How to Obtain a Wireless Permit in the Public Right of Way

The purpose of this guide is to assist applicants with successfully submitting a Wireless Facility Permit (WIR Permit) application to the City of Santa Monica Public Works Department for review. Applications are accepted by appointment only.

The following is a two phase process to obtain: 

• a wireless facility permit and 
• a permit to construct.

1. Apply for a Wireless Facility Permit or 6409(a) Permit

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   Complete one of the following Applications: 

   • Wireless Facility Permit Application -is for the the installation of new equipment. 
   • 6409(a) Permit Application - is for modifications to equipment, such as: locating new transmission equipment, removing transmission equipment, and replacing transmission equipment. 

   1.1 Request appointment

   To request a submittal appointment, email the Permits Counter (pw.permits@santamonica.gov) with the subject line “WIR Permit Appointment Request”. In the body of the email, provide a minimum of two (2) desired appointment windows. Allocate 15 minutes per application. 
   

   An event invite with Microsoft Teams will be sent to you. The person requesting the appointment will also receive an invitation to upload your application materials to the City’s Electronic Plan Review (ProjectDox) system.

   Before requesting an appointment, please make sure you have all required documents listed in the Wireless Facility Permit application.
   

   1.2 Upload your documents

   Once an appointment has been scheduled, project will be created for you and an email will be sent inviting you to access the project. First time users will also receive a temporary password. 

   Click “Project Access Link” in the email and login with your credentials. First time users are encouraged to update their password by clicking the “Profile” button on the top right after logging in. 

   Upon logging in, another email will be sent to you inviting you to upload plans and supporting documents to ProjectDox. Follow the instructions provided in that email, but note that Wireless Facility Permit application materials are only accepted in PDF format. Tutorials are provided at the end of the email for your reference. 

   All files must be uploaded prior to your submittal appointment. Documents must be submitted in PDF format. Documents submitted in any other format will not be accepted. All documents must be organized and named according to the information below. 

   Wireless Facility Permit Application     
   WIR APPL

   6409(a)-Permit Application                 
   6409(a) APPL

   Construction Documents                     
   0-TITLE for title sheet; all other sheets named according to actual sheet number.
   Each sheet of the construction documents must be saved as individual PDFs. Name the title sheet "0-TITLE". All other sheets should be logically named according to the sheet number (e.g., A-1.0, A-1.1, E-1.0, etc.)

   Photosimulations                                 
   PHOTOSIMS

   Site location justification                     
   SLJ

   Appendix A                                         
   APPENDIX A

   RF EME Report                                     
   RF EME

   Structural Calculations                         
   STRUCT CALCS

   Lighting Study                                     
   LIGHT STUDY

   Coastal Commission Approval/Exemption                           
   COASTAL

   Any information pertaining to an exemption request                     
   EXEMPTION

   Previous submitted approved permits/plans                                    
   APPROVED MISC

   1.3 Your appointment
   

   When it is time for your appointment, please join the online meeting sent to you. Your plan reviewer will then go over all documents that you uploaded to ensure that all materials are present and uploaded in the correct format.
   

   If all application materials are present and correctly formatted, your application will be accepted and routed for plan check. 

   If application materials are missing or incorrectly formatted, your application will not be accepted. You will need to re-complete the Applicant Upload task and request a new submittal appointment.
   

2. Apply for a Wireless Telecommunications Construction Permit

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   Once step 1 above is completed and there is an approved Wireless Facility Permit, one may proceed to apply for a A Wireless Telecommunications Construction Permit. Please complete the Wireless Telecommunications Construction Permit Application. 

   This step is necessary to construct the wireless service facility in the public right-of-way as approved under a separate Wireless Facility Permit or 6409(a) Permit. 
   

   Required Application Materials 

   Before requesting an appointment, make sure you have all required application materials. Documents must be submitted in PDF format. Documents submitted in any other format will not be accepted. 

   2.1 Request an appointment: Send all appointments via email to the Permits Counter (pw.permits@santamonica.gov) with the subject line “TC Permit Appointment Request”. In the body of the email, provide a minimum of two (2) desired appointment windows. 

   Appointments can be scheduled any day of the week that City Hall is open. Allocate 30 minutes per TC Permit application.

   
   2.2 Receive an event invite: An event invite with a Teams teleconference will be sent to you along with a OneDrive link to place all application materials. 

   This link only works for the email address of the person requesting the appointment. If additional people need access to the OneDrive, provide those emails when requesting a submittal appointment. 

   2.3 Upload your materials: Prior to your submittal appointment, upload all applications materials to the OneDrive link provided. Name the files according to the convention in this guide, create a separate folder for each application. 

   All documents must be named beginning with the Wireless Facility Permit number (XXWIR-XXXX) followed by a hyphen, then the document name as defined in the table below. 
   

   • The WIR number is case sensitive and must be all caps with no spaces.
     o 19WIR-0001 is correct; 19wir-0001 is incorrect
     o 19WIR-0001 is correct; 19WIR - 0001 is incorrect (please, no spaces in the document name before/after the hyphen) 
   • Place a dash immediately after the WIR number, no spaces 
   • Use the document name based on the document type defined in the table below. It must be all caps.
     o TC APPL is correct; Tc appl is incorrect (Please use all CAPS) 

   DOCUMENT NAMING CONVENTION FOR TC PERMIT APPLICATIONS
   

   Wireless Telecommunications Construction Permit Application
   Document name: TC APPL
   Example: 20WIR-0001-RC APPL
   If a letter of authorization is required, attach it as the last page of the application.
   

   Documents Required as a Condition of Approval 
   e.g., Bond, bond amount justification/backup. All of these documents should be combined as one PDF
   Document name: COA
   Example: 20WIR-0001-COA

   Contractor Insurance
   Document name: INS
   Example: 20WIR-0001-INS

   Temporary Traffic Control Plan
   Document name: TTCP
   Example: 20WIR-0001-TTCP

   • Contractor insurance: The City keeps contractor insurance on file. If you have previously submitted contractor insurance and it is still valid, you do not need to re-submit. 
   • A copy of the contractor’s state license card and City business license are not required. Staff will electronically verify that these documents are valid. 
   • Construction documents are not required. Staff will electronically retrieve the approved plans from the City’s server.

   2.4 Application review: At the time of your submittal appointment, a City staff member will review all submitted materials. If all required documents are provided, a TC Permit will be emailed to you for signature. 

   Fees will be invoiced. If you are unable to pay fees online, please let us know. 

   2.5 Review and sign: Review and sign the TC Permit and email it back to the City staff member processing the application. The City staff member will sign the TC Permit and provide a copy of the approved plans and an inspection card. 

   2.6 Print: Print out the permit, plans, and inspection card. They must be maintained on the jobsite at all times

   2.7 Construction: refer to digital inspection card for next steps before starting work. 
   

   2.8 Permit Renewals: applicants are given 180 days to complete the construction work, one may complete the Wireless Telecommunication Construction Permit Renewal Application to obtain an extension.