[Massplanners] Regulations for Wireless Service Facilities - Eligible Facilities Requests

[Malcolm Ragan]

Hi MassPlanners,

TL;DR: Do your communities regulate submissions for Wireless Service
Facility "eligible facilities requests"?

Here in Stow we have had many requests of late for replacement of antennas
and other such equipment at cell service towers throughout Town. We have an
expansive Wireless Service Facilities chapter in our zoning bylaw as well
as an equally expansive set of Rules and Regulations for Wireless Service
Facility Special Permits, both of which run afoul of federal preemptions
for discretionary review of so-called "eligible facilities requests", a
classification of minor modifications and replacements of equipment at
existing wireless facilities.

I have drafted a simple zoning amendment and a new section of our Wireless
Rules and Regs to outline submission requirements for site plan approvals
for Eligible Facilities Requests, which should comply with federal
limitations. However, before we add yet another section to an already
bloated rules and regs document, I wanted to see if other communities have
specific regulations for Site Plan Approval at Wireless Service Facilities.
Do your zoning bylaws and rules make specific reference to Eligible
Facilities Request? Or do you rely on staff/boards to understand what
requests cannot require a discretionary review?

p.s. could the current MassPlanners admin please accept my request to
subscribe to the listserv with my planning2 at stow-ma.gov email address?

Malcolm Ragan

Assistant Planner/GIS Administrator | Town of Stow



*380 Great Road *

*Stow, MA 01775*

*Phone: 978-897-5098*

https://www.stow-ma.gov/planning-board


* Please be advised that the Massachusetts Secretary of State considers
e-mail to be a public record, and therefore subject to the Massachusetts
Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66 § 10. *
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://masscptc.org/pipermail/massplanners_masscptc.org/attachments/20220311/7d24a4d1/attachment.htm>