Commission reviews telecom ordinance rewrite, cites ANSI standards and proposes fee/bond structure

The commission took up an extensive rewrite of the county's telecommunications ordinance, with a focus on relying on established technical standards rather than reauthoring engineering requirements. A committee member recommended referencing American National Standards (ANSI) for technical provisions and keeping aesthetic and landscaping rules in separate sections.

Members discussed application fees, colocation fees and performance/security bond levels. Richmond County's practice—$3,000 for a new tower application and $1,000 for colocation—was cited as an example, and bond levels reported elsewhere ranged from $15,000 to $75,000 depending on project scale. Insurance and annual radiation-certification requirements, decommissioning and 90‑day removal windows for abandoned facilities were also discussed. The commission voted to freeze the current draft and authorized two members (Stuart and another commissioner) to accept edits and produce a cleaned working version for the next meeting.