City Council Minutes 2018 10 02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes October 2, 2018 Page 8 of 15 new technology comes we aren't fighting over the poles. She stated her preference for allowing higher poles like Broomfield. Mayor Muckle agreed. Sherry Sommer, 910 South Palisade Court, asked what the density of poles will be. Ken Fellman, Kissinger and Fellman, City consultant, stated existing State and Federal rules allow each network to decide how dense their facilities will be. Some neighborhoods might be more impacted, but it is up to the private sector. He stated the FCC recently amended their rules and they impact cities heavily and a court challenge is expected. It includes language stating a local impediment to service is a violation of Federal law which can include pole height limitations and application fees. He stated his advice for his clients is not to make code changes to address this order until we know what the final rules will be as we have good legal standing until this is resolved. Fellman stated that related to the Comcast email, State law states communities may continue to require permits for micro facilities because the type of work needed for installation (closing traffic to access a site, working in the right-of-way) requires a permit. He feels the current practices and rules are acceptable under State law and no exception is required. Mayor Muckle closed the public hearing. Councilmember Maloney asked the City Attorney if we should continue the item to address the comments from Comcast. City Attorney Kelly stated that on this matter she would defer to Mr. Fellman for legal advice as he is the expert in this field. Mayor Pro Tem Lipton asked staff if we should we wait until we have final information on the FCC rules. Ritchie stated this ordinance is also required to meet current State law related to small cell facilities. If the FCC rules are more restrictive in the end we can address that. Fellman stated many companies don't want to wait and they do have a use by right to install these facilities under State law, so it is important to get some rules in place so we have design rules to protect us. Councilmember Loo stated we need to be prepared for 5G so we aren't behind; we should get it right the first time. Councilmember Stolzmann moved to approve Ordinance 1763, Series 2018; Mayor Muckle seconded the motion. Councilmember Stolzmann stated we need to update the code to bring it into regulatory compliance with the existing Federal and State rules. She asked staff to continue to look at the regulations to determine if changes are needed.