City puts 120-day moratorium on small cell facilities
The infrastructure to close gaps in mobile broadband service and enable the next generation of wireless networks isn’t as conspicuous as a cell tower, but planners have said the facilities can affect an area’s aesthetic character if allowed to go unregulated.
Cellular/wireless regulations the city adopted in the late 1990s don’t address small cell telecommunications facilities that increase network capacity in high-traffic areas, prompting the Hot Springs Board of Directors to adopt an ordinance earlier this month putting a 120-day pause on reviewing requests for placement of such facilities in the city’s public rights of way.
The moratorium will give the city’s planning and development department time to write rules for where and how the facilities can be placed, Planning and Development Director Kathy Sellman told the board.
“Because they’re small, they can be put almost anywhere,” Sellman said. “Because they can be put almost anywhere, there’s a heightened sense that we would like to be able to assure their compatibility with the surrounding environment, in that where possible they be located in a stealthy way.
“So when you drive down a street, you’re not aware that here’s a street that’s loaded with small cells.”
The ordinance was adopted with an emergency clause, putting it into effect immediately, but Sellman told the board it won’t affect small cell placement on existing towers.
“If we have a tower that someone wants to put a small cell on, that’s OK, we can do that administratively just like we do now with any co-location request,” she said. “This is solely for proposals to place these in public right of way.”
Fayetteville’s regulations require applicants to attempt to co-locate small cells on existing towers before new structures will be permitted, and camouflaging is required for new facilities in residential areas.
Hot Springs’ ordinance includes a definition for small cell communication facility that limits it to 3 feet in height and 2 feet in width, classifying it as an antenna or wireless antenna base station providing wireless voice, data and image transmission within a designated service area.
Sellman said the moratorium shouldn’t affect wireless providers, as few have contacted the city about small cell placements. But the city needs to develop a regulatory scheme in advance of the arrival of fifth-generation,
or 5G, wireless networks, she said.
“We’ve had some inquiries, but we don’t expect to have a backlog of requests,” she told the board. “We just recently became aware of this situation. This is a proactive measure, so when they come our way we can be ready.”