MARS — The borough will work with Cohen Law Group to develop an ordinance related to the construction of small wireless facilities before the Pennsylvania Act 50 deadline at the end of the month.

The borough council approved a working contract with the law group at a meeting on Monday night to put together a new wireless ordinance and wireless facility design standards.

PA Act 50, or the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act, which was signed into law in June, adds regulations related to the construction of small wireless facilities. Small wireless facilities are defined by the state as having an antenna that is no more than three cubic feet in volume and having no more than 28 cubic feet of other equipment.

The ordinance will deal with the construction of utility poles, antennas and other facilities related to broadband and wireless. These facilities are often built in public rights of way.

Cohen Law Group plans to launch a review of the borough' existing ordinances, and prepare and refine a wireless facilities ordinance and design standards.

“These steps will allow the borough to revise its regulatory structure to comply with state and federal law and to better manage wireless facilities,” Daniel Cohen of Cohen Law Group wrote in the contract proposal sent to the borough. “It will also allow the borough to strike a balance between the need for wireless broadband and the equally important desire to preserve the character of the community.”

“They will come in and review all of our ordinances to see if there are any conflicts with our ordinances and the PA State Act 50, and with the federal statute,” council member Brad Price said.

PA Act 50 allows for municipalities to charge fees for permit applications and use of right of way. It also allows them to require “reasonable, technically feasible, nondiscriminatory and technologically neutral design or concealment measures” in a historic district or on historic buildings, and to develop objective design guidelines for small wireless facilities to minimize aesthetic impact.

Cohen Law Group is also working with a number of other municipalities in Pennsylvania, including Cranberry Township, to develop ordinances related to small wireless facilities.