Consultants recommend linear‑foot fee for telecom use of county rights‑of‑way; county staff to craft ordinance

Santa Fe County — Consultants hired to advise on telecommunications access to county rights‑of‑way recommended on June 10 that Santa Fe County adopt a usage‑based charge tied to linear feet of installed infrastructure, a permit fee structure and consistent excavation and traffic‑control fees as the basis for a competitively neutral county ordinance.

Tierra Right of Way Services presented a report that analyzed models used in New Mexico and neighboring states, including franchise agreements (city of Albuquerque), negotiated use agreements (Bernalillo County), and the usage‑based approach used by Doña Ana County. The consultants recommended a linear‑foot annual fee, proposing 3¢ per linear foot as a starting point (a figure drawn from Colorado DOT practice) and a 25‑year term for use agreements. They also recommended permit application fees (roughly $200–$250 for installations, $100 for maintenance), excavation/trenching fees (a recommended range of $0.15–$1.50 per linear foot tied to the level of right‑of‑way disturbance) and reliance on existing barricade/traffic control fee structures.

Consultants noted they had been asked not to address “small wireless facilities,” which are governed by state law (Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act), and that the recommended fee regime was intended to keep administrative burden low while providing a clear, defensible relationship between fees and physical use of county property.

County staff said they will use the report to draft an ordinance for future board consideration and asked commissioners for feedback on whether to include variable fees (for example, reduced rates in underserved areas or higher fees in urbanized corridors) and whether to include incentives for undergrounding lines.

Why it matters: Rights‑of‑way fee structures shape where and how private telecom providers deploy infrastructure, and how local governments recoup costs associated with roadway impacts and administration. The consultants’ proposal gives the county a simple, defensible starting point for an ordinance that county staff will draft and return to the Board.