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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2665 Extending Moratorium on Wireless FacilitiesOrdinance No. ~ ~ ~ -~ AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBER 2638, WHICH ADOPTED AN IMMEDIATE 6-MONTIt MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR AND ISSUANCE OF ANY PERMIT OR APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES, AND EXTENDING THE MORATORIUM FOR SIX MONTHS TO APRIL 19, 1999 WHEREAS, the Federal Telecommunications ACt of 1996 (Public Law No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56, 31-136, herdnafler the "Act,") was designed to remove regulatory barriers and encourage competition among all types of communications companies; and WHEREAS, the Act ratifies the authority of local government to regulate telecommunications services and carriers, bfit also limits lbcal government's authority in certain respects; and WHEREAS, the Act allows the Federal Communications Commission (the "FCC") to preempt any local government regulation which prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications services (Public Law No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 70, Section 253(a)); and the city needs to review its codes and ordinances in a comprehensive fashion to determine whether its existing regulations are consistent with the Act and to adopt new regulations; and WHEREAS, the City imposed a six-month moratorium barring the acceptance of applications relating to franchises, use of the public streets by either franchise or right-of-way use permits, building permits and zoning code permits for antennas (conditional use permits) for wifeless telecommunications services, until the necessary code revisions are complete; and WHEREAS, the City Council found that enactment of Ordinance 2638 constituted an emergency, due to the rapidly changing telecommunications industry and the fact that the current city code and regulations do not adequately address the potential environmental, scientific, economic, infrastructure and aesthetic impacts associated with the type, number and siting of wireless telecommunications facilities and equipment located and likely to be prOposed for location within the City of Port Townsend; and WHEREAS, this emergency is further supported by the unnecessary burden placed on the wifeless telecommunications industry if such companies attempt to process applications under a structure that is ill-suited to review the technological issUes involved in such applications; and WHEREAS, the City Council found that a moratorium on the issuance of permits for wireless telecommunications facih'ties and equipment was necessary to enable the City Council to formulate a comprehensive permitting process which addresses impacts, mitigati°n requirements, corridors for preferred siting, and promotes competition to protect and benefit the public interest; and WHEREAS, the potential adverse impacts on the public health, property, safety and welfare of the City, as discussed above, justified the declaration of an emergency; and WHEREAS, since April of 1998, the City formed an ad hoc committee (the "Wireless Committee"), consisting of a two city council members (one member from the Utilities Committee and one member who acts as chair of the l_and Use Committee), representatives from the Historic Preservation Committee and Planning Commission, three Port Townsend citizens and representatives from the BCD Department and City Attorney's Office; and WHEREAS, this Committee has held numerous policy setting meetings, including a meeting with industry 'representatives from Western Wireless, has diligently worked on a draft ordinance and is continuing to revise and develop a draft ordinance for review by the Planning Commission and recommended adoption by the City Council; and W[IEREAS, the Wireless Committee expects to complete the draft ordinance by the end of November, 1998, at which time review of the ordinance and a public hearing before the Planning Commission will be scheduled; and WI:IERF_AS, the City Council desires to extend the moratorium for an additional 6 months to complete this review process, NOW, TItEREFO~, the City Council of the City of Port Townsend does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. t~t~aratima-~ ~ moratorium.~,.',,,,,.,~[,.,.m,,,: ..... ~'- ~----'--- deetared The moratorium adopted by Ordinance No. 2638 with respect to the acceptance of applications for and the issuance of any permit or approval currently required to construct, install, repair, remove, relocate, or perform any other work on wireless telecommunications equipment and facilities~ within the City of Port Townsend is hereby extended. This moratorium includes, but is not limited to, conditional use permits, right-of-Way use permits, shoreline substantial ~ Defined as cellular antenna facilities and towers, personal communications services (PCS) antenna facilities and towers, and any other personal wireless services equipment and facilities, specifically excluding local translators for commercial and public radio broadcast use. 2 ora. development permits, shoreline conditional use permits, franchise agreements, building permits and variances. SECTION 2. Purpose. The purpose of this moratorium is to allow the City adequate time to comprehensively study the Telecommunications Act, determine whether the City's existing ordinances and codes are consistent with the Act, and develop new ordinances to amend inconsistencies and/or cover situations not addressed by existing regulations. SECTION 3. Restrictions on rights-of-way. During the moratorium, no person may construct, install, repair, remove, relocate, or perform any other work on wireless telecommunications equipment or any part thereof that is located in, over or under any public right-of-way located within the City of Port Townsend, without the prior approval of the City Council. This moratorium shall not apply to repair and maintenance of existing telecommunications equipment and facih'ties, or installation of new telecommunications equipment and facilities, which are located in public fights-of-way and owned by holders of existing franchises granted by the City of Port Townsend or are exempt from the City's franchising authority. SECTION 4. Exemptions. This moratorium specifi~y exempts any radio transmission or receiving antenna or telecommunications device preempted from regulation by the FCC under PRB-1 or any other federal or state statute or regulation and shall be interpreted to exempt federally regulated facilities preempted from local regulation. SECTION 5, Duration. This moratorium shall be in effect for six months beginning on the effective date of this amend~ ordinance until April 19; 1999. SECTION 6. ,.~-'.c.g ,,.. ~ , ...... '~ '~ llll~l~Vll VI ~1~1 UI~ lllVla[VllUlll. SECTION 7. Subjects for consideration. City staff is hereby directed to continue developillg a comprehensive wireless telecommunications facilities siting ordinance. The City Council directs the BCD Director and City Attorney's Office to consider the following subjects in preparing the ordinance: mandates contained in the Telecommunications Act of 1996; new or different permit and/or approval processes for different telecommunication facilities and site 3 Ord. ?__./_,,/_aS conditions; occupancy charges/fees for siting in public areas; identifying preferred corridors in which to locate various types of equipment; co-location of facilities and/or shared facilities; colors and placement; inspection requirements and costs; right-of-way use restrictions; notice reqUirements; undergrounding requirements; relocations neccs~ to serve a public purpose; reasonable notice and response requirements; insurance and bonding requirements; removal/repair guidelines; nuisance and abatement procedures for obsolete, unused or abandoned equipment; aesthetic concerns; use of "stealth" t~hnology; promoting competition amongst providers; "latecomer" issues for companies entering the market; and similar regulations as may have been addressed in other jurisdictions. SECTION 87. Emergency declared - Immediate effect. For the reasons set forth above, and to promote the objectives stated heroin, the City Council finds that a public emergency exists, necessitating that this ordinance take effect immediately upon its passage by a majority of the Council in order to protect the public health, safety, property, and general welfare. Without an immediate moratorium on the City's acceptance of permit applications under the building and zoning codes, processing of such applications by the City could occur under regulations that are inconsistent with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and regulations that could possibly be preempted by the FCC. Therefore, extension of the City's moratorium must be imposed immediately to prevent any development rights from vesting and the City's ability to process applications under valid codes preserved. SECTION-9 8. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such order or judgment shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remainder of any part of this Ordinance. To this end, the provisions of each clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this law are declared severable. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force five days after the date of its publication in the manner provided by law. 4 Ord. Read for the first, second, and third times and adopted by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend, Washington, at a regular meeting thereof, held this 19th day of October, 1998. Attest: Pam Kolacy, City C~lerk~ 04121/98 [Cable] Ord\{amord-26.doe} Julie~cCulloch, Mayor l ity Attorney 5 Ora.