Section 4939.0315 | Restrictions on municipal authority.

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• Effective: March 21, 2017
• Legislation: House Bill 331 - 131st General Assembly

With respect to the provision of any micro wireless facility, a municipal corporation shall not do any of the following:

(A) Require the requestor to submit information about, or evaluate a requestor's business decisions with respect to, the requestor's service, customer demand, or quality of service to or from a particular area or site;

(B) Require the requestor to submit information about the need for the micro wireless facility or the associated wireless support structure, including additional wireless coverage, capacity, or increased speeds;

(C) Require the requestor to justify the need for the new micro wireless facility or associated wireless support structure, or to submit business information, including strategy documents, propagation maps, or telecommunications traffic studies;

(D) Evaluate the request based on the availability of other potential locations for the placement of the micro wireless facility or associated wireless support structure, including the options to submit a request under division (A)(1) or (2) of section 4939.031 of the Revised Code or under division (A)(4) of that section to modify an existing micro wireless facility or associated wireless support structure except that a municipal corporation may propose an alternate location within fifty feet of the proposed location, which the requestor shall use if it has the right to use the alternate structure on reasonable terms and conditions and the alternate location does not impose technical limits or additional costs;

(E) Require the removal of existing wireless support structures or wireless facilities, wherever located, as a condition for approval of the request. This division shall not preclude a municipal corporation from adopting reasonable rules intended to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare with respect to the removal of an abandoned wireless support structure or abandoned wireless facilities.

(F) Impose restrictions with respect to objects in navigable airspace that are stricter than or in conflict with any restrictions imposed by the federal aviation administration;

(G) Impose requirements for bonds, escrow deposits, letters of credit, or any other type of financial surety to ensure removal of abandoned or unused wireless facilities, unless the municipal corporation imposes similar requirements on other permits for occupancy of the public way;

(H) Unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent services;

(I) Impose unreasonable requirements regarding the maintenance or appearance of the micro wireless facility or associated wireless support structure and accessory equipment, including the types of materials to be used and the screening or landscaping of wireless facilities;

(J) Require that the requestor purchase, lease, or use facilities, networks, or services owned or operated by the municipal corporation, in whole or in part, or owned or operated, in whole or in part, by any entity in which the municipal corporation has an economic governance interest;

(K) Condition the grant of consent on the requestor's agreement to permit other wireless facilities to be placed at, attached to, or located on the associated wireless support structure;

(L) Limit the duration of any permit that is granted, except that a municipal corporation may require that construction commence within two years;

(M) Impose setback or fall-zone requirements for the associated wireless support structure that are different from requirements imposed on other types of structures in the public way;

(N) Impose environmental testing, sampling, or monitoring requirements that exceed federal law or that are not imposed on other types of construction or elements of the construction;

(O) Impose any regulations pertaining to radio frequency emissions or exposure to such emissions that are contrary to or exceed rules of the federal communications commission;

(P) Impose separation requirements that require any space to be maintained between wireless facilities or wireless support structures;

(Q) Prevent the requestor from locating the micro wireless facility or wireless support structure in a residential area or within a specific distance from a residence or other structure.

Last updated January 23, 2024 at 5:06 PM

Available Versions of this Section

• March 21, 2017 – House Bill 331 - 131st General Assembly
• August 1, 2018 – House Bill 478 - 132nd General Assembly