After notice and public hearings before the Columbus City Council, the City Council makes the following findings:
A. Development in the City of Columbus has progressed to the stage where the construction and location of the various utilities, Pipelines and wiring systems within public rights-of-way needs to be regulated.
B. The City Council has the authority to impose reasonable regulations upon the construction and location of various facilities from public utilities.
[§ 18-101, Paragraph B, amended by Ord. No. 89-17, effective December 8, 198, amended by Ord. No. 92-2, effective April 17, 1992, amended by Ord. No. 09-02, effective March 5, 2009.]
C. The City Council has the authority to regulate the construction and location of Utility systems in furtherance of the protection of public health, public safety and public welfare pursuant to Minn. Stat. §462.358, Subd. 5, as amended.
[§ 18-101, Paragraph C, amended by Ord. No. 89-17, effective December 8, 1989, amended by Ord. No. 09-02, effective March 9, 2009.]
D. The City Council has the authority to exercise municipal powers to further regulate the location and construction of utilities within the City.
[§ 18-101, Paagraph D, amended by Ord. No. 09-02, effective March 9, 2009.]
[§ 18-101, Paagraph D, amended by Ord. No. 09-02, effective March 9, 2009.]
E. The City has been presented with proposals from competing suppliers of natural gas to construct Pipeline Distribution Systems within the same roads to service the same territories within the City and, further, this conflict in proposals needs to be regulated to protect the public safety, public health and public welfare. The prospect of two (2) or more Natural Gas Pipelines being constructed in close proximity to each other within the same right-of-way presents the following public safety hazards:
1. The inability to identify the source of a leak or explosion and the inability to conduct immediate repairs;
2. The danger of multiple fires or multiple explosions in the event of a break or rupture of one of the multiple gas lines;
3. Increased reaction time to emergency situations;
4. The increased probability that an excavator who fails to call for the location of a Pipeline facility will strike one of the multiple gas Pipelines;
5. Undue congestion and confusion at emergency sites because of the need to have more than one gas Utility present at the site;
6. The potential of one gas Utility operating the other gas Utility’s appliances or valves; and
7. The presence of multiple Natural Gas Distribution Systems within the same easement road or right-of-way owned by unrelated companies would increase the risk of explosion and fire.
The prospect of two (2) or more Natural Gas Pipelines being constructed within the same rights-of-way to serve the same neighborhoods presents the following public welfare problems:
1. An increased cost to the customers in the overlapping Service Areas;
2. The unneeded additional expense in operating costs which the other customers of the competing utilities would need to bear; and
3. It would be uneconomical, inconvenient and disruptive for property owners and the public to have the same easement, road or right-of-way excavated twice for the installation of gas Pipeline Distribution System.
[§ 18-101 amended by Ord. No. 07-02, effective March 1, 2007, amended by Ord. No. 09-02, effective March 5, 2009.]