65964.1. (a) A collocation or siting application for a wireless telecommunications facility, as defined in Section 65850.6, shall be deemed approved if all of the following occur:
(1) The city or county fails to approve or disapprove the application within a reasonable period of time in accordance with the time periods and procedures established by applicable FCC rules. The reasonable period of time may be tolled to accommodate timely requests for information required to complete the application or may be extended by mutual agreement between the applicant and the local government, consistent with applicable FCC rules.
(2) The applicant has provided all public notices regarding the application that the applicant is required to provide under applicable laws consistent with the public notice requirements for the application.
(3) (A) The applicant has provided notice to the city or county that the reasonable time period has lapsed and that the application is deemed approved pursuant to this section.
(B) Within 30 days of the notice provided pursuant to subparagraph (A), the city or county may seek judicial review of the operation of this section on the application.
(b) Where a city or county requires a traffic control plan, or other submission or permit related to either obstruction or safety in the public right-of-way, the applicant shall not begin construction before complying with this requirement. The city or county shall not unreasonably withhold, condition, or delay approval of any submission required by this subdivision.
(c) This section does not apply to eligible facilities requests for a modification of an existing wireless tower or base station that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of the tower or base station as described in Section 1455 of Title 47 of the United States Code and applicable FCC rules.
(d) The city, county, or city and county, shall notify the applicant of the incompleteness of an application within the time periods established by applicable FCC rules.
(e) The Legislature finds and declares that a wireless telecommunications facility has a significant economic impact in California and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is a matter of statewide concern.
(f) As used in this section, “applicable FCC rules” means those regulations contained in Subpart U (commencing with Section 1.6001) of Part 1 of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g) Except as provided in subdivision (a), nothing in this section limits or affects the authority of a city or county over decisions regarding the placement, construction, and modification of a wireless telecommunications facility.
(h) A city or county shall not prohibit or unreasonably discriminate in favor of, or against, any particular wireless technology.
(i) Due to the unique duties and infrastructure requirements for the swift and effective deployment of firefighters, this section does not apply to a collocation or siting application for a wireless telecommunications facility where the project is proposed for placement on fire department facilities.
(j) For purposes of this section, the time period for a city or county to approve or disapprove a collocation or siting application shall commence when the applicant makes the first required submission, or if the city or county requires a preapplication meeting, communication, or similar step before submission, when the applicant takes that first required step.
(k) Nothing in this section shall supersede, nullify, or otherwise alter the requirements to comply with safety standards, including, but not limited to, both of the following:
(1) Article 2 (commencing with Section 4216) of Chapter 3.1 of Division 5 of Title 1.
(2) The Public Utilities Commission’s General Order No. 128, Rules for Construction of Underground Electric Supply and Communication Systems, or successor rules adopted by the commission.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 467, Sec. 2. (AB 537) Effective January 1, 2022.)