14.242.075 Eligible Facilities Request.
A. An “eligible facilities request” is any request for modification of an existing tower or base station that, within the meaning of the Spectrum Act, does not substantially change the physical dimensions of that tower or base station and involves the:
1. Collocation of new transmission equipment;
2. Removal of transmission equipment; or
3. Replacement of transmission equipment.
B. In the context of an eligible facilities request, “substantially change” shall mean a modification of an existing tower or base station where any of the following criteria is met:
1. For a tower located outside of public rights-of-way:
a. The height of the tower is increased by more than twenty (20) feet or by more than ten (10) percent, whichever is greater; or
b. There is added an appurtenance to the body of the tower that would protrude from the edge of the tower by more than twenty (20) feet or more than the width of the tower structure at the level of the appurtenance, whichever is greater.
2. For a tower located in the public right-of-way and for all base stations:
a. The height of the tower is increased by more than ten (10) percent or ten (10) feet, whichever is greater; or
b. There is added an appurtenance to the body of that structure that would protrude from edge of the tower by more than six (6) feet.
3. For all base stations:
a. The height of the base station is increased by more than ten (10) percent or ten (10) feet, whichever is greater; or
b. It involves the installation of more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the technology involved, but not more than four (4) cabinets.
4. For either a tower or a base station:
a. There is entailed in the proposed modification any excavation or deployment outside the current site of the tower or base station; or
b. The proposed modification would cause the concealment or camouflage elements of the tower or base station to be defeated; or
c. It does not comply with conditions associated with the prior approval of the tower or base station unless the noncompliance is due to an increase in height, increase in width, addition of cabinets, or new excavation that does not exceed the corresponding “substantial change” thresholds.
5. To measure changes in height for the purposes of this section, the baseline is:
a. For deployments that are or will be separated horizontally, measured from the original support structure.
b. For all others, measured from the dimensions of the tower or base station, inclusive of the originally approved appurtenances and any modifications that were approved by the City or Snohomish County, in the case of annexed facilities, prior to February 22, 2012.
c. To measure changes for the purposes of this section, the baseline is the dimensions that were approved by the City or Snohomish County, in the case of annexed facilities, prior to February 22, 2012. (Ord. 2392, 2020)