N.M. Stat. § 63-9I-4 — NM Code / Chapter 63 / Article 9I / Section 63-9I-4
§ 63-9I-4. Collocation of a small wireless facility; permits; application; fee
Status: in_force

A. This section applies to a wireless provider's collocation activities within a right of way.

B. An authority may prohibit, regulate or charge for the collocation of a small wireless facility only as provided in this section and Sections 3, 6 and 7 of the Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act.

C. A small wireless facility collocated on a utility pole or wireless support structure that extends ten or fewer feet above the pole or structure in a right of way in any zone is classified as a permitted use and is not subject to zoning review or approval.

D. An authority may require an applicant to obtain one or more permits to collocate a small wireless facility in a right of way if the requirement is of general applicability to users of the right of way. An applicant seeking to collocate, within an authority's jurisdiction, up to twenty-five small wireless facilities, all of which are substantially the same type, on substantially the same types of structures may file a consolidated application for the collocation of the facilities. An applicant shall not file with an authority more than one consolidated application in any five-business-day period. The applicant shall include in a consolidated application an attestation that, unless a delay in collocation is caused by the lack of commercial power or fiber at the site, the collocation will begin within one hundred eighty days after the permit issuance date. The authority and the provider may subsequently agree to extend that period.

E. An authority shall:

(1) without bias, accept and process applications and issue permits to collocate small wireless facilities;

(2) within thirty days after receiving an application, determine and notify the applicant of whether the application is complete and:

(a) for an incomplete application, specifically identify the information missing from it; and

(b) deem the application complete if the applicant is not notified within the thirty-day period;

(3) within ninety days after receiving a completed application, approve or deny it and deem the application approved if that approval or denial is not given within the ninety-day period. The authority may request an extension of the ninety-day period, and the authority and applicant may agree to extend that period. An applicant shall not unreasonably deny an authority's request to extend the period;

(4) approve a completed application unless the application does not conform with:

(a) applicable codes or local laws concerning: 1) public safety; 2) design for utility poles, but only to the extent that the standards the codes or laws impose are objective; 3) stealth and concealment, but only to the extent that the restrictions the codes or laws impose are reasonable; and 4) the spacing of ground-mounted equipment in a right of way; and

(b) requirements imposed by the authority in accordance with Subsection H of Section 3 of the Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act; and

(5) if it denies an application, document the basis for the denial, including the specific code or law on which the denial was based, and send that documentation to the applicant on or before the date the application is denied.

F. In the ninety-day period after an authority receives an application to collocate a small wireless facility, the authority may:

(1) provide public notice of the application and an opportunity for written public comment on the application; and

(2) submit the written public comment to the applicant and request that the applicant respond to it.

G. If an authority determines that applicable codes or laws require that a utility pole or wireless support structure be replaced before an application for collocation is approved, the authority may condition approval of the application on that replacement. That replacement is subject to Section 3 of the Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act.

H. An applicant whose application is denied may cure the deficiencies identified by the authority and submit a revised application within thirty days after the denial for no additional fee. The authority shall base its review of the revised application only on the deficiencies cited in the denial and shall approve or deny the revised application within thirty days after receiving it.

I. If an application is for the collocation of multiple small wireless facilities, the authority may:

(1) treat as separate those for which incomplete information has been provided, that do not qualify for consolidated treatment or that are denied; and

(2) issue separate permits for the collocations that it approves.

J. An authority shall not:

(1) directly or indirectly require an applicant to perform services unrelated to the collocation for which approval is sought, such as the making of in-kind contributions to the authority of reserving fiber, conduit or pole space on the wireless provider's utility pole;

(2) require an applicant to provide more information to obtain a permit than the authority requires of a communications service provider that is not a wireless provider and that requests a permit to attach facilities to a structure; however, the authority may require the applicant to certify that the small wireless facilities to be collocated conform with the federal communications commission's regulations concerning radio frequency emissions;

(3) institute, either expressly or de facto, a moratorium on the acceptance or processing of applications or on the issuance of permits or other approvals, if any, for the collocation of small wireless facilities; or

(4) except as otherwise provided in Subsection K of this section, require an application, approval or permit or impose a fee, rate or other charge for:

(a) the routine maintenance of a small wireless facility;

(b) the replacement of a small wireless facility with one that is substantially similar in size to, the same size as or smaller than it, as long as the wireless provider that owns the wireless facility notifies the authority of the replacement at least ten days before the replacement; or

(c) the installation, maintenance, operation, placement or replacement of a micro wireless facility that is, in accordance with applicable codes, suspended on cables strung between utility poles or wireless structures. As used in this subparagraph, “ micro wireless facility ” means a small wireless facility less than twenty-four inches long, fifteen inches wide and twelve inches high whose exterior antenna, if any, is less than eleven inches long.

K. An authority may require a permit to engage, within rights of way, in activities that are identified in Paragraph (4) of Subsection J of this section and that affect traffic patterns or require lane closures.

L. The collocation for which a permit is issued shall begin within one hundred eighty days after the permit issuance date, unless the authority and the wireless provider agree to extend that period or a delay in collocation is caused by the lack of commercial power or fiber at the site. The permit gives the wireless provider the right to:

(1) collocate the small wireless facility; and

(2) subject to applicable relocation requirements, the requirements imposed on the authority by Section 3 of the Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act and to the wireless provider's right to terminate collocation at any time:

(a) operate and maintain the small wireless facility for at least ten years; and

(b) renew the permit for the same period, unless the authority finds that the small wireless facility does not conform with the applicable codes and local laws set forth in Paragraph (4) of Subsection E of this section.

M. An authority may charge an applicant an application fee in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) or less for each of up to five small wireless facilities and fifty dollars ($50.00) or less for each additional small wireless facility whose collocation is requested in a single application.

N. The approval of an application under the Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act does not authorize the provision of a service or authorize the installation, placement, maintenance or operation of a wireline backhaul facility in a right of way.

O. The Wireless Consumer Advanced Infrastructure Investment Act shall not be deemed to allow a person, without the consent of the property owner, to collocate a small wireless facility on a privately owned utility pole, a privately owned wireless support structure or private property.