FCC rule change to effect tower, antenna structures | City joins coalition appealing agency’s rule

The Bellevue City Council begrudgingly adopted a resolution on April 6 that complies with new Federal Communications Commission rules that allow wireless facilities to expand to heights and widths City Attorney Lori Riordan cautioned could change the city's landscape but would be worse if the council did nothing.

By Brandon Macz • April 10, 2015 2:42 pm

The Bellevue City Council begrudgingly adopted a resolution on April 6 that complies with new Federal Communications Commission rules that allow wireless facilities to expand to heights and widths City Attorney Lori Riordan cautioned could change the city’s landscape but would be worse if the council did nothing.

The revised Spectrum Act, which took effect last Wednesday, allows a wireless provider with an antenna tower to increase its size for additional equipment or modifications by up to 20 feet in height and 6 feet in width. A provider with wireless equipment located on an existing structure like a light pole can increase heights up to 10 feet and 6 feet in width. An applicant may also add up to four cabinet facilities in a right of way the size of home refrigerators.

Under the FCC rule, the city is not allowed to deny any eligible applications and must process permits within 60 days or the application is deemed granted, Riordan said.

“It does have the effect of taking away some of the local control that we have had over the deployment and permitting process,” Riordan said, “and does really restrict our ability to require some mitigation of expansion and colocation facilities.”

The city’s Development Services Department requested last week that the council approve the resolution before the Spectrum Act took effect to give the department time to develop a work program that may be able to mitigate some impacts from the new federal regulations.

“It’s very important that we actually comply with this order because, of course, if we don’t we’ll face this potential for permit applications being deemed actually approved,” Riordan said.

She said the city has plans to offer its facilities for locating tower and antenna sites for new applications, so it will be able to control modifications in a proprietary capacity rather than simply regulatory.

The city has joined a coalition of local governments that have filed an appeal with the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to seek judicial determination that the FCC took its interpretation of the rule too far and to compel the agency to return some local control.