In some parts of Colorado, say telecom industry representatives, it can take months or years to get a permit to build a cell tower. Colorado state legislators appear poised to establish new, quicker timelines over the objections of city and county governments to ensure efficient permitting.
A House committee advanced a measure sought by the wireless industry and business groups on Tuesday, to create consistent statewide timelines and, supporters say, incentivize wireless investment, reports tsscolorado. HB 1056 is on its way to the full House.
“This bill is pivotal for the future of wireless infrastructure in Colorado and the well-being of our communities,” said Guillermo Lambarri, state director of external affairs for AT&T. The carrier added $875 million in Colorado network infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.
The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Reps. Meghan Lukens of Steamboat Springs and Jennifer Bacon of Denver, came from an interim committee that studied cell phone connectivity. Members learned Colorado has urban and rural areas with spotty or nonexistent cell service, hurting its ability to spur business growth in small communities and incentivizing national firms to invest elsewhere, according to tsscolorado.
HB 1056 would impose timelines on local governments to approve or reject applications for building cell towers. Under an amendment added during a hearing on Tuesday, the timelines would be 120 days for new towers, 90 days for substantial additions to existing towers and 60 days for equipment upgrades on towers.
In addition, the bill states a shot clock on these timelines would begin when a wireless provider first holds its pre-application meeting with a local government. Currently the shot clock begins when a local government deems that application to be complete. The bill also allows local governments to pause the clock to receive additional information that it feels it needs during the process.
Jeremy Crandall, assistant vice president of state legislative affairs for CTIA, said that with some 270 city and county governments undertaking different processes, permitting times can vary from a month to 200 days or even several years. “Right now, these permitting processes are not interconnected, so we’re building homes that may not be connected to the cell phone towers,” Bacon told the House committee. “What can we do to get really clear about when an application timeline starts? The state needs to step in and say, ‘Because of how important wireless service is, we need clarity.’”
City and county leaders argued that setting permitting timelines is not a state responsibility but an overreach of local control similar to laws passed in 2024, that require more dense zoning in urban areas near transit lines. They say what they call “rushed” timelines will bring, not an economic boom, but so much cell tower construction that could pose greater risk of public safety or aesthetic issues, according to tsscolorado.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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