(a) Technical Information Required. Prior to commencement of any initial construction of facilities in the rights-of-way, except for repair, maintenance or replacement with like facilities only, a right-of-way construction permittee shall provide technical information about the proposed route of construction. The technical information required shall consist of, at minimum, completion of the following tasks:
(1) Secure all available “as-built” plans, plats, and other location data indicating the existence and approximate location of all provider's facilities along the proposed construction route.
(2) Visibly survey and record the location and dimensions of any provider's facilities along the proposed construction route, including, but not limited to, manholes, valve boxes, utility boxes, posts, and visible street cut repairs.
(3) Determine and record the presence and location as precisely as is reasonably possible of all underground facilities the applicant or person on whose behalf the permit was applied for owns or controls in the rights-of- way along the proposed system route. Upon request of the Director of Public Works, a permittee shall also record and identify the general location of all other facilities in the rights-of-way along the proposed system route. For the purposes of this section, general location shall mean the alignment of other facilities in the rights-of-way, but shall not necessarily mean the depth of other facilities in the rights-of-way.
(4) Plot and incorporate the data obtained from completion of the tasks described in this section on the permittee’s proposed system route maps, construction plans, plan sheets, or computer aided drafting and design (CADD) files, or other data files in a mutually agreeable format.
(5) Where the proposed location of facilities and the location of existing underground facilities appear to conflict with the plans as drafted, right-of- way construction permittee has the option of either utilizing non-destructive digging methods, such as vacuum excavation, at the critical points identified to determine as precisely as possible, the horizontal, vertical and spatial position, composition, size and other specifications of the conflicting underground facilities, or re-designing the construction plans to eliminate the apparent conflict. A right-of-way construction permittee shall not excavate more than a three foot by three foot square hole in the rights-of- way in order to make this determination to complete this task.
(6) Plot, incorporate, and reconcile the data obtained by completion of the tasks described in this subsection (a) with the updated system route maps, construction plans and CADD files or other data files in a mutually agreeable format as described in subsection (a)(4).
(7) Based on the data collected upon completion of the tasks described in this section, adjust the proposed system design.
(b) Copy to City. Upon completion of the tasks described in subsection (a), the right- of-way construction permittee shall plot and incorporate the data on the right-of-way construction permittee's proposed system route maps, construction plans, plan sheets, and CADD files, or other data files in a mutually agreeable format and deliver a copy to the Department of Public Works.
(c) Qualified Firm. All technical information gathered pursuant to this section shall be performed by a firm specializing in utility engineering or by the right-of-way construction permittee if the right-of-way construction permittee is qualified to complete the project itself.
(d) Cost of Supplying Technical Information. The right-of-way construction permittee shall bear the cost of compliance with subsections (a) through (c) of this section.
(e) Construction Schedule. Unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, or unless the Director of Public Works waives any of the requirements of this section due to unique or unusual circumstances, a right-of-way construction permittee shall be required to: submit a written construction and restoration schedule to the City two working days before commencing any work in or about the rights-of-way and shall further notify the City not less than two working days in advance of any excavation in the rights-of-way. This section shall apply to all situations with the exception of circumstances under Section 1080.19 and Section 1080.19(d)(1).
(f) Location of Facilities.
(1) The placement of new facilities and replacement of old facilities, either above ground or underground, shall be completed in conformity with applicable laws.
(2) The City shall have the power to prohibit or limit the placement of new or additional facilities within the rights-of-way if the right-of-way is full. In making such decisions, the City shall strive to the extent possible to accommodate all existing and potential users of the rights-of-way, but shall be guided primarily by considerations of the public health, safety, and welfare, the condition of the rights-of-way, the time of year with respect to essential utilities, the protection of existing facilities in the rights-of-way, future City and County plans for public improvements, development projects which have been determined to be in the public interest, and the non-discriminatory and competitively neutral treatment of providers.
(3) Should it be determined by the City that any existing poles in the rights-of- way are full, then those poles may be replaced with bigger and/or taller poles in order to accommodate additional facilities or systems but only after written permission has been received from the Director of Public Works and the right-of-way construction permittee has made reasonable attempts to reach an acceptable solution without replacement with bigger and/or taller poles. This paragraph shall not apply to replacement of any existing pole(s) with identically sized pole(s) which results from the destruction of or hazardous condition of the existing pole(s) as long as no new facilities or additional facilities are attached.
(g) Least Disruptive Technology. All construction or maintenance of facilities shall be accomplished in the manner resulting in the least amount of damage and disruption of the rights-of-way. Specifically, every permittee, if technologically and economically feasible, shall utilize Trenchless Technology, at the request of the Public Works Director. In addition, all cable, wire or fiber optic cable installed in the subsurface rights-of-way under this chapter may be required to be installed in conduit, and if so required, no cable, wire or fiber optic cable may be installed under this chapter using “
(h) Special Exceptions. The City may grant a special exception to the requirements of subsections (f) and (g) hereof if a permittee, upon application, demonstrates with written evidence that:
(1) The exception will not create any threat to the public health, safety or welfare.
(2) Permittee demonstrates that the increased economic burden and the potential adverse impact on the permittee's construction schedule resulting from the strict enforcement of the requirement actually or effectively inhibits the ability of the permittee to provide services in the City.
(3) The permittee demonstrates that the requirement unreasonably discriminates against the permittee in favor of another person.
(i) Relocation of Facilities.
(1) A provider shall promptly and at its own expense, permanently remove and relocate its facilities in the rights-of-way whenever the City finds it necessary to request such removal and relocation as defined in paragraphs (A) and (B) below. In instances where the City requests removal and/or relocation, the City shall waive all applicable right-of-way construction permit fees. Upon removal and/or relocation, the provider shall restore the rights-of-way to the same or better condition it was in prior to said removal or relocation. If existing poles are required to be removed and/or relocated, then the existing poles will be replaced with poles of the same or similar size unless waived in writing by the Director of Public Works. The Director of Public Works may request relocation and/or removal in order to prevent unreasonable interference by the provider's facilities with:
A. A public improvement undertaken or approved by the City;
B. When the public health, safety, and welfare requires it, or when necessary to prevent interference with the safety and convenience of ordinary travel over the rights-of-way.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a provider who has facilities in the right-of- way subject to a vacation or narrowing that is not required for the purposes of the City, shall have a permanent easement in such vacated portion or excess portion in conformity with Ohio R.C. 723.041.
(3) If, in the reasonable judgment of the City, a provider fails to commence the removal process and/or relocation of its facilities as designated by the City, within the period established by the Director of Public Works after reviewing the removal and/or relocation with the provider but in no event less than thirty days after the City's removal order is served upon provider, or if a provider fails to substantially complete such removal, including all associated repair of the rights-of-way of the City, within twelve months thereafter, then, to the extent not inconsistent with applicable law, the City shall have the right to:
A. Declare that all rights, title and interest to the facilities belong to the City with all rights of ownership, including, but not limited to, the right to connect and use the facilities or to effect a transfer of all right, title and interest in the facilities to another person for operation; or
B. Authorize removal of the facilities installed by the provider in, on, over or under the rights-of-way of the City at provider's cost and expense, by another person, however the City shall have no liability for any damage caused by such action and the provider shall be liable to the City for all reasonable costs incurred by the City in such action; and
C. To the extent consistent with applicable law, any portion of the provider's facilities in, on, over or under the rights-of-way of the City designated by the City for removal and not timely removed by the provider shall belong to and become the property of the City without payment to the provider, and the provider shall execute and deliver such documents, as the City shall request, in form and substance acceptable to the City, to evidence such ownership by the City.
(j) Pre-Excavation Facilities Location. Before the start date of any rights-of-way excavation for a public improvement project, each provider who has facilities located in the area to be excavated shall be responsible to mark the horizontal and make every reasonable attempt to mark the approximate vertical placement of all its facilities. All providers shall notify and work closely with the excavation contractor in an effort to establish the exact location of its facilities and the best procedure for excavation.
(k) Rights-of-Way Restoration.
(1) The work to be done under the permit, and the restoration of the rights-of- way as required herein, must be completed within the dates specified in the permit. In addition to its own work, the permittee must restore the general area of the work, and the surrounding areas, including trench backfill, paving and its foundations in accordance with any applicable laws and the standards established by the Director of Public Works, and must inspect the area of the work and use reasonable care to maintain the same condition for twelve months thereafter.
(2) In approving an application for a permit, the City may choose either to have the permittee restore the rights-of-way or the City may restore the rights-of- way itself.
(3) If the City chooses to allow permittee to restore the rights-of-way, right-of- way construction permittee shall at the time of application of a right-of-way construction permit post a construction bond in an amount determined by the City to be sufficient to cover the cost of restoring the rights-of-way to its pre-excavation condition. If, twelve months after completion of the restoration of the rights-of-way, the City determines that the rights-of-way have been properly restored, the surety on the construction bond shall be released.
(4) The permittee shall perform the work according to the standards and with the materials specified by the City. The City shall have the authority to prescribe the manner and extent of the restoration, and may do so in written procedures of general application or on a case-by-case basis. The City in exercising this authority shall be guided by the following standards and considerations: the number, size, depth and duration of the excavations, disruptions or damage to the rights-of-way; the traffic volume carried by the rights-of-way; the character of the neighborhood surrounding the rights-of- way; the pre-excavation condition of the rights-of-way; the remaining life- expectancy of the rights-of-way affected by the excavation; whether the relative cost of the method of restoration to the permittee is in reasonable balance with the prevention of an accelerated depreciation of the rights-of- way that would otherwise result from the excavation, disturbance or damage to the rights-of-way; and the likelihood that the particular method of restoration would be effective in slowing the depreciation of the rights-of- way that would otherwise take place. Methods of restoration shall be according to the rules and regulations, and any standards established by the Director of Public Works or any other laws.
(5) By restoring the rights-of-way itself, the permittee guarantees its pavement restoration work and shall maintain it for twelve months following its completion. During this twelve month period, it shall, upon notification from the Department of Public Works, correct all restoration work to the extent necessary using the method required by the Department of Public Works. Weather permitting, said work shall be completed within five business days of the receipt of the notice from the Department of Public Works.
(6) If the permittee fails to restore the rights-of-way in the manner and to the condition required by the City, or fails to satisfactorily and timely complete all repairs required by the City, the City, at its option, may do such work. In that event, the permittee shall pay to the City, within thirty days of billing, the cost of restoring the rights-of-way and any other costs incurred by the City. Upon failure to pay, the City may call upon any bond or letter of credit posted by permittee and/or pursue any and all legal and equitable remedies.
(l) Damage to Other Facilities.
(1) In the case of an emergency and, if possible, after reasonable efforts to contact the provider seeking a timely response, when the City performs work in the rights-of-way and finds it necessary to maintain, support, or move a provider’s facilities to protect those facilities, the costs associated therewith will be billed to that provider and shall be paid within thirty days from the date of billing. Upon failure to pay, the City may pursue all legal and equitable remedies in the event a provider does not pay or the City may call upon any bond or letter of credit posted by permittee and pursue any and all legal or equitable remedies.
(2) Each provider shall be responsible for the cost of repairing any facilities in the rights-of-way which it or its facilities damage. Each provider shall be responsible for the cost of repairing any damage to the facilities of another provider caused during the City's response to an emergency caused by that provider's facilities.
(m) Rights-of-Way Vacation. If the City vacates a rights-of-way which contains the facilities of a provider, such vacation shall be subject to the provisions of Ohio R.C. 723.041. If the vacation requires the relocation of the provider's facilities and if the vacation proceedings are initiated by the provider, the provider will pay the relocation costs. If the vacation requires the relocation of the provider's facilities and if the vacation proceedings are initiated by the City for a public purpose, the provider or permittee must pay the relocation costs unless otherwise agreed to by the City, the provider or permittee.
(n) Installation Requirements. The excavation, backfilling, restoration, and all other work performed in the rights-of-way shall be performed in conformance with all applicable laws and the standards as promulgated by the Director of Public Works.
(o) Inspection.
(1) When the construction under any permit hereunder is completed, the permittee shall notify the Department of Public Works.
(2) The permittee shall make the construction site available to the Inspector and to all others as authorized by law for inspection at all reasonable times during the execution and upon completion of the construction.
(3) At any time, including the time of inspection, the Inspector may order the immediate cessation of any work which poses a serious threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the public, violates any law, or which violates the terms and conditions of the permit and/or this chapter.
(4) The Inspector may issue an order to correct work which does not conform to the permit and/or applicable standards, conditions or codes. The order shall state that failure to correct the violation will be cause for revocation of the permit. The order may be served on the permittee as provided in Section 1080.23(d). An order may be appealed to the Director of Public Works. The decision of the Director of Public Works may be appealed to the City Manager whose decision shall be final. If not appealed, within ten days after issuance of the order, the provider shall present proof to the Director of Public Works that the violation has been corrected. If such proof has not been presented within the required time, the Director of Public Works may revoke the permit pursuant to Section 1080.19(d).
(p) Other Obligations. Obtaining a right-of-way construction permit does not relieve permittee of its duty to obtain all other necessary permits, licenses, and authority and to pay all fees required by the City, or any other city, county, state, or federal laws.
(1) A permittee shall comply with all requirements of laws, including the requirements of the Ohio Utility Protection Service.
(2) A permittee shall perform all work in conformance with all applicable laws and standards and is responsible for all work done in the rights-of-way pursuant to its permit, regardless of who performs the work.
(3) No rights-of-way obstruction or excavation may be performed when seasonally prohibited or when conditions are unreasonable for such work, except in the case of an emergency as outlined in Section 1080.19(d)(1).
(4) A permittee shall not so obstruct a rights-of-way that the natural free and clear passage of water through the gutters or other waterways shall be interfered with.
(5) Private vehicles other than necessary construction vehicles may not be parked within or adjacent to a permit area. The loading or unloading of trucks adjacent to a permit area is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the permit.
(q) Undergrounding Required. Any owner of property abutting upon a street or alley where service facilities are located underground and where the service connection is at the property line, shall install or cause others to install underground any service delivery infrastructure from the property line to the buildings or other structures on such property to which such service is supplied.
(Ord. 12-03. Passed 5-19-03.)