All wireless facilities and wireless support structures in the public right-of-way must comply with all of the following aesthetic standards. Please contact city staff at 952-939-8290 with any questions.

Wireless support structures

All city or privately owned wireless support structures placed within the city must be of a fully enclosed design such that the maximum amount of facilities, including any wiring, are concealed inside the structure or below ground. All wireless support structures, whether existing, new or replacement wireless support structures, must:

• be constructed of aluminum or steel;
• be the same color as neighboring, similar support structures and of the same design characteristics;
• where constructed as a light pole, luminaire(s) and luminaire arm(s) must match adjacent city lighting standard and must contain an LED fixture in accordance with city specifications.

Antennas

Antennas must be top-mounted and concealed within a radome (a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects an antenna and is constructed of material that minimally attenuates the signal transmitted/received by such antenna) or otherwise concealed to the extent feasible. Cable connections, antenna mounts and other hardware must also be concealed. The radome or other concealment must be non-reflective and painted or otherwise colored to match the wireless support structure.

Collocation

Collocations between wireless service providers and with other utilities on the same support structure is required wherever feasible. If an applicant proposes to not collocate in areas where collocation options are or appear to be available, the applicant must document that collocation is infeasible.

Concealment

Concealment elements must be incorporated into the proposed design of the small wireless facility installation, and must include approved camouflaging or shrouding techniques.

Ground-mounted equipment

Ground-mounted equipment must be installed below grade or, if technically necessary, concealed in a ground-mounted cabinet. In addition to any applicable requirements in this code, ground mounted cabinets must:

• be installed flush to the ground;
• be the same color as neighboring, similar support cabinets or other ground-mounted structures;
• not interfere in any way with the flow of pedestrian, bicycle or vehicular traffic when the cabinets adjoin sidewalks, trails, or other similar passageways,
• conform to the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) including with respect to appropriate sidewalk spacing; and
• not create a safety hazard.

Lights

Unless otherwise required for compliance with Federal Aviation Administration or Federal Communication Commission regulations, wireless facilities shall not include any lights or lighting. This subsection does not prohibit installations on streetlights or the installation of luminaires or additional street lighting on new support structures if and where required by the city. All wireless support structures must be capable of accommodating street lighting to facilitate future street lighting as may be determined by the city.

Location Criteria – new or replacement wireless support structures

New support structures: Any new wireless support structures must be placed:

• a minimum of two lot lines, or approximately 200 feet, whichever is greater, from any existing wireless support structure or utility pole on the same side of the street or right-of-way, and one lot line or approximately 100 feet, whichever is greater when on the opposite sides of the street or right-of-way.
• at a distance which is the same as the prevailing separation distance among existing wireless support structures and poles in the surrounding vicinity as agreed upon by the applicant and city, or determined by the city where agreement cannot be reached;  as functional streetlights as the city may require, in its reasonable discretion;
• in alignment with existing trees, wireless support structures, utility poles, and streetlights;
• an equal distance between trees when possible, with a minimum of 15 feet of separation such that no proposed disturbance shall occur within the critical root zone of any tree;
• with appropriate clearance from existing utilities;
• outside of a 20-foot equipment clear zone (for base cabinets less than 18 inches in diameter) or 30-foot clear sight triangle (for base cabinets equal to or greater than 18- inches in diameter) at intersection corners;
• so as not to be located along the frontage of a Historic building, deemed historic on a federal, state, or local level;
• so as not to significantly create a new obstruction to property sight lines;  at shared property lines if feasible;
• not within 50 feet of the apron of a fire station or other emergency service responder facility.

Replacement of city-owned support structures

Any replaced wireless support structures shall remain in their existing location unless otherwise permitted by the city. Replacement pole height shall not exceed 50 feet, or the height of the existing utility pole or wireless support structure, whichever is greater.

Obstructions

Any new wireless support structure or other facilities associated with a new or existing wireless support structure must not obstruct access to:

• any existing above-ground or underground right-of-way user facilities, or public facilities;
• any public infrastructure for traffic control, streetlight or public transportation purposes, including without limitation any curb control sign, parking meter, vehicular traffic sign or signal, pedestrian traffic sign or signal, barricade reflectors;
• any public transportation vehicles, shelters, street furniture or other improvements at any public transportation stop (including, without limitation, bus stops, streetcar stops, and bike share stations);
• fire hydrants;
• any doors, gates, sidewalk doors, passage doors, stoops or other ingress and egress points to any building appurtenant to the right-of-way; or
• any fire escapes.

Small cell technology “stretches” the coverage of larger telecommunication towers. Unlike larger towers, small cell facilities generally cover small geographic areas and are usually mounted to existing structures – like buildings or utility/light poles – or are part of new similarly sized poles or structures.  

No. Federal and state laws and ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) significantly limit the city’s ability to regulate small cell wireless facilities.

• Under the 1995 Federal Telecommunications Act, the city cannot:
  • Prohibit telecommunication facilities
  • Discriminate among providers
  • Cite environmental concerns as a reason for denial when a facility complies with FCC rules.
• Under 2017 amendments to the Minnesota Telecommunications Right-of-Way User Law, small cell wireless providers must be considered allowable right-of-way users, similar to gas, electric and cable companies and must be allowed as permitted uses within the right-of-way. Zoning review and permitting is limited.
• The only exception is for small cell facilities located on new structures in single-family residential areas. In these cases, the city may require a conditional-use permit (CUP), but must still comply with federal and state laws.
• Under a 2018 FCC ruling, cities must allow the construction/location of telecommunication facilities within public rights-of-way. The ruling also places restrictions on a city’s ability to regulate certain aspects of the facilities. For example, a city may establish aesthetic standards, but the standards can be no more burdensome than the standards placed on other right-of-way infrastructure.

No. The city cannot prohibit or discriminate among technologies that comply with FCC regulations. For example, the city cannot allow facilities that utilize 3G or 4G technology but prohibit 5G technology.

No. By state law, the city must allow small cell wireless facilities within the public right-of-way. The city cannot dictate that certain rights-of-way are “off limits” and the city can’t suggest different locations.

A right-of-way permit is required for all small cell wireless installations in public right-of-way anywhere in the community. These permits are reviewed and issued by city staff. In addition, a CUP is required for small cell wireless installations on new structures in single-family residential areas. CUPs are reviewed by the planning commission and city council.

By federal law, the city cannot deny a request based on the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions, as long as the request complies with FCC rules.

The FCC requires that telecommunication facilities comply with radio frequency exposure guidelines.

Visit the FCC’s safety FAQs and Cancer.org's information about radiofrequency radiation and cell phones to learn more.