§ 8. Application review; decisions; time-frames.

a.

Review of applications shall be in light of its conformity with applicable regulations of this Article and shall be issued on a nondiscriminatory basis.

b.

Notice of Deficient Application. Within 14 days after receiving an application, the city shall determine and notify the applicant by electronic mail to the email address provided in the application as to whether the application is complete. If an application is deemed incomplete, the city shall specifically identify the missing information. An application is deemed complete if the city does not provide notification to the applicant within 14 days; however, this does not otherwise prohibit the city from requesting additional information or clarification as to answers or documents provided.

c.

Application Review Period within maximum of ninety (90) days. The Mayor or his designee shall approve or deny an application within sixty (60) days after receipt of the complete application for colocation on an existing support structure. The Mayor or his designee may extend review of an application to attach Facilities to a new Support Structure up to thirty (30) additional days or immediately refer it to the be placed on the next regular or called meeting agenda of the Planning & Zoning Commission for determination. The intent is for the application review period to be complete within a maximum of ninety (90) days.

d.

If the city fails to act on an application within ninety (90) days, the Applicant may provide notice that the time period for acting has lapsed and the application is then deemed approved.

e.

Notification Procedure. The city shall notify the applicant in writing of its final decision, and in the final decision document the basis for a denial, including specific code provisions on which the denial was based, and send the documentation to the applicant on or before the day the city denies the application.

f.

Opportunity to Cure Deficiencies. The applicant may cure the deficiencies identified by the city and resubmit the application within 30 days of the denial without paying an additional application fee. The city shall approve or deny the revised application within 30 days of receipt of the amended application. The subsequent review by the city shall be limited to the deficiencies cited in the original denial.

g.

Consolidated Applications. An Applicant may file a consolidated application and receive a single permit for approval of up to 30 small wireless facilities. If the application includes Facilities then the city may separately address each collocation for which incomplete information has been received or which are denied. If the Project requires expediting then provisions of Section 8(1) and Section 9(e) may be applicable.

h.

Alternative Collocations.

1)

If an Applicant seeks to place a wireless facility upon a city utility pole or seeks to install a new utility pole, the city may, within 14 days after the date that a wireless facility application is filed, request the proposed location of the wireless facility be moved to another location in the right-of-way and placed on an alternative city utility pole or support structure or may place a new utility pole.

2)

The city and the 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 applicant, the applicant must notify the city of such acceptance and the application shall be deemed granted for any new location for which there is agreement and all other locations in the application.

3)

If an agreement is not reached as to a requested alternative location, the applicant must notify the city of such non-agreement and may petition for review by the Planning and Zoning Commission of the sole location at issue. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall hear this at the next scheduled meeting and shall have the final say in a dispute about collocation on the sole location presented if such request cannot be resolved by the Director of Building and Inspections. The remaining locations as contained in the original application may proceed forward while review occurs on the disputed requested location.

4)

Electronic mail is a sufficient writing for the purposes of Alternative Collocation correspondence only and does not extend to this Article as a whole.

i.

Director of Building and Inspections or Mayor's designee. The Mayor or his designee shall expeditiously determine if a permit application is to be issued and may establish an expedited time process for consideration and processing of applications, so long as the requisite factors of consideration and applicable codes as contained in this Article are preserved.

j.

Appeal of Decision by Director of Building and Inspections or Mayor's designee. Upon denial by the Director of Building and Inspections or Mayor's designee, the Applicant may provide a written appeal to the City Clerk within fifteen (15) days for reconsideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and placement on the next regularly scheduled agenda of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting, notification shall be sent to all within 500 feet of the proposed location, notifying each residence and/or business of the time, place and location of the hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Consideration shall be had from, at minimum, the City Engineer, Building and Inspections Official, Zoning Official, and Police Department, regarding their recommendations as to the effect of the Facilities and Equipment to the character and style of the surrounding area. A majority of the quorum present shall be determinative of if the permit is granted.

k.

Appeal to Circuit Court. Upon denial of the Planning & Zoning Commission, an appeal may be had to the Circuit Court of Jefferson County or Shelby County, Alabama within fifteen (15) days of the Commission's decision.

l.

Repealed.

(Ord. No. 18-2378 , 6-4-18; Ord. No. 18-2385 , § 4, 6-18-18)