For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABANDONED FACILITIES. Facilities no longer in service or physically disconnected from the operating facilities, or from any other facilities, or from any other facilities that are in use or that still carry service. Facilities are deemed to be abandoned facilities if they are not properly registered with the city.
AGENCY. Any franchised person operating in the right-of-way. AGENCY includes all contractors and subcontractors hired or retained to do construction for an agency.
APPLICANT. An owner or authorized agent of an owner, who submits an application for a permit under the provisions of this chapter.
BACKFILL. The placement or return of dirt, fill, or other material for the purpose of restoring an excavated area.
CERTIFICATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER (CTP). A person who has been issued a certificate of convenience and necessity, certificate of operating authority, or service provider certificate of operating authority by the Public Utility Commission to offer local exchange telephone service. A CTP does not include a network provider, as defined herein.
CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL. The appointed individual responsible for overseeing and enforcing building codes and regulations within a jurisdiction.
CITY. The City of Ferris, Texas. As used throughout, the term CITY also includes the designated agent of the city.
CITY ENGINEER. The director of engineering of the City of Ferris or any other person designated by the City Manager to administer this chapter.
CITY MANAGER. The City Manager of the City of Ferris.
CLOSURE. A complete or partial closing of one or more lanes of traffic of a major thoroughfare and the complete closure of any other type of street or sidewalk.
COLLOCATE. The installation, mounting, maintenance, modification, operation, or replacement of network nodes in a public right-of-way on an existing pole or structure.
COMPACTION. Ninety-five percent of maximum density with a moisture content of -2% to +4% of optimum under paved surfaces and 90% of maximum density with a moisture content of -2% to +4% of optimum outside of paved surfaces.
CONCEALMENT. Any wireless facility or pole that is covered, blended, painted, disguised, or otherwise concealed such that the wireless facility blends into the surrounding environment and is visually unobtrusive. A concealed wireless facility or pole also includes any wireless facility or pole conforming to the surrounding area in which the wireless facility or pole is located and may include, but is not limited to, hidden beneath a facade, blended with surrounding area design, painted to match the supporting area, or disguised with artificial tree branches.
CONSTRUCTION. Breaking of pavement, excavation, installation of facilities, boring or jacking of utilities, restoration of pavement cuts, or other work by an agency, network provider, or public infrastructure contractor in a public right-of-way. The definition includes, but is not limited to, providing primary service, restoration, or maintenance of existing facilities within the right-of-way.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX. The annual revised Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for Texas, as published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics or other publication as authorized by state law.
DECORATIVE POLE. A streetlight pole specifically designed and placed for aesthetic purposes and on which no appurtenances or attachments, other than specially designed informational or directional signage or temporary holiday or special event attachments, have been placed or are permitted to be placed according to the city zoning ordinance regulation of light pole banners, as may be further amended.
DESIGN DISTRICT. An area that is zoned or otherwise designated by city ordinance for which the city maintains and enforces unique design and aesthetic standards.
DUCT OR CONDUIT. A single enclosed raceway for cables, fiber optics, or other wires. DUCT or CONDUIT shall not include the maintenance duct associated with a conduit that is reserved for use in replacing damaged cable or for rerouting purposes.
EMERGENCY. Any event that may threaten public health or safety, including, but not limited to, damaged or leaking water or gas conduit systems, damaged, plugged, or leaking sewer or storm drain
conduit systems, damaged facilities, downed aerial facilities, downed poles or service outages whether to one customer or an area of the city.
EROSION CONTROL. Compliance with the city Erosion and Sediment Control Manual, as amended.
EXCAVATE OR EXCAVATION. To dig into or in any way remove or penetrate any part of a public right-of-way and does not include landscaping activity unless the activity removes or disturbs the paved portion of the right-of-way.
FACILITIES. The plant, equipment, and property, including, but not limited to, lines, transport service, poles, mains, pipes, conduits, ducts, cables and wires located under, on or above the surface of the ground within the public right-of-way and valves and related facilities and equipment used or useful for the provision of utility services, wireless or network services, or communications services to the public.
HISTORIC DISTRICT. An area that is zoned or otherwise designated as a historic or heritage district under municipal, state or federal law.
LOCAL EXCHANGE TELEPHONE SERVICE. Telecommunications service provided within an exchange to establish connections between customer premises within the exchange, including connections between a customer premises and a long distance provider serving the exchange. The term includes tone dialing service, service connection charges, and directory assistance services offered in connection with basic local telecommunications service and interconnection with other service providers. The terms do not include the following services, whether offered on an intra-exchange or inter-exchange basis:
(1) Central office-based PBX-type services for system of 75 stations or more;
(2) Billing and collection services;
(3) High-speed private line services of 1.544 megabits or greater;
(4) Customized services;
(5) Private line or virtual private line services;
(6) Resold or shared local exchange telephone services if permitted by tariff;
(7) Dark fiber services;
(8) Non-voice data transmission service offered as a separate service and not as a component of basic local telecommunications service;
(9) Dedicated or virtually dedicated access services; or
(10) Any other service the Public Utility Commission determines is not a local exchange telephone service.
MAJOR THOROUGHFARE. Any thoroughfare Type D or higher as shown on the city Thoroughfare Plan, as amended.
MICRO NETWORK NODE. A network node that is not larger in dimension than 24-inches in length, 15-inches in width, and 12-inches in height, and that has an exterior antenna, if any, not longer than 11-inches.
MID-SPAN POLE. A new pole, other than a service pole, installed between two current utility poles for the sole purpose of supporting a network node, in a developed area, or, in the case of a newly developed area, a pole that is located closer than 150-feet from the next utility pole.
NETWORK NODE. Equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network.
(1) Includes:
(a) Equipment associated with wireless communications;
(b) A radio transceiver, an antenna, a battery-only backup power supply, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration; and
(c) Coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is immediately adjacent to and directly associated with a particular collation.
(2) Does not include:
(a) An electric generator;
(b) A pole; or
(c) A macro tower.
(3) Unless specifically provided for herein, a network node includes small cells and small wireless facilities, as defined herein.
NETWORK PROVIDER.
(1) A wireless service provider; or
(2) A person that does not provide wireless services and that is not an electric utility but builds or installs on behalf of a wireless service provider:
(a) Network nodes; or
(b) Node support poles or any other structure that supports or is capable of supporting a network node.
NODE SUPPORT POLE. A pole installed by a network provider for the primary purpose of supporting a network node.
ORDER. The Federal Communications Commission Declaratory Ruling, Third Report and Order, FCC WT Docket No. 17-79, adopted September 26, 2018.
PARK. An outdoor area or recreation facility owned or operated by the city or other public agency; or a privately owned area that is designated as "open and social space" on the city's growth and change map that is currently open for public use under the same or similar terms as a traditional public park, such as a public golf course, picnic area, or a nature preserve; or an area owned by the city that was purchased for park purposes and is planned for park development.
PAVEMENT CUT. A cut made into the paved surface of a public street, alley, curb, sidewalk, or public easement.
PERSON. A natural person (an individual), corporation, company, association, partnership, firm, limited liability company, joint venture, joint stock company or association, and other such entity who owns or controls facilities.
POLE. A service pole, city-owned utility pole, node support pole, or utility pole.
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACTOR. A person hired or retained to do construction of facilities that will be maintained by the city. PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACTOR includes all subcontractors.
PUBLIC RIGHT(S)-OF-WAY. The area on, below, or above a roadway, highway, street, sidewalk, alley, waterway, or other way and that is open for public use, and that is owned by the city in full or in part, and that is managed and controlled by the city. The term does not include:
(1) A private easement; or
(2) The airwaves above a public right-of-way with regard to wireless telecommunications.
RESIDENTIAL SERVICE CONNECTIONS. A connection to private property from the right-of-way for individual residential service.
SERVICE POLE. A pole, other than a city-owned utility pole, that is owned or operated by the
city and located in a public right-of-way, including:
(1) A pole that supports traffic control functions;
(2) A structure for signage;
(3) A pole that supports lighting, other than a decorative pole; and
(4) A pole or similar structure owned or operated by the city and supporting only network nodes.
SMALL CELL OR SMALL WIRELESS FACILITY.
(1) A facility meeting all of the following criteria:
(a) Facilities mounted on structures 50-feet or less in height including their antennas, or on structures no more than 10% taller than other adjacent structures, or that do not extend existing structures where they are located to a height of more than 50-feet or by more than 10%, whichever is greater;
(b) Each antenna is no more than three cubic feet in volume;
(c) All other wireless equipment associated with the structure, including wireless equipment associated with the antenna and any preexisting associate equipment on the structure is no more than 28 cubic feet in volume; and
(d) Facilities do not result in human exposure to radio frequency radiation in excess of applicable safety standards specified in 47 C.F.R. Rule 1.l307(b).
(2) Unless specifically provided for herein, provisions addressed to network nodes herein shall also apply to small cells and small wireless facilities.
STEALTH. A method that hides or conceals an antenna, supporting electrical or mechanical equipment or any other support structure, including network nodes.
THOROUGHFARE. Any public traffic artery, major street, secondary street or alley.
UTILITY. Any privately or publicly owned entity that uses the right-of-way to furnish the public any general public service, including, without limitation, sanitary sewer, gas, electricity, water, telephone, petroleum products, telegraph, heat, steam or chilled water, together with the equipment, structures, and appurtenances belonging to such entity and located within and near the right-of-way.
UTILITY POLE.
(1) A pole installed primarily for the purpose of providing electric distribution or telecommunications and that provides:
(a) Electric distribution with a voltage rating of not more than 34.5 kilovolts; or
(b) Services of a telecommunications provider.
(2) A utility pole does not include a pole installed primarily for the purpose of providing other services or for third parties.
UTILITY SERVICE POLE. A pole installed by a utility for the purpose of connecting a utility pole to a customer's building or other premises to provide electric distribution or telecommunications.
WIRELESS SERVICE. Any service, using licensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum, including the use of Wi-Fi, whether at a fixed location or mobile, provided to the public using a network node.
WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDER. A person that provides wireless service to the public.
(Ord. O-23-978, passed 7-17-2023)