Wireless and Small Cell Regulations and Installation

FCC regulations require that the City of Mercer Island approve small cell permits, while giving the City very little discretion.  Based on these regulations, the City has approved the permits for the Crown Castle installation of small cell antennas (on behalf of T-Mobile) and we are currently reviewing permits for more installations (on behalf of Verizon).  The FCC rules pre-empt local governments, like the City of Mercer Island, from evaluating small cell installations based on health and safety or otherwise “materially inhibiting” the deployment of small cell coverage.  The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 gives the FCC sole jurisdiction in regulating Radio-Frequency (RF) emissions. 

Small cells have been hot topic on Mercer Island, and I wanted to make sure you are aware of changes to the regulations in the last 10 months or so.  The FCC has issued a “new rule” (here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-353962A1.pdf) which curtails the City’s authority to review small cells in a number of ways – notably the City cannot prevent the installation of small cells, or “densifying” the wireless coverage (page 16 of the PDF, item 36 and subsequent).  This new rule limits the City’s ability to require a change in the location of the small cell, though we will be applying pressure on Crown Castle to address neighborhood concerns.  

The FCC’s new rule has been appealed by a number of cities (including Bellevue, Seattle, Portland, LA).  To date, the appeal has not moved very far through the judicial process.  Because the FCC’s new rule is “in force” until the appeal is resolved, the City has adopted interim standards (here: https://mercerisland.municipal.codes/MICC/19.06.070) that are intended to focus on minimizing the aesthetic impact to the extent feasible.  Longer term, we are currently anticipating that we will adopt new, permanent standards that will also be intended to minimize the aesthetic impact of small cells.  Things like enhanced limits on noise, requiring the undergrounding of power, creating incentives for collocation, and requiring hollow poles with internal equipment and antenna mounts will be discussed more fully by the Planning Commission and City Council.  This page will be updated with more information as this process progresses.

We understand the health hazard to be a question around the radio-frequency emissions (i.e. radiation) from a small cell antenna.  The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 designates the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the sole jurisdiction that can regulate radio-frequency emissions from cellular facilities (small cells and the traditional cell tower).  The City seeks confirmation from the small cell provider that the facility is built consistent with FCC requirements.  The City does not conduct a separate review of radiation resulting from small cell antennas – and consequently does not have a further basis for answering this question.

The City is not currently doing anything to manage the use of drones on Mercer Island.  Drones are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has information available here: https://www.faa.gov/uas/.