Subject to Subsection (2), the provisions of this chapter, and applicable federal law, an authority may continue to exercise zoning, land use, planning, and permitting authority within the authority’s territorial boundaries, including with respect to wireless support structures and utility poles.
Terms Used In Utah Code 54-21-103
Application: means a request submitted by a wireless provider to an authority for a permit to:
(a)
collocate a small wireless facility in a right-of-way; or
(b)
install, modify, or replace a utility pole or a wireless support structure. See Utah Code 54-21-101
Authority: means :
(i)
the state;
(ii)
a state agency;
(iii)
a county;
(iv)
a municipality;
(v)
a town;
(vi)
a metrotownship;
(vii)
a subdivision of an entity described in Subsections (6)(a)(i) through (vi); or
(viii)
a special district or entity established to provide a single public service within a specific geographic area, including:
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Nondiscriminatory: means treating similarly situated entities the same absent a reasonable, and competitively neutral basis, for different treatment. See Utah Code 54-21-101
Permit: means a written authorization an authority requires for a wireless provider to perform an action or initiate, continue, or complete a project. See Utah Code 54-21-101
Right-of-way: means the area on, below, or above a public:
(i)
roadway;
(ii)
highway;
(iii)
street;
(iv)
sidewalk;
(v)
alley; or
(vi)
property similar to property listed in Subsections (24)(a)(i) through (v). See Utah Code 54-21-101
Small wireless facility: means a type of wireless facility:
(a)
on which each wireless provider's antenna could fit within an enclosure of no more than six cubic feet in volume; and
(b)
for which all wireless equipment associated with the wireless facility, whether ground-mounted or pole-mounted, is cumulatively no more than 28 cubic feet in volume, not including any:
(i)
electric meter;
(ii)
concealment element;
(iii)
telecommunications demarcation box;
(iv)
grounding equipment;
(v)
power transfer switch;
(vi)
cut-off switch;
(vii)
vertical cable run for the connection of power or other service;
(viii)
wireless provider antenna; or
(ix)
coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is immediately adjacent to or directly associated with a particular collocation, unless the cable is a wireline backhaul facility. See Utah Code 54-21-101
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Utility pole: means a pole or similar structure that:
(i)
is in a right-of-way; and
(ii)
is or may be used, in whole or in part, for:
(A)
wireline communications;
(B)
electric distribution;
(C)
lighting;
(D)
traffic control;
(E)
signage;
(F)
a similar function to a function described in Subsections (28)(a)(ii)(A) through (E); or
Wireless facility: means equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless communication between user equipment and a communications network, including:
(i)
equipment associated with wireless communications; and
(ii)
regardless of the technological configuration, a radio transceiver, an antenna, a coaxial or fiber-optic cable, a regular or backup power supply, or comparable equipment. See Utah Code 54-21-101
Wireless provider: means a wireless infrastructure provider or a wireless service provider. See Utah Code 54-21-101
An authority may exercise the authority’s police-power-based regulations for the management of a public right-of-way:
(a)
on a nondiscriminatory basis to all users of the right-of-way;
(b)
to the extent of the authority’s jurisdiction; and
(c)
consistent with state and federal law.
(3)
An authority may impose a regulation based on the authority’s police power in the management of an activity of a wireless provider in a public right-of-way, if:
(a)
to the extent the authority enforces the regulation, the authority enforces the regulation on a nondiscriminatory basis; and
(b)
the purpose of the regulation is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
(4)
An authority may adopt design standards for the installation and construction of a small wireless facility or utility pole in a public right-of-way that:
(a)
are reasonable and nondiscriminatory; and
(b)
include additional installation and construction details that do not conflict with this chapter, including a requirement that:
(i)
an industry standard pole load analysis be completed and submitted to an authority, indicating that the utility pole, to which the small wireless facility is to be attached, will safely support the load; or
(ii)
small wireless facility equipment, on new and existing utility poles, be placed higher than eight feet above ground level.
(5)
(a)
A wireless provider shall comply with an authority’s design standards described in Subsection (4), if any, in place on the day on which the wireless provider files a permitapplication in relation to work for which the authority approves the permit application.
(b)
An authority’s obligations under this chapter may not be tolled or extended pending the adoption or modification of design standards.
(6)
A wireless provider may not install a new utility pole in a public right-of-way without the authority’s discretionary, nondiscriminatory, and written consent, if the public right-of-way is adjacent to a street or thoroughfare that is:
(a)
not more than 60 feet wide, as depicted in the official plat records; and
(b)
adjacent to single-family residential lots, other multifamily residences, or undeveloped land that is designated for residential use by zoning or deed restrictions.
(7)
Nothing in this chapter authorizes the state or any political subdivision, including an authority, to:
(a)
require the deployment of a wireless facility; or
(b)
regulate a wireless service.
(8)
Except as provided in this chapter or otherwise specifically authorized by state law, an authority may not impose or collect a tax, fee, or charge on a communications service provider authorized to operate in a right-of-way for the provision of communications service over the communications service provider‘s communications facilities in the right-of-way.
