2018-01-11 Letter to Mary Alice Evans re Feedback on "small cell" application process bill"

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Harry Kim Mayor Counfg Pniuni`i Wil Okabe Managing Director Barbara J. Kossow Deputy Managing Director ®fftri xf fir Anwar 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 • Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 • (808) 961-8211 • Fax (808) 961-6553 KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keoholcalole Hwy., Bldg C • Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i 96740 (808) 323-4444 • Fax (808) 323-4440 January 11, 2018 Mary Alice Evans Deputy Director Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism 250 S. Hotel St., 5th Floor Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813 Dear Ms. Evans, RE: Feedback on "small cell application process bill" Thank you for providing the County of Hawai'i ("County"), through its Director of Information Technology, the opportunity to review and provide you with feedback on the "small cell application process bill" drafted by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. The County has serious concerns and reservations about the presently drafted version of this Bill. An initial threshold issue which the County would like resolved is why private, for- profit telecommunications companies need to deploy and implement their "small-cell" networks on public lands. As to this issue, please provide the County with the justification or reasons why a new "small-cell" network for private telecommunications companies must be deployed and/or implemented on public lands. The Bill states that it is necessary for State laws to regulate the way that the "small cell" network is implemented and/or deployed throughout the State, which is premised on the argument that the individual counties do not have procedures for processing applications for telecommunications companies to use public property. However, this County is presently able to process requests for telecommunications companies to use public property. Within the past year and a half, a particular telecommunications company has made several requests to place equipment related to a "small cell" network at various sites in this County, but the County was not able to approve those requests for various reasons, such as, one of the proposed location of equipment not leaving enough sidewalk space to satisfy ADA requirements and one of the proposed location being a pole that the County does not own. County of Hawaii Hawaia is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.