Arapahoe County adopts wireless-facility review rules effective immediately

Arapahoe County commissioners adopted amendments Sept. 8 governing wireless communication facilities, creating a 30-day review process for eligible modifications to existing facilities and retaining separate federal timelines for other applications. The changes took effect immediately.

The final resolution says revisions to the Development Application Manual and Planning Review Fee Schedule were adopted “as set forth in the record.” The county’s meeting record shows unanimous approval.

Which facilities qualify

The adopted Development Application Manual amendment creates an Eligible Facility Request process for certain modifications to existing wireless towers or base stations on private property. To qualify, a proposal must meet Section 6409 of the federal Spectrum Act and Federal Communications Commission rules, including the FCC’s substantial-change thresholds.

Applicants must submit an eligible-facility determination form, applicable fees, the facility’s original case number and documentation addressing the FCC thresholds. Modifications that exceed those limits move into the county’s non-eligible wireless-facility process.

The eligible-facility definition applies to towers outside public rights of way. Right-of-way facilities follow a separate process under Chapter 14 of the county’s Infrastructure Design and Construction Standards and may be attached to traffic signals, streetlights, utility poles or other approved infrastructure.

Review timelines

The adopted manual sets a 30-day review clock for eligible-facility requests. The clock begins when the county receives the application and pauses if staff requests additional information. Staff then issues a determination letter.

For non-eligible private-property applications, the manual identifies a 90-day federal shot clock for collocation applications and 150 days for other siting applications. Those timelines do not apply to eligible-facility requests.

Earlier county presentation materials described a 60-day eligible-facility decision period. The final manual does not include that period, instead setting the eligible-facility timeline at 30 days.

Fee

The fee schedule included in county materials lists a $645 per-case fee for a Wireless Communication Facilities Eligible Facility Request. Existing $1,500 fees for other wireless-facility applications remain unchanged.

Staff materials initially described the $645 amount as a recommended fee based on an estimated five hours of county staff work. The resolution adopts the fee-schedule revisions as part of the record, but its text does not repeat the dollar amount, and a separate final clean fee-schedule attachment was not available.