(A) Findings regarding rights-of-way. The city finds that the rights-of-way within the city:
(1) Are critical to the travel and transport of persons and property in the business and social life of the city;
(2) Are intended for public uses and must be managed and controlled consistent with that intent;
(3) Can be partially occupied by the facilities of utilities and other public service entities delivering utility and public services rendered for profit, to the enhancement of the health, welfare, and general economic well-being of the city and its citizens; and
(4) Are a unique and physically limited resource requiring proper management to maximize the efficiency and to minimize the costs to the taxpayers of the foregoing uses and to minimize the inconvenience to and negative effects upon the public from such facilities’ construction, placement, relocation and maintenance in the rights-of-way.
(B) Findings regarding compensation. The city finds that the right to occupy portions of the rights-of-way for limited times for the business of providing telecommunications services is a valuable use of a unique public resource that has been acquired and is maintained at great expense to the city and its taxpayers and, therefore, the taxpayers of the city should receive fair and reasonable compensation for use of the rights-of-way.
(C) Findings regarding local concern. The city finds that while telecommunication systems are in part an extension of interstate commerce, their operations also involve rights-of-way, municipal franchising and vital business and community service, which are of local concern.
(D) Findings regarding promotion of telecommunications services. The city finds that it is in the best interests of its taxpayers and citizens to promote the rapid development of telecommunications services, on a nondiscrimination basis, responsive to community and public interest and to assure availability for municipal, educational and community services.
(E) Findings regarding franchise standards. The city finds that it is in the interests of the public to franchise and to establish standards for franchising providers in a manner that:
(1) Fairly and reasonably compensates the city on a competitively neutral and non- discriminatory basis as provided herein;
(2) Encourages competition by establishing terms and conditions under which providers may use valuable public property to serve the public;
(3) Fully protects the public interests and the city from any harm that may flow from such commercial use of rights-of-way;
(4) Protects the police powers and rights-of-way management authority of the city, in a manner consistent with federal and state law;
(5) Otherwise protects the public interests in the development and use of the city infrastructure;
(6) Protects the public’s investment in improvements in the rights-of-way;
(7) Ensures that no barriers to entry of telecommunications providers are created and that such franchising is accomplished in a manner that does not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting telecommunication services, within the meaning of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“Act”) (Pub. Law No. 104-104); and
(8) Complies with U.C.A. §§ 10-1-401 et seq. and U.C.A. § 72-7-102(4).
(F) Power to manage rights-of-way. The city adopts this subchapter pursuant to its power to manage the rights-of-way, pursuant to common law, the Utah Constitution and statutory authority, and receive fair and reasonable compensation for the use of rights-of-way by providers as expressly set forth by § 253 of the Act.
(Prior Code, § 33.01.010) (Ord. 98-37, passed 8-20-1998; Ord. 14-13, passed 11-6-2014)