This today from the Massachusetts Municipal Association –
June 16, 2014
LOCAL ZONING THREATENED BY WIRELESS TELECOM INDUSTRY BILLS
BILLS WOULD STRIP CITIES AND TOWNS OF CONTROL OVER WIRELESS FACILITIES
HOUSE ADOPTS LAST-MINUTE INDUSTRY AMENDMENT IN ECON. DEV. BILL
SENATE BILL 2183 MOVES OUT OF COMMITTEE
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY TO STOP THIS TAKE-OVER
The telecommunications industry is moving quickly to fast-track legislation to pre-empt virtually all municipal zoning or control over the siting of wireless antennas and equipment in Massachusetts.
These powerful companies are determined to pass a state law that would allow them to place wireless antennas and equipment on any building or structure in any location in any community, and override all zoning and any local provision or condition to protect neighborhoods and the public from unsightly and intrusive antennas.
The legislation has surfaced late in the session, and is advancing quickly through both the House and Senate. Local officials must contact their Senators and Representatives today to stop this effort to trample municipal control.
The Telecom Industry is Pursuing Two Routes
• The Legislature’s Economic Development Bill. Last week, by a voice vote, House members attached this industry-written language to the House’s economic development bill (Sections 74 and 75 of H. 4181), which was passed by the House of Representatives and is now before the Senate. Senate leaders have pledged to propose their own economic development bill, and it is certain that the wireless telecommunications companies will attempt to attach the same language to override local control.
• S. 2183 – “An Act Upgrading Mobile Broadband Coverage in the Commonwealth.” This stand-alone bill with language identical to Sections 74 and 75 of the House economic development bill has also been sent from the Committee on Telecommunications and Energy, and is now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The bill could advance at any moment.
Local officials must call their Senators immediately and tell them to oppose S. 2183 AND any attempt to pre-empt local control in the Senate’s economic development bill.
The Telecom Industry Bill Would Override All Local Decision-Making
S. 2183 and Sections 74 and 75 of the House economic development bill would allow telecommunications companies to “collocate” unlimited new antennas and equipment on any and all existing buildings and structures, regardless of the impact on neighborhoods or interference with public rights-of-ways.
The amendment would allow all wireless telecommunications companies to install or upgrade wireless antennas and equipment on any building or structure in Massachusetts. These structures could include commercial or residential buildings, water towers, cell towers and even homes – with NO effective local government authority to regulate. The telecom companies could ignore all municipal zoning provisions, ordinances and bylaws – including height limits, set-back requirements, or the ability to require aesthetic modifications to ensure the antennas and equipment blend in.
Municipalities would also have no recourse to ensure that unused or abandoned facilities must be removed in the future. The wireless telecommunications provider would only need to comply with the state building code, which is a very low technical standard.
The measure envisions no role for the general public, and fails to recognize that citizens have a right to basic zoning protections that guarantee accountability on the part of developers.
Under this proposal, in order to obtain a “collocation” permit, a mobile broadband provider would merely need to submit an application to the appropriate issuing authority in a municipality, and the city or town would have only 90 calendar days to review and act upon the “collocation” application, and could only reject applications that fail to meet the state building code. Under the language of the bill, telecom companies could start the “90 day shot-clock” by submitting incomplete applications, and have up to 45 days to complete their submissions, leaving cities and towns only 45 days to review a completed application. If a municipality does not complete its review 90 days from the start of the “shot clock,” applicants could immediately go to court to compel the issuance of a license, short-circuiting the local process. This irresponsible provision would in no way benefit the community.
The cities and towns of the Commonwealth support expanding and upgrading wireless telecommunications services throughout the state for the benefit of consumers, but the expansion simply cannot come at the expense of the quality of life for residents.
Specific provisions of the bill include:
• No zoning ordinance or bylaw shall prohibit, regulate or restrict collocation of wireless facilities on existing structures in any way inconsistent with the industry legislation;
• The issuing authority of a city or town must grant approval of all applications for the “collocation” of wireless antennas and equipment on any existing building or structure (except utility poles), as long as the application complies with the state building code;
• Cities and towns must also approve all applications to expand existing stand-alone cell towers (including monopoles), unless the proposals would increase the height or width of the tower by 10 percent or 20 feet (whichever is more) – which means that the industry could take camouflaged antennas inside a monopole and attach a 20-foot wide antenna, and go up 20 feet, and communities would have no say;
• The issuing authority has only 90 days to approve the application – if cities and towns take longer than 90 days, then the telecom companies could immediately go to court, with approval virtually assured because the court’s only standard would be compliance with the state building code, and NO local bylaws, ordinances or zoning provisions would be allowed;
• Communities could NOT require companies to remove obsolete, abandoned or unused antennas and equipment; and
• Communities could not require a higher fee for reviewing an application than for other types of commercial applications, and fees for technical consulting would be capped at $1,000.
The FCC is Promulgating National Standards on Wireless Antenna Siting – But the Telecomm Industry is Working Feverishly to Win More Favorable Rules in Massachusetts
In 2012, Congress and the President enacted “The Spectrum Act” that will implement a nation-wide uniform process for the collocation of wireless antennas and equipment. At this moment, the FCC is promulgating final regulations that will govern the build-out of the wireless telecommunications network, and it is expected that the FCC will give industry its often-stated top goal of a time-limited expedited application process. The FCC’s rules are expected by September 2014.
Why is the telecom industry jumping to Massachusetts and other states to win a complete override of local zoning, when the FCC is on the verge of issuing its decision? The answer is clear: the FCC may give deference to local zoning rules, and allow cities and towns to act in the public interest. In particular, the FCC could allow municipalities to have zoning provisions, ordinances and bylaws on height limits, set-back requirements, or the ability to require aesthetic modifications to ensure the antennas and equipment blend in.
The Legislature should reject this fast-track attempt by the wireless industry to ignore the FCC process, and wait until the federal government issues its final rules later this year.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE ANY ATTEMPT TO PASS S. 2183 OR ANY AMENDMENT TO THE SENATE’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BILL THAT WOULD STRIP CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE ABILITY TO REGULATE WIRELESS ANTENNAS. THE LEGISLATURE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE FCC MAKES ITS FINAL RULING ON NATIONAL STANDARDS.
After you call your Senators, please call your Representatives and tell them that Sections 74 and 75 of the House economic development bill (H. 4181) would strip communities of any control over wireless antennas – ask for their commitment to stop this attempt by the telecom industry to build whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want.
THANK YOU!
