5G Small Wireless Facilities
Pima County is prohibited from regulating 5G wireless facilities within county rights-of-way.
Telecommunication companies are currently installing small wireless facilities (SWF) within Pima County Rights of Way. They will be used to complement their existing larger macro sites in the region to provide 5G service. Residents can expect to see these facilities being installed in the right of way on existing infrastructure such as streetlights, power poles, and traffic signals and new utility poles. While currently most of the installation of these sites are located in more densely populated areas of the region, it can be expected that new poles will be installed throughout Pima County over the coming few years.
Federal and state laws prevents counties from regulating how 5G wireless facilities are deployed in our rights-of-way. In March 2017, the Arizona State Legislature approved and Governor Doug Ducey signed into law House Bill 2365, which revised Title 11, Chapter 13 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. §11-1801 to §11-1810) relating to wireless services. The law requires counties to allow small wireless facilities to be located in the county’s owned right of way as a by right use with only a building permit.
Property owners may reach out to state or federal representatives with concerns regarding these installations, as, Pima County is limited on its approval authority.
Pima County is committed to provide as much information to the public as possible regarding these 5G small facilities. For information on the location of these facilities on a map, see:
https://pimamaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=be9741dbd4ef4e2d9adaefea1c1d23d3
For viewing, input an address at the top of the page and select. Then select the green icon at the bottom of the page and select "Facility Addresses" from the drop down menu. Facilities will show up on the map as a red dot.