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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Law Department
DATE: July 13, 2018
SUBJECT:
An Ordinance amending the City of Aurora Code of Ordinances relative to the permitting, regulation, and development of small wireless facilities.
PURPOSE:
To establish generally applicable standards for the design, permitting, location, construction, deployment, regulation, operation, maintenance, repair and removal of such small wireless facilities both within the public rights-of-way and in certain other locations within the jurisdiction of the City consistent with the limitations on home rule units imposed by the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act
BACKGROUND:
Over the course of the past year and a half, the wireless industry aggressively lobbied the Illinois General Assembly to adopt legislation significantly limiting the authority of counties and municipalities to regulate the placement of so-called small wireless facilities or small cell technology within public rights-of-ways. The legislation, which exempted the City of Chicago was not opposed by the Illinois Municipal League, but many of the league's members and other councils of governments vehemently opposed the legislation, including Aurora, the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference and the MetroWest Council of Government. While these opposition groups were successful in delaying passage of the bill and securing modest amendments, both chambers approved the bill late last fall. The Senate President used a parliamentary technique that delayed the enrolled bill's presentation to the Governor for a few months, but eventually allowed its presentation to the Governor who signed it this spring. Though preempting home rule authority (and exempting Chicago), the bill did authorize municipalities and counties to adopt modest regulations on the placement of small cell facilities provided they were enacted before August 1, 2018.
DISCUSSION:
The provisions of the proposed ordinance mirror those included in ...
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