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Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Master Plan - Town of Morrisville, NC – Adopted July 23, 2013
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Fourth, local government cannot deny an application for a new wireless facility or the expansion
of an existing facility on the grounds that radio frequency emissions are harmful to the
environment or to human health (provided federal standards are met by the wireless provider).
Additionally, the FCC provided two Fact Sheets to further explain the goals and objectives of the
Act. Included in Fact Sheet 1 is the suggestion for local government to the use of third party
professional review of site applications. Specifically stated, “Local zoning authorities may wish
to retain a consulting engineer to evaluate the proposals submitted by wireless communications
licensees. The consulting engineer may be able to determine if there is some flexibility as to the
geographic location of the tower.”
The full text of the Act is provided in Attachment 1.
North Carolina House Bill 831
In 2007 the General Assembly for the State of North Carolina approved legislation providing
guidance to how local governments in North Carolina could regulate the industry. The North
Carolina General Statutes (SB 831) is provided in its entirety in Appendix D. Below are some
highlights of the House Bill:
•
Land use regulations for new towers could address aesthetics, landscaping, location
priorities, structural design, setbacks and fall zones.
•
Applicants are required to submit a completed application to the appropriate planning
authority.
•
Local government could not require information on or evaluate and application based on
the applicant’s business plan, network design, customer demand or quality of service to
a particular geographic area.
•
Local governments could promote (not require) the use of publically owned land and
facilities for new wireless infrastructure.
•
Collocations meeting House Bill criteria entitled to streamlined review and approval
process within 45 days of submission.
Federal Communications Commission Declaratory Ruling November 18, 2009
In states where there is no specific state statutory obligation on local jurisdictions (which
includes the Commonwealth of Virginia) the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling will apply and impose
upon local jurisdictions a timeline in which it must act upon wireless siting applications. The
November 18, 2009
Declaratory Ruling
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regarding timelines for local government to act upon a
wireless siting application specifies a local government agency has thirty (30) days from receipt
of an application for a new tower or collocation to determine if the application is complete or
incomplete. Additionally the FCC provided the following deadlines for the local government
decision process:
1
Declaratory Ruling
, FCC 09-99 (Released November 18, 2009)