Fountain Hills planners review draft wireless ordinance; commissioners press for testing, site and process safeguards

The Fountain Hills Planning & Zoning Commission on May 12, 2025 reviewed initial draft revisions to Chapter 17 of the town zoning ordinance addressing wireless communications — including towers, antennas and small-cell facilities — and provided staff feedback on design standards, review process timing and community protections.

Director Westley presented a draft that incorporated language from an outside model (Campanelli) and the commission's earlier input. Commissioners asked that, where feasible, equipment be placed in underground vaults, that residential separation distances be preserved (a proposed standard of 500 feet with Council authority to allow down to 300 feet only with written justification was discussed), and that the town retain options to require independent testing and consultant review.

Commissioner Corrigan pressed for measurable performance requirements and cited alternatives to drive tests, including "drop call logs" from providers. Corrigan asked whether the draft included a drop-call/log option; Westley confirmed it is included as an alternative to provider drive-test documentation. Commissioner Gray urged stronger upfront noise-mitigation language, suggesting design-level decibel (dB) targets rather than open-ended requirements. Commissioners also debated whether some modification reviews should be handled administratively or brought to P&Z and Town Council; staff said all new towers would proceed through public review while minor modifications could remain administrative, but commissioners raised concern that an administrative pathway might miss important public impacts.

The draft includes federal timing constraints (so-called "shot clocks") that limit how long the town can take to process wireless applications; staff noted meeting some federal timing requirements could be challenging if an application required review at multiple bodies but that the ordinance permits tolling and extensions in defined circumstances. Commissioners asked staff to ensure the ordinance language meshes with the small-cell/right-of-way work the town plans to review next month.

On technical safeguards, commissioners asked staff to: require annual testing and make clear the owner/operator bears testing responsibilities; specify when the town may order third-party testing; require adequate insurance and require a mechanism to fund removal of abandoned facilities (staff acknowledged removal-cost estimate language exists but a bond requirement needs to be added); and consider balloon tests to show visual impacts at final proposed heights. The commission also discussed whether the town should re-engage a telecom-specialized attorney for a final review of the ordinance before it goes to Council; Commissioner Koryan suggested recommending that Council rehire or consult a specialist such as Campanelli or another firm.

Public comment urged the commission to review outside model codes (COPEC, Ithaca examples were cited by a speaker) and to include strict provisions on insurance, independent monitoring and comprehensive mapping of all existing antennas, not only cellular towers. "The shot clocks define when an application is submitted to the town — a timer starts — and there's like 4 classifications of work that needs to happen so the tower goes up in 180 days," Laurie (Lori) Troller told the commission, explaining federal timing rules and urging rigorous monitoring and insurance language.

Next steps: staff will continue refining Chapter 17 language, coordinate the Chapter 16/right-of-way small-cell discussion next month, and return to the commission with a revised draft; commissioners asked staff to add missing items (bond language for removal costs, balloon testing, alternative-site analyses and clearer independent-testing and insurance provisions) and to consider a formal outside legal review before finalizing an ordinance to forward to Town Council.