HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2016-02-25 ITEM 6 - PUBLIC HEARING: TMC 18.58 WIRELESS FACILITIES - STAFF REPORTCity of Tukwila
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
Department of Community Development - Jack Pace, Director
STAFF REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
Prepared February 17, 2016
HEARING DATE: February 25, 2016
FILE NUMBERS: L15 -oo14 Wireless Communications Update
APPLICANT: City of Tukwila
REQUEST: Updates to TMC 18.58, the Wireless Communication Facilities
regulations, are needed to come into compliance with new Federal
Communication Commission rules. The Planning Commission will hold a
hearing on the code changes and forward a recommendation to the City
Council for review and adoption.
LOCATION:
NOTIFICATION:
Citywide
Hearing Notice was published in the Seattle Times on February 11, 2016,
and posted on the City of Tukwila website on February 17, 2016.
SEPA DETERMINATION: Exempt
STAFF: Nora Gierloff, Deputy DCD Director
ATTACHMENTS: A. Draft Wireless Facilities Ordinance
B. 2/8/16 Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting minutes
Tukwila City Hall • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206- 433 -1800 • Website: TukwilaWA.gov
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BACKGROUND
New regulations regarding wireless communication facilities were included in the Middle Class Tax
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Spectrum Act).' In that legislation Section 64o9(a) provides, in
part, that "a State or local government may not deny, and shall approve, any eligible facilities request
for a modification of an existing wireless tower or base station that does not substantially change the
physical dimensions of such tower or base station. "2 The intention was to streamline approval of
technology updates by wireless carriers. The FCC elaborated this mandate into new rules that require
cities to approve qualified applications within 6o days, allow limited expansion at these sites and
clarify that these rules cannot be used to defeat any "stealthing" conditions that applied to the original
approval of the site.
The full text of the FCC Wireless Infrastructure Report and Order can be found at
http: / /www.fcc.gov/ document /wireless- infrastructure - report- and -order . In order to comply with the
mandate staff has prepared the code amendments in Attachment A.
The draft ordinance was reviewed by CAP on February 8, 2016 and they forwarded it to the Planning
Commission for a hearing and recommendation.
FINDINGS
Tukwila has three main categories of wireless facilities ranging from least to most obtrusive. The
higher the category the more information is needed from the applicant to justify the installation. The
proposed new permit type, eligible facilities modification, would be categorized as Type 1 because it is
limited to colocations on towers and buildings with existing antenna arrays. These installations must
also abide by any "stealthing" requirements placed on the original approval and must not constitute a
substantial change to the site as defined in the ordinance.
These rule changes can be accommodated by minor edits to Tukwila's existing zoning regulations for
wireless communication facilities. The primary effect is to require that we issue permit decisions for
affected proposals within 6o days, rather than the current 120 day clock. As our review is generally
faster than that it should have little impact.
Staff has made the draft ordinance available to wireless industry representatives for their comments.
The issue of height exemptions for Bird Safety /Exclusionary devices was raised by the Port of Seattle,
who requested that carriers install bird exclusionary devices on existing towers within 5 miles of
SeaTac Airport to reduce the likelihood of bird strikes on airplanes and prevent injury to the birds.
• 9o% of cell tower nests are Ospreys
• 5% of cell tower nests are Bald Eagles
• 2.5% of cell tower nests are Red - tailed Hawks
• 2.5% of cell tower nests are Great Horned Owls
See Spectrum Act § 6409(a). Section 6409(a) has since been codified in the Communications Act as 47 U.S.C. § 1455(a).
2 Spectrum Act § 6409(a)(1).
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AT &T also requested that we exempt single purpose cell towers from the Zoning building height
limits. Staff does not support this change as there are other options including co- location on existing
utility poles, building mounted installations and an existing height waiver process at 18.58.170 in the
case of particular hardship.
In addition to these changes we are proposing some housekeeping edits including:
• Clarifying when updating antenna technology is exempt from wireless permit review
• Replacing references to the Planning Commission with the Hearing Examiner per TMC
18.104.010
• Reflecting case law since 2006 when the chapter was rewritten
REQUESTED ACTION
The Planning Commission is asked to hold a hearing on the proposed ordinance, develop a
recommended version and forward it to the City Council for final action.
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