Council unanimously approved legislation at their September 4 meeting that will help regulate new telecommunications facilities, which include equipment, towers and antennas. The legislation amends the city’s codified ordinances regarding regulations in public rights-of-ways.
The new legislation amends Part Eight Business Regulation and Taxation Code of the Codified Ordinances of the City of North Royalton, which creates a new Chapter 883 Use of Public Ways by Service Providers. The legislation states that “increasing demand is being made on the city’s streets and rights of way to accommodate facilities of telecommunications, small cell, Digital Antenna System providers and other service providers. . . It is in the city’s best interest to manage the occupancy and use of the city’s streets and rights of way by telecommunications, small cell, Digital Antenna System providers and other providers.” Earlier this year, Council passed legislation amending the same code, which was unanimously adopted on April 17. That legislation has been repealed in its entirety with the passage of the September 4 legislation.
The city passed two moratoriums on permits issued for the construction of wireless communications facilities previously, that allowed city officials to digest the information included in the state law. North Royalton City Council passed a 120 day moratorium in July, 2016, then an additional 90 day moratorium in January, 2017, which ended about the time the state’s legislation took effect, on March 21, 2017. The state law severely restricted municipalities from regulating the telecommunications technology, which can come in the form of an antenna, which can be mounted on a pole, or extensions. The restrictions bound the hands of the city as far as placement, aesthetics and location. “We don’t have any room to legislate,” said North Royalton Law Director Tom Kelly at that time. He noted that this legislation was “another in a series of legislative acts that erode our home rule authority.”
In April of last year, several communities filed lawsuits against the state on this matter, claiming that the state’s legislation violated the city home rule authority. Courts in Cuyahoga County sided with municipalities, while other courts in Ohio sided with the state. The Ohio legislature then invited local municipal representatives to discuss the matter and new state legislation was then proposed.
The meeting resulted in legislation, Ohio HB 478 which was passed by the Ohio House of Representatives in February, passed by the Ohio Senate in April. It was then signed by Kasich in May to be effective July 31. “The new law was represented as a great compromise,” said Kelly. “In point of fact, the state did allow municipal corporations a little more freedom, a little more control over their own property and development within the municipal corporation. Not nearly as much as we all wanted, but because it was a matter of statewide concern and the power of the telecom industry, we did ok. We did come away with certain concession that was not allowed in the original legislation.” Permits for the installation of these types of telecommunications devices will have to go to the Planning Commission for review and approval.
North Royalton City Council had passed legislation in April that incorporated the state standards into their own ordinances. The legislation mirrored legislation that was approved by the Strongsville City Council. Kelly said that “Law Directors from Parma Hts, Strongsville and other local communities discussed the matter in order to approach this in a uniform way so the legislation will be similar from community to community.”
The new North Royalton legislation which was adopted at the September meeting incorporates design standards that the communities can dictate. Kelly noted that if additional changes take place, amendments can be made to our ordinances in the future to reflect those changes. Mayor Bob Stefanik concurred, saying that with the quickly changing technology, regulations, like these will be happening more often.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer