It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation or association of persons to use or occupy any public ground whatever in the city or any space above, or below any public ground for the purpose of conducting any public utility wherein service is rendered to the public for hire or charge, unless permission is first had from the Board of Commissioners in the manner provided in this Charter. All public utilities whose franchise, or grant, expires by limitation expressed in the grant, shall, within six months from the date of the expiration of the grant or franchise remove all properties belonging to them from the public grounds and restore the grounds and surface of the street to its original condition, unless before the expiration of the grant or within ninety days thereafter a new franchise or extension of the old franchise be granted under the same rules governing the granting of new franchises, as in this Charter provided.
(Adopted May 8, 1923)