Commissioners seek legal review of small-cell wireless rules for Fountain Hills right of way
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Summary
After staff review of state law and the town’s small-cell documents, commissioners requested legal review and additional drafting work on town code article 16-2 and design standards; no regulatory changes were approved at the meeting.
The Planning and Zoning Commission opened a review of Fountain Hills ordinances governing small wireless facilities in the public right of way on June 9 and directed staff to pursue legal review and return with a revised draft rather than taking immediate regulatory action.
John West, the staff presenter, summarized state statute requirements and the town’s existing implementing documents, including Town Code article 16-2, the town’s model terms and conditions, and the design standards. West said Arizona law limits the scope of local review for small wireless facilities and requires a streamlined application process: “There is a specific definition in state statute for what a small wireless facility is,” he said, and described the statutory timeframes and constraints that govern local review.
Commissioners raised multiple drafting and policy concerns: missing or inconsistent definitions, indemnity and insurance language, whether annual testing or emissions checks should be required, the ability to require evidence of coverage gaps beyond a simple provider statement, and the potential for undergrounding broadband/fiber in some corridors. Vice Chair Corey and other commissioners also asked staff to incorporate model distance rules and other safeguards used by peer communities such as Sedona and Paradise Valley.
Resident and local advocate Laurie Troller urged caution about implementation and recommended publishing drafts farther in advance so the commission and public can review complex materials. Troller summarized federal and FCC requirements and noted that citizens and the town retain rights under FCC guidance: “The whole reason we're here, the federal government wrote a telecommunications act 1996 as it relates to the construction of the infrastructure for telecoms to build cell towers,” she said, and urged the commission to consider undergrounding broadband where feasible.
Staff told the commission that article 16-2 and related documents draw on a 2017–2018 state implementation framework and that much of the substantive detail lives in the town’s terms-and-conditions and design standards. Commissioners emphasized that the town attorney should review the terms-and-conditions draft and any proposed changes to ensure compliance with state statute and relevant court precedent. The commission did not vote on any ordinance changes at the meeting.
Next steps: staff will arrange for legal review of the small-cell terms and return to the commission with the revised draft and recommended edits; commissioners noted they want missing definitions reinserted, indemnity/insurance language reviewed, and options for requiring annual testing or other compliance verification explained before further action. The commission also deferred a July meeting and will resume consideration of pending items in August.
