2023 California Code › Streets and Highways Code - SHC › DIVISION 1 - STATE HIGHWAYS › CHAPTER 3 - The Care and Protection of State Highways › ARTICLE 2 - Permit Provisions › Section 671.5.

671.5. (a) The department shall either approve or deny an application from an applicant for an encroachment permit within 60 days of receiving a completed application, as determined by the department. An application for an encroachment permit is complete when all other statutory requirements, including the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), have been complied with. The department’s failure to notify the applicant within that 60-day period that the permit is denied shall be deemed to constitute approval of the permit. Thereafter, upon notifying the department, the applicant may act in accordance with its permit application, as if the permit had been approved.
(b) All of the following shall apply to the department’s review of an application for an encroachment permit for a broadband facility:
(1) The department shall specify in writing all permit application criteria. It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure a streamlined, predictable, and expeditious process by which the department reviews broadband facility permit applications in order to achieve the rapid deployment of broadband facilities on highways.
(2) Within 30 days after an application for an encroachment permit for a broadband facility is submitted, the department shall notify the applicant in writing whether the permit application is deemed complete. If the department does not notify the applicant within that 30-day period that the application is incomplete, the failure to notify shall be deemed to constitute a finding that the permit application is complete.
(3) If the department deems a permit application incomplete, the department shall do all of the following:
(A) At the time of notifying the applicant that the application is incomplete, furnish to the applicant a detailed explanation why the application is incomplete, with reference to the specific application criteria that the application does not meet.
(B) Identify all supplemental information necessary to complete the application.
(C) In a timely manner and no later than 14 days after a meeting is requested by the applicant, meet with the applicant to discuss any outstanding supplemental information necessary to complete the application. The department shall not be required to participate in more than three individual meetings with the applicant and shall not be required to meet in excess of four hours for each permit application.
(D) Provide the applicant with no less than 30 days to resubmit its application with the supplemental information that the department identified in the notice. The applicant’s failure to respond with additional information during that period shall be deemed to constitute a withdrawal of the application.
(4) Within 30 days after receiving supplemental information from an applicant pursuant to paragraph (3), the department shall approve or deny the application.
(c) If the department denies an application for an encroachment permit, the department shall, at the time of notifying the applicant of the denial, furnish to the applicant a detailed explanation of the reason for the denial.
(d) The department shall adopt regulations prescribing procedures for an applicant to appeal to the director for a final determination of the department’s denial of an application. The appeal shall be made in writing to the director. There shall be a final written determination by the director within 60 calendar days after receipt of the applicant’s written appeal. The adopted regulations shall require the appellant to pay to the department a fee of not more than 50 percent of the estimated administrative cost to the department of conducting the appeal.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes an applicant and the department from mutually agreeing to an extension of any time limit provided by this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 670, Sec. 1. (AB 955) Effective January 1, 2022.)