Site Candidate Information Package (SCIP)
The Site Candidate Information Package (SCIP), pronounced “skip,” is widely used throughout the wireless site acquisition business. The meanings for a SCIP differ slightly from one project team to another, but those variations are minimal. Some developer processes may call the SAR a SCIP, a quick SCIP, or an initial collection of candidate SCIPs. By the time a site is selected, the SCIP name is usually identified only with the location approved by the site selection procedure. For our conversation, the SAR is clearly distinguished from the SCIP to remove any possible confusion. The cover sheet of a SCIP lists the contents of the report. Compared to the SAR, the SCIP includes additional raw data about the property, more map illustrations, more photographs, and useful additional information in the form of attachments and copies of pages of pertinent information. Since SCIPs may include as many as forty to fifty pages, it’s helpful to number pages and including page numbers on the cover sheet for easy navigation to the content in the report. The purpose of the SCIP is to provide all members of the project team with information to initiate due diligence efforts specific to their discipline’s relationship to the client’s objectives. To this end, the SCIP provides the opportunity to capture most of the contact information needed to coordinate the project through the completion of real estate entitlements.
Property Owner Contact Information
A large part of the additional data provided in the SCIP is information about the property parcel of the selected site. In addition to providing names and contact info for the site owners or representatives, the SCIP should distinguish between the site owner—who, in the case of collocation on an existing tower, may be a tenant of the property owner—and the property owner. If an attorney is or will be representing the property or site owner, the attorney’s name and contact information are included as well.
Jurisdictional Contact Information
Jurisdictional contact information is not necessary in the SAR. The SCIP is the place to document contact data for county offices such as that of the treasurer, the assessor, the clerk and recorder, the auditor, the sheriff, the 911/E911 coordinator, the public works department, the highway department, the county attorney, the planning and zoning department, and the building department. If consideration by a subdivision association or neighborhood group is part of the process, documentation of this contact information is incorporated into the SCIP report.
Type of Proposed Site
It is necessary to make clear what type of development is proposed. The choices typically include a new macro or microcell build on vacant land, a building rooftop, or a pole or collocation on an existing tower or another type of structure. This information clarifies the facility developer’s planning objectives regarding capital expenditures.
Communications Tower Collocations
Regarding collocation on existing structures, the SCIP report provides the construction date of the structure, the structure owner’s site identification name and number, the proposed location for radios and other associated equipment, and the potential generator space and location. Some information from the SAR is also included in the SCIP, such as the proposed elevation for antennas on the existing structure, the proposed size of the leased space, the structure type, the overall structure height, the FAA determination file number, the FCC ASR number, and the structure’s FCC ASR web page. The FAA 1A or 2C letter, site plans, land surveys, and construction drawings for the existing facility are attached to or incorporated into the SCIP. The structure owner is to be the source of this information and it might not be made available until after preliminary collocation application approval.
Multi-Story Building Structures
Regarding building structures, in addition to resubmitting information already provided in the SAR (such as the building height; architectural, elevation, structural, riser, and electrical drawings; the locations for antennas and other equipment; and existing carriers located on the building), the SCIP provides the following:
- the date the building was built
- the nature of interior and exterior walls, floor, and ceiling for the associated equipment room
- any parking arrangements negotiated with the owners
- the docks and elevators available to bring in heavy equipment
- any environmental considerations such as lead-based paint, mold, or asbestos
Vacant Land Sites
Regarding sites selected for vacant land development, the SCIP describes the existence or proximity1 of the following to the selected location:
- adjacent parcel zoning
- airports
- AM towers
- environmental conditions
- floodplains or wetlands
- high-wind conditions in the area
- neighboring land uses
- railroad tracks
- residential dwellings
- seismic faults
- sinkholes
- topography of terrain, including drainage and slope considerations
Property Details
Taking the selected site through the entire project cycle requires more detailed property information than was necessary to evaluate and select the most desirable location. The SCIP, therefore, includes the following:
- the assessor’s parcel number
- the current deed, including the legal description of the property
- the jurisdiction’s contact information
- the leasing process details
- the subdivision association contact information
- the treasurer’s tax identification number
- details about the zoning process
Maps
In addition to refocusing maps of the search area, streets, topography, and aerial photos that were used in the SAR to the selected site, additional maps are provided in the SCIP. The nature of some of the new maps will be dictated by the area surrounding the selected site. The SCIP may be the appropriate report to introduce a FEMA panel map, the USFWS wetlands map, a tax map, an aerial photograph, and a zoning map. Use your best judgment to scale these maps for the most clarity regarding the selected site and the immediate surrounding area. If some of these maps were considered critical for site selection decision making they could have been included in the SAR.
The Site Acquisition Consultant Site Sketch
Drawings begin to enter the picture in the SCIP with the development of a sketch for the proposed site location. The consultant’s site sketch depicts the relationship of the proposed lease space to the overall property as perceived by and discussed with the property owner. This site sketch additionally characterizes the size of the proposed lease area, the location and length of the existing or proposed access road, the proposed access point from the public right-of-way, the location and distance from the site to electrical power, the location of telephone and fiber-optic transport pedestals, and the surrounding roads or streets. This sketch does not need to be drawn to a scale, but more important distances are labeled. The placement of a north arrow is appropriate along with a “not to scale” caption. The consultant sketch is a simple drawing of what has been preliminarily agreed to with the property owner.
Photographs
Some photographs needed for the SCIP were provided in the SAR. Additional views looking toward the proposed site from cardinal directions may be added to the SCIP. While these pictures may be close-ups of the proposed lease area, distance telephotos also work well. In fact, if the looking-outward photos submitted in the SAR include close-up views of the proposed lease space in the foreground, additional views toward the site can be provided from farther away, offering more perspective, with a telco or fiber-optic transport pedestal in the foreground for instance.
Construction Details
In addition to the standard information about the physical characteristics of the property provided in the SAR, the SCIP report should provide details about any particular access that is to be used only during the facility’s construction or installation. This might take into account how a multiple-ton equipment shelter is to be transported to the proposed site location if the normal access route proposed isn’t capable or appropriate. Communicate all special instructions for construction in the SCIP.
Jurisdictional Processes and Procedures
Besides the local jurisdiction’s permitting information provided in the SAR, the SCIP includes vital additional information for site design purposes. This comprises setback requirements, height limits, and the types of structures exempted from height limits. Include in the SCIP details about the specific permit procedures required, including the sequence of separate processes (such as zoning permits vs. building permits) that need to be undertaken. These details impact project schedules.
Permit Approval Requirements
The more knowledge you gain from conversations or experience working with a jurisdiction, the more specific you can make the SCIP report, increasing its value. Try to anticipate all jurisdictional requirements for planning the site design with respect to stormwater plans, soil erosion plans, visual screening of the facility, site landscaping, structure foundation plans, FAA approval, and issues regarding non-conforming uses or properties. Don’t beg for requirements that don’t exist; just be sure you know all requirements that do exist.
Excerpts of Jurisdiction Permit Documentation
To adequately verify and convey the language of a local zoning code—including district regulations, conditional-use permit processes, exceptions for height regulations, and the context for appeals within a jurisdiction—copy pertinent pages from the zoning code and provide them in the SCIP. This is an effective manner to document and communicate zoning due diligence. These excerpts may include information packages assembled by the jurisdiction to assist developers in understanding how the planning and building departments administer local regulations. Detailed excerpts not only allow the project team to review unfiltered information, but also provide the site acquisition consultant with targeted reference material throughout the site acquisition and permitting process.
