2010-01-13 CC - Set Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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M ACTION REOUESTED From: Ken Fellman, President Matt Johnson, NATOA Legal Fellow To: NATOA Members Date: January 6, 2010 .. .J RE: Template for Response to NATOA Petition for Reconsideration on CTIA Petition Action Reauested NATOA members are asked to file comments at the FCC in support of local government's Petition for Reconsideration of the FCC's tower siting order. As you can see in the attached template for such comments, we do not need you to argue any legal points, but simply to offer the Commission day to day operations insights as to why their 30 day deadline for finding an application is incomplete or not workable. Introduction On November 18, 2009 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Declaratory Ruling ( "Order ") on CTIA's Petition requesting the FCC implement a "shot clock" for local zoning authorities to take final action on a wireless facility siting application. A detailed analysis of the Order may be found here, but in summary the Commission provides that a local government must act within 90 days for collocations and 150 days for all other applications and that a local authority has only 30 days from the initial application submission to request additional information and "toll" the shot clock while waiting for that information. After 30 days, the authority may still request additional information, but it loses the ability to "toll" the shot clock and the applicant gains the incentive to delay in its compliance with local government requests. On December 17, 2009, NATOA, joined by the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the American Planning Association, filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) focusing on the 30 day incompleteness deadline. NATOA's Petition asserted that the FCC exceeded its own interpretation of its legal authority under Section 332(c)(7)(B) of the Communications Act because the 30 day deadline is National Association of Tetsm nicetlons Officers and Adwsers 1800 Cliagonal Road, Suite 495, Alemndna, VA 22314, (703) 519 -8035, (703) 5198036 - Fax, w -natoa.o*g