Permit for collocation of small wireless facilities on authority pole.
Tampa City Code § 22-327.3
in effectSec. 22-327.3. - Permit for collocation of small wireless facilities on authority pole.
As part of any permit application to collocate small wireless facilities on an authority pole, a wireless provider applicant shall provide a permit application that includes, at a minimum, the information described below:
(a) Minimum application submittal requirements. No permit shall be issued unless a wireless provider applicant submits a written application to the city, in accordance with this subdivision. An application for a permit shall be filed in accordance with the submittal requirements set forth in section 22-327.1(a).
(b) Application quantity. An application shall be limited to the quantity set forth in section 22-327.1(b).
(c) Decision and notice for application submittal (completeness): The city shall determine and notify the wireless provider applicant by electronic mail pursuant to the time frames set forth in section 22-327.1(c).
(d) Decision and notice for application (permit issuance/denial): An application shall be processed on a non-discriminatory basis, subject to the following:
(1) A complete application is deemed approved if the city fails to approve or deny the application within sixty (60) days after receipt of the application.
(2) If the application includes multiple small wireless facilities, the city may separately address small wireless facility collocations which are denied.
(3) The city shall notify the wireless provider applicant of approval or denial by electronic mail. If the application is denied, the city shall specify in writing the basis for denial, including the specific code provisions on which the denial was based, and send the documentation to said applicant by electronic mail. The date the electronic mail is sent shall be the date of denial.
(4) If the city does not use the thirty-day negotiation period provided herein, the parties may mutually agree to extend the sixty-day application review period.
(5) The city shall grant or deny the application at the end of the extended period.
(6) The wireless provider applicant may cure the deficiencies identified by the authority and resubmit the application within thirty (30) days after notice of the denial is sent to the wireless provider applicant.
(7) The authority shall approve or deny the revised application within thirty (30) days after receipt or the application is deemed approved. Any subsequent review shall be limited to the deficiencies cited in the denial.
(e) Alternative location. Within fourteen (14) days after the date of filing the application, the city may request that the proposed location of a small wireless facility be moved to another location in the rights-of-way and placed on an alternative authority utility pole (refer to "make ready" provisions set forth in (f)(2) below), support structure, or request the wireless provider applicant to place a new utility pole. The city and the wireless provider applicant may negotiate the alternative location, including any objective design standards and reasonable spacing requirements for ground-based equipment, for thirty (30) days after the date of the request. At the conclusion of the negotiation period, if the alternative location is accepted by the wireless provider applicant, said applicant must notify the authority of such acceptance and the application shall be deemed granted for any new location(s) for which there is agreement. If an agreement is not reached, the wireless provider applicant must notify the authority of such non-agreement and the authority must grant or deny the original application within ninety (90) days after the date the application was filed. A request for an alternative location, an acceptance of an alternative location, or a rejection of an alternative location must be in writing and provided by electronic mail.
(f) Permit review criteria.
(1) The city shall approve an application and issue a right-of-way permit to a wireless provider applicant once said applicant has demonstrated compliance with the following non-discriminatory, objective criteria, applicable codes, and applicable make-ready provisions (refer to subsection (2) below):
a. The height of a small wireless facility shall be limited to ten (10) feet above the existing utility pole upon which the small wireless facility is to be collocated;
b. The height for a new utility pole is limited to the tallest existing utility pole as of July 1, 2017, located in the same rights-of-way, measured from existing grade, within five hundred (500) feet in any direction, of the proposed location of the small wireless facility. If there is no utility pole within five hundred (500) feet, the city shall limit the height of the utility pole to fifty (50) feet;
c. The application shall demonstrate compliance with applicable codes, as defined in this chapter, and design standards set forth in section 22-328;
d. The application shall demonstrate compliance with the requirements set forth in division 4 below for insurance, indemnification, and performance bonds;
e. Airport airspace protections. The application shall include evidence of and statement that any structure to be installed pursuant to this article shall comply with F.S. Ch. 333, and federal regulations pertaining to airport airspace protections.
(2) Authority Make-Ready provisions.
a. Pursuant to F.S. § 337.401(7)(f)5b, for a city-owned utility pole ("authority utility pole" as defined in section 22-5) that supports an aerial facility used to provide communications services or electric service, the parties shall comply with the process for make-ready work under 47 U.S.C. Section 224 and implementing regulations. The good faith estimate of the person owning or controlling the pole for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support the requested collocation must include pole replacement, if necessary.
b. Pursuant to F.S. § 337.401(7)(f)5c, for a city-owned utility pole ("authority utility pole") that does not support an aerial facility used to provide communications services or electric service, the city shall provide a good faith estimate for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support the requested collocation, including necessary pole replacement, within sixty (60) days after receipt of a complete application. Make-ready work, including any pole replacement, must be completed within sixty (60) days after written acceptance of the good faith estimate by the wireless provider applicant.
c. Make-ready alternative. Alternatively, pursuant to F.S. § 337.401(7)(f)5c, the city may require the wireless provider applicant seeking to collocate a small wireless facility to provide a make-ready estimate, at said applicant's expense, for the work necessary to support the small wireless facility, including pole replacement, and perform the make-ready work. If pole replacement is required, the scope of the make-ready estimate is limited to the design, fabrication, and installation of a utility pole that is substantially similar in color and composition. The city may not condition or restrict the manner in which the wireless provider applicant obtains, develops, or provides the estimate or conducts the make-ready work, subject to usual construction restoration standards for work in the right-of-way. The replaced or altered utility pole shall remain the property of the city.
d. Pursuant to F.S. § 337.401(7)(f)5d, the city shall not require more make-ready work than is required to meet applicable codes and/or industry standards. Fees for make-ready work shall not include costs related to pre-existing damage or prior non-compliance. Fees for make-ready work, including any pole replacement, shall not exceed actual costs or the amount charged to communication services providers, other than wireless services providers, and shall not include any consultant fee or expense.
(3) The city may reserve space on authority utility poles for future public safety uses. However, a reservation of space may not preclude collocation of a small wireless facility. If replacement of the authority utility pole is necessary to accommodate the collocation of the small wireless facility and the future public safety use, the pole replacement is subject to make-ready provisions and the replaced pole shall accommodate the future public safety use.
(4) Collocation of small wireless facilities on authority utility poles is subject to the following requirements:
a. The city shall not enter into an exclusive arrangement with any person for the right to attach equipment to authority utility poles;
b. The rates and fees for collocations on authority utility poles must be nondiscriminatory, regardless of the services provided by the collocating person;
c. The rate to collocate small wireless facilities on an authority utility pole shall be one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per pole annually, or maximum amount allowed by applicable law.
(5) The city shall deny a proposed collocation of a small wireless facility in the public rights-of-way, if the proposed collocation:
a. Materially interferes with the safe operation of traffic control equipment;
b. Materially interferes with sight lines or clear zones for transportation, pedestrians, or public safety purposes;
c. Materially interferes with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar federal or state standards regarding pedestrian access or movement;
d. Materially fails to comply with the 2010 Florida Department of Transportation Utility Accommodation Manual;
e. Fails to comply with criteria set forth in (e)(1) through (4) above and/or applicable codes (as defined in section 22-5).
(Ord. No. 2017-150, § 50, 10-26-2017)
Source: City of Tampa, Code of Ordinances and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/tampa/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH22STSI_ARTIVCOFAPURI-W_DIV3GEPEREPR_SD2SPPEAPREREPR_S22-327.3PECOSMWIFAAUPOFetched: 10/28/2026