wireless carriers. Facilities are small enough to be <br />mounted on existing structures such as light poles and power lines, which are often found in the public ROW. <br />The antenna and all exposed elements of the small wireless facility can fit within an enclosure of no more than <br />six cubic feet. Small wireless facilities work in a network meaning multiple facilities are needed within a two <br />mile radius and are usually placed in a line, often how you see utility poles. <br />Weber stated that staff made revisions to the ROW ordinance that requires a permit for anyone wanting to install <br />a wireless support structure or to collocate a small wireless facility in the ROW. No permit is necessary to conduct <br />routine maintenance of a small wireless facility or to replace a facility of the same size and design. Weber also <br />went through the conditions that will apply to small wireless facility permits. <br />Staff recommended approval of the proposed text amendments to the City Code and recommended opening a <br />public hearing to take any and all comments. <br />Commissioner Fry asked for clarification on what kind of control the City has over the installation of new wireless <br />support structures and stated his concern with the amount of structures that could potentially be installed. Weber <br />responded by stating the height limitations and design guidelines for new wireless support structures as well as <br />stating that the City can impose reasonable separation requirements between new structures and existing structures <br />in the ROW. Juba went on to clarify that the State Statute limits what Cities can and cannot do, making the <br />regulations for small wireless facilities limited. <br />Chair Kleissler opened the public hearing at 7:15pm <br />Chair Kleissler closed the public hearing at 7:15pm. <br />