DEPARTMENT

POLICY & PROCEDURE

WIRELESS ATTACHMENTS ON CITY LIGHT POLES

DPP NUMBER DPP 500 P III-805

EFFECTIVE DATE 06/16/2026 SUPERSEDES 07/10/2023

APPROVED BY

PURPOSE

To clarify City Light Department ("Department") policy for wireless attachments made to poles owned wholly or in part by the City and under the jurisdiction of the Department ("poles"), as further set forth in Seattle City Light's Construction and Materials Standards and Practices ("Standards") and Joint Use Application Handbook ("Handbook").

POLICY

1. Scope. This policy pertains to all wireless attachments (e.g., antennas and associated equipment, power supplies, cables and fiber optic cables) with a Wireless Communications Site Agreement ("Agreement") as mandated by Ordinance 118737.

2. Purpose of Infrastructure. Needs and interests of wireless communications providers to access and utilize Department infrastructure shall be accommodated so long as they do not interfere with its core purpose and function, which is for safe and reliable delivery of electric services. Users of any poles or other facilities must at all times ensure the continued operational integrity, safety, and reliability of the Department's electric services, personnel, and the general public.

3. Application. All new wireless attachments and modifications to existing attachments require an application be submitted to the Department and/or its authorized agent. Complete applications shall be processed according to the process set forth in the Handbook.

Table 1: Application Fee

Wood Small Cell fee per application submitted $800

Streetlight Small Cell fee per application submitted $5,000

Macro Cell fee per application submitted $1,600

.

4. Make Ready and Corrective Work. All make ready and corrective work is the financial responsibility of the applicant and must be performed by the City or its authorized agent. Attachments may not be moved or adjusted without prior written approval from the Department and any other co-owner. With prior approval, applicants may be permitted to self-perform some types of work, however only Department-authorized crews or agents are permitted to work in the supply space.

5. Evaluation and Verification. Engineering, field evaluation or verification of attachments shall be conducted at the Department's determination and any costs incurred by for such work shall be paid by the applicant.

6. Construction Charges. An estimate of the cost for work to be performed by the Department during regular working hours and/or on overtime shall be paid before the work commences. If payment for work has not been satisfied within 60 days the application shall be cancelled. A final bill will be issued for time and material already accrued. The need for additional work may also be identified after the Attachment is made or during subsequent inspections. A final bill will be issued upon the completion of the work to reconcile charges to actual expense.

A percentage of all required support, administration and overhead costs shall be applied as a non-refundable expense to all estimates and billings.

7. Specialized Electrical Service. Attachments may be unmetered provided that they are fused by the Department at the point of service. Unmetered services shall be billed flat rates based on the fuse rating. Applicants shall be responsible for all charges incurred by the Department to replace blown fuses. If a flat-rate service is not viable or practical, a metered facility must be installed. See Standards and Handbook for more information.

8. Fines/Penalties: The Department shall impose fines and penalties for violations of NESC, Agreements, or Standards under authority codified under SMC 15.04 and Title 21. All fines and penalties will be charged per occurrence, per pole, per day from the date of discovery to the date of verified remedy as shown in Table 2. All safety codes are the minimum required and will be strictly enforced.

Safety Code (NESC) (WAC/OSHA/WISHA) $500

Unauthorized Attachment $500

Standard and Construction Compliance $250

Failure to Call Job Start $250

Failure to Call Job Complete $250

Housekeeping or Workmanship $100

Failure to Attach Owner Tags or Warning Placards $100

Table 2: Fines and Penalties

DEFINITIONS

Applicant. The individual or entity that has applied for a permit, on their or another individual's or entity's behalf, to install an attachment on a Department pole.

Corrective work. Work discovered any time after the attachment has been made that the Department requires be corrected by the Department or its authorized agent, at the expense of the applicant, to meet applicable minimum safety codes or Standards.

Make ready work. Work the Department requires be performed by the Department or its authorized agent, at the expense of the applicant, as a condition of attaching to a pole, either before approving the applicant's attachment, or as may be required to meet applicable safety codes.

Supply space. The space located between the neutral/secondary conduction on a pole and the pole top. This is consistent with the National Electrical Safety Code ("NESC") definition.

REFERENCES

National Electrical Safety Code (NESC)

Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 296-45, and WAC 296-46

Seattle City Light Construction and Materials Standards and Work Practices

Joint Use Webpage and Application Handbook

Seattle Municipal Code 15.04 and SMC 21.49

Seattle Municipal Code Ordinance 118737

APPENDIX:

Distribution: Posted online @ Seattle City Light Public Policies

REVISION HISTORY:

DATE CHANGES MADE REVISED BY

06/16/2026 Updated the Streetlight application fee from $1,600 to $5,000 based on an average of actual crew costs accrued during the application process of individual sites.

Author: Doug Haberman, Mark Mikkelson, Carsten Croff

Coordinator: Kim Kinney