The following definitions apply in this chapter. References hereafter to "sections" are, unless otherwise specified, references to sections in this chapter. Defined terms remain defined terms whether or not capitalized.
ABANDONED FACILITY: A facility no longer in service or physically disconnected from a portion of the operating facility, or from any other facility, that is in use or still carries service. A facility is not abandoned unless declared so by the right-of-way user.
APPLICANT: Any person requesting permission to excavate or obstruct a right-of-way.
CITY: The City of Albertville, Minnesota. For purposes of section, "City" means its elected officials, officers, employees and agents.
COLLOCATE OR COLLOCATION: To install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or replace a small wireless facility on, under, within, or adjacent to an existing wireless support structure or utility pole that is owned privately, or by the City or other governmental unit.
COMMISSION: The State Public Utilities Commission.
CONGESTED RIGHT-OF-WAY: A crowded condition in the subsurface of the public right-of-way that occurs when the maximum lateral spacing between existing underground facilities does not allow for construction of new underground facilities without using hand digging to expose the existing lateral facilities in conformance with Minnesota Statutes section 216D.04 subdivision 3, over a continuous length in excess of five hundred feet (500').
CONSTRUCTION PERFORMANCE BOND: Any of the following forms of security provided at permittee's option:
A. Individual project bond.
B. Cash deposit.
C. Security of a form listed or approved under Minnesota Statutes section 15.73, subdivision 3.
D. Letter of credit, in a form acceptable to the City.
E. Self-insurance, in a form acceptable to the City.
F. A blanket bond for projects within the City, or other form of construction bond, for a time specified and in a form acceptable to the City.
DEGRADATION: A decrease in the useful life of the right-of-way caused by excavation in or disturbance of the right-of-way, resulting in the need to reconstruct such right-of-way earlier than would be required if the excavation or disturbance did not occur.
DEGRADATION COST: Subject to Minnesota Rules 7819.1100, means the cost to achieve a level of restoration as determined by the City at the time the permit is issued, not to exceed the maximum restoration shown in plates 1 to 13, set forth in Minnesota Rules parts 7819.9900 to 7819.9950.
DEGRADATION FEE: The estimated fee established at the time of permitting by the City to recover costs associated with the decrease in the useful life of the right-of-way caused by the excavation, and which equals the degradation cost.
DELAY PENALTY: The penalty imposed as a result of unreasonable delays in right-of-way excavation, obstruction, patching, or restoration as established by permit.
DEPARTMENT: The Department of Public Works of the City.
DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR: Any person authorized by the City to carry out inspections related to the provisions of this chapter.
DIRECTOR: The Director of the Department of Public Works of the City, or her or his designee.
EMERGENCY: A condition that: a) poses a danger to life or health, or of a significant loss of property; or b) requires immediate repair or replacement of facilities in order to restore service to a customer.
EQUIPMENT: Any tangible asset used to install, repair, or maintain facilities in any right-of-way.
EXCAVATE: To dig into or in any way remove or physically disturb or penetrate any part of a right-of-way.
EXCAVATION PERMIT: The permit which, pursuant to this chapter, must be obtained before a person may excavate in a right-of-way. An "excavation permit" allows the holder to excavate that part of the right-of-way described in such permit.
EXCAVATION PERMIT FEE: Money paid to the City by an applicant to cover the costs as provided in section 3-1-3 of this Code.
FACILITY OR FACILITIES: Any tangible asset in the right-of-way required to provide utility service.
FIVE YEAR PROJECT PLAN: Shows projects adopted by the City for construction within the next five (5) years.
HIGH DENSITY CORRIDOR: A designated portion of the public right- of-way within which telecommunications right-of-way users having multiple and competing facilities may be required to build and install facilities in a common conduit system or other common structure.
HOLE: An excavation in the pavement, with the excavation having a length less than the width of the pavement.
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE: A local person or persons, or designee of such person or persons, authorized by a registrant to accept service and to make decisions for that registrant regarding all matters within the scope of this chapter.
MANAGEMENT COSTS: The actual costs the City incurs in managing its rights-of-way, including such costs, if incurred, as those associated with registering applicants; issuing, processing, and verifying right-of-way or small wireless facility permit applications; inspecting job sites and restoration projects; maintaining, supporting, protecting, or moving user facilities during right-of-way work; determining the adequacy of right-of- way restoration; restoring work inadequately performed after providing notice and the opportunity to correct the work; and revoking right-of-way or small wireless facility permits. Management costs do not include payment by a telecommunications right-of-way user for the use of the right-of-way, unreasonable fees of a third-party contractor used by the City including fees tied to or based on customer counts, access lines, or revenues generated by the right-of-way or for the City, the fees and cost of litigation relating to the interpretation of Minnesota Session Laws 1997, chapter 123; Minnesota Statutes sections 237.162 or 237.163; or any ordinance enacted under those sections, or the City fees and costs related to appeals taken pursuant to section 8-2-19 of this chapter.
OBSTRUCT: To place any tangible object in a right-of-way so as to hinder free and open passage over that or any part of the right- of-way.
OBSTRUCTION PERMIT: The permit which, pursuant to this chapter, must be obtained before a person may obstruct a right-of-way, allowing the holder to hinder free and open passage over the specified portion of that right-of-way, for the duration specified therein.
OBSTRUCTION PERMIT FEE: Money paid to the City by a permittee to cover the costs as provided in section 3-1-3 of this Code.
PATCH OR PATCHING: A method of pavement replacement that is temporary in nature. A patch consists of: a) the compaction of the subbase and aggregate base; and b) the replacement, in kind, of the existing pavement for a minimum of two feet (2') beyond the edges of the excavation in all directions. A "patch" is considered full restoration only when the pavement is included in the City's five year project plan.
PAVEMENT: Any type of improved surface that is within the public right-of-way and that is paved or otherwise constructed with bitumen, concrete, aggregate, or gravel.
PERMIT: Has the meaning given "right-of-way permit" in Minnesota Statutes section 237.162.
PERMITTEE: Any person to whom a permit to excavate or obstruct a right-of-way has been granted by the City under this chapter.
PERSON: An individual or entity subject to the laws and rules of the State, however organized, whether public or private, whether domestic or foreign, whether for profit or nonprofit, and whether natural, corporate, or political.
PROBATION: The status of a person that has not complied with the conditions of this chapter.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: One year from the date that a person has been notified in writing that he has been put on probation.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY OR RIGHT-OF-WAY: The area on, below, or above a public roadway, highway, street, cartway, bicycle lane or public sidewalk in which the City has an interest, including other dedicated rights-of-way for travel purposes and utility easements of the City. A right-of-way does not include the airwaves above a right-of-way with regard to cellular or other non-wire telecommunications or broadcast service.
REGISTRANT: Any person who: a) has or seeks to have its equipment or facilities located in any right-of-way; or b) in any way occupies or uses, or seeks to occupy or use, the right-of-way or place its facilities or equipment in the right-of-way.
RESTORATION COST: The amount of money paid to the City by a permittee to achieve the level of restoration according to plates 1 to 13 of Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rules.
RESTORE OR RESTORATION: The process by which an excavated right- of-way and surrounding area, including pavement and foundation, is returned to the same condition and life expectancy that existed before excavation.
RIGHT-OF-WAY PERMIT: Either the excavation permit or the obstruction permit, or both, depending on the context, required by this chapter.
RIGHT-OF-WAY USER: A. A telecommunications right-of-way user, as defined by Minnesota Statutes section 237.162, subdivision 4; or
B. A person owning or controlling a facility in the right-of-way that is used or intended to be used for providing utility service, and who has a right under law, franchise, or ordinance to use the public right-of-way.
SERVICE OR UTILITY SERVICE: Includes:
A. Those services provided by a public utility, as defined in Minnesota Statutes section 216B.02, subdivisions 4 and 6;
B. Services of a telecommunications right-of-way user, including transporting of voice or data information;
C. Services of a cable communications systems, as defined in Minnesota Statutes chapter 238;
D. Natural gas or electric energy or telecommunications services provided by the City;
E. Services provided by a cooperative electric association organized under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 308A; and
F. Water, sewer, steam, cooling or heating services.
SMALL WIRELESS FACILITY: A wireless facility that meets both of the following qualifications:
A. Each antenna is located inside an enclosure of no more than six (6) cubic feet in volume or could fit within such an enclosure; and
B. All other wireless equipment associated with the small wireless facility provided such equipment is, in aggregate, no more than twenty eight (28) cubic feet in volume, not including electric meters, concealment elements, telecommunications demarcation boxes, battery backup power systems, grounding equipment, power transfer switches, cutoff switches, cable, conduit, vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other services, and any equipment concealed from public view within or behind an existing structure or concealment.
SUPPLEMENTARY APPLICATION: An application made to excavate or obstruct more of the right-of-way than allowed in, or to extend, a permit that had already been issued.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS RIGHT-OF-WAY USER: A person owning or controlling a facility in the right-of-way, or seeking to own or control a facility in the right-of-way that is used or is intended to be used for providing wireless service, or transporting telecommunication or other voice or data information. For purposes of this chapter, a cable communication system defined and regulated under Minnesota Statutes chapter 238, and telecommunication activities related to providing natural gas or electric energy services, a public utility as defined in Minnesota Statutes section 216B.02, a municipality, a municipal gas or power agency organized under Minnesota Statutes chapters 453 and 453A, or a cooperative electric association organized under Minnesota Statutes chapter 308A, are not telecommunications right-of-way users for purposes of this chapter except to the extent such entity is offering wireless service.
TEMPORARY SURFACE: The compaction of subbase and aggregate base and replacement, in kind, of the existing pavement only to the edges of the excavation. It is temporary in nature except when the replacement is of pavement included in the City's two year plan, in which case, it is considered full restoration.
TRENCH: An excavation in the pavement, with the excavation having a length equal to or greater than the width of the pavement.
TWO YEAR PROJECT PLAN: Shows projects adopted by the City for construction within the next two (2) years.
UTILITY POLE: A pole that is used in whole or in part to facilitate telecommunications or electric service.
WIRELESS FACILITY: Equipment at a fixed location that enables the provision of wireless services between user equipment and a wireless service network, including equipment associated with wireless service, a radio transceiver, antenna, coaxial or fiber- optic cable, regular and backup power supplies, and a small wireless facility, but not including wireless support structures, wireline backhaul facilities, or cables between utility poles or wireless support structures, or not otherwise immediately adjacent to and directly associated with a specific antenna.
WIRELESS SERVICE: Any service using licensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum, including the use of Wi-Fi, whether at a fixed location or by means of a mobile device, that is provided using wireless facilities. Wireless service does not include services regulated under title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, including cable service.
WIRELESS SUPPORT STRUCTURE: A new or existing structure in a right-of-way designed to support or capable of supporting small wireless facilities, as reasonably determined by the City. (Ord. 2004-13; amd. Ord. 2017-12, 12-4-2017)