A. Construction and Location of Facilities:
1. The Licensee or any person acting on its behalf may construct, repair, maintain, renew or replace utility facilities located in the public ways, on public property or on other ways, subject to the following conditions:
a. The Licensee shall obtain a permit in accordance with the applicable ordinances of the Village. The Licensee shall include with its permit application such plans and schedules for restoration of the public ways or public property as the Village may require by ordinance 1 .
b. The Licensee shall obtain all necessary approvals from any competent authority for the performance of said work, and such work shall be performed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved or prescribed by competent authority.
c. Except as provided in this Chapter, neither the Licensee nor any person acting on its behalf shall take any action or allow any action to be done which may impair or damage the public ways, any property located on the public ways or the public property.
d. Neither the Licensee nor any person acting on its behalf may interfere unreasonably with the use of the public ways or public property by the general public or by other persons authorized to use or be present upon said public ways or public property.
e. The Licensee shall provide reasonable notice to the Village before beginning any work in other ways within the Village.
f. To the extent practicable, the Licensee shall notify the Village of plans to undertake any construction, repair, maintenance or replacement of utility facilities in conjunction with the annual planning meeting provided for in subsection 3-1-7H of this Chapter. This notice shall be in addition to any other notice requirements imposed by other applicable ordinances. The notice requirements of this subsection A1f do not apply to the installation of lateral service connections to individual customers.
g. In the event of an emergency, if prior acquisition of formal authorization is not possible, the Licensee or any person acting on its behalf may undertake the work described above without first acquiring formal authorization; provided that the Licensee uses its best efforts to contact the Municipal emergency electric representative prior to performing such work, and, provided further, that the Licensee shall apply for such formal authorization at the earliest reasonable opportunity.
2. All transmission and distribution facilities erected hereunder shall be placed in alleys wherever practicable so to do, and shall be so placed, wherever located, so as not to interfere unnecessarily with travel on or access to the public ways.
3. Unless specifically permitted by the Village, all utility facilities erected under this Chapter shall be located so as not to injure any drains, sewers, catch basins, water pipes, pavements or other public improvements.
4. All poles shall be of sufficient length to be anchored substantially in the ground and to extend to a height of at least twenty five feet (25') above the surface. Poles shall be adequately braced wherever necessary.
5. All wires, conductors, transformers and other apparatus that are attached to utility poles shall be at a sufficient height to preclude interference with free use of the public ways.
6. Prior to filing any application with a competent authority for the construction of any generating facilities or high-voltage transmission lines within the corporate limits of the Village, the Licensee shall meet with the Village to discuss such plans.
7. Any utility facilities in the public ways that have been, or are at any future time acquired, leased or utilized in any manner by the Licensee are thereupon to be deemed authorized by and shall be subject to all the provisions of this Chapter.
8. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Licensee shall not be required to change the location, the height above, or the depth below the public ways of those utility facilities in place as of the effective date hereof.
B. Relocation or Removal of Facilities:
1. Upon receiving at least thirty (30) days' notice from the Village, the Licensee shall, at its own expense, temporarily or permanently remove, relocate, change or alter the position of any utility facilities in public ways or public property whenever the corporate authorities shall have determined that such removal, relocation, change or alteration:
a. Is reasonably necessary for the construction, repair, maintenance, improvement or use of such public ways or public property;
b. Is reasonably necessary for the location, construction, replacement, maintenance, improvement or use of other property of the Village; or
c. Is reasonably necessary for the operations of the Village.
The Village agrees to engineer the projects in the public ways or public property either so as not to require any such removal, relocation, change or alteration or, if that is not reasonably feasible, so as to minimize the Licensee's expenses in making such removals, changes or alterations. The Licensee will not be responsible for the expense of removals, relocations, changes or alterations required by the Village primarily for the purpose of assisting either private projects or a Municipal electric utility.
2. Whenever it shall be necessary for the Village or any other person to move along or across the public ways, any vehicle, equipment, structure or other object of such height or size as will interfere with any of the Licensee's overhead facilities, the Licensee shall temporarily remove such overhead facilities from such place as must necessarily be crossed by such vehicle, equipment, structure or other object; provided that:
a. The Licensee shall receive at least twenty four (24) hours' notice thereof from the Village electric representative;
b. The Licensee shall have received payment for such removal, where payment is required; and
c. Such temporary removal shall be done at such time of the day or night as will least interfere with the Licensee's use of such wires and poles for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Village and the successful operation of the Licensee's electric system.
It is understood that the Licensee shall bear the expense of any such temporary removals for projects being undertaken by or for the benefit of the Village or its agent and that the expense of all other such temporary removals shall be borne by the person requesting such removal. All questions as to the time when any of said wires and poles shall be so cut, removed or adjusted for the purpose aforesaid shall be decided by the Municipal electric representative, and such decision shall be final.
C. Restoration of Public Ways or Public Property:
1. When the Licensee, or any person acting on its behalf, does any work in or affecting the public ways or public property, it shall, at its own expense, remove any obstructions therefrom and restore such public ways or public property to as good a condition as existed before the work was undertaken, unless otherwise directed by the Village.
2. If weather or other conditions do not permit the complete restoration required by this subsection C, the Licensee may temporarily restore the affected public ways or public property upon receiving the approval of the Village electric representative; provided, that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Such temporary restoration shall be at the Licensee's sole expense and the Licensee shall promptly undertake and complete the required permanent restoration when the weather or other conditions no longer prevent such permanent restoration.
3. Upon the request of the Village, the Licensee shall restore the public ways or public property to a better condition than existed before the work was undertaken; provided, that the Village shall bear any additional costs of such restoration.
4. If the Licensee fails to restore the public ways or public property or to remove any obstruction therefrom, as required by this subsection C, the Village may, after communications with the Edison representative and after affording the Licensee a reasonable opportunity to correct the situation, give seven (7) days' written notice to the Licensee, and thereafter restore such public ways or public property or remove the obstruction therefrom. No such prior written notice shall be required in the event that the Village determines that an emergency situation exists. The Licensee shall pay the Village for any such restoration or removal within fourteen (14) days after receiving a bill from the Village for such work.
D. Trimming of Trees and Vegetation: From time to time, when the Licensee believes it to be warranted by existing conditions, the Licensee shall, at its own expense, cause the trees and vegetation growing upon or overhanging any of the public ways or public property in the Village where utility facilities are erected to be trimmed in such a manner that there shall be a proper clearance between the nearest wires or equipment and any portion of the trees or vegetation. The trees and vegetation shall be trimmed so that no branches, twigs or leaves come in contact with or in any way interfere with the utility facilities. The Licensee shall notify the Village electric representative no less than seven (7) days before it plans to perform such work. The Village electric representative shall approve the time, place and manner of performing such work.
E. Tree Location Program:
1. Tree Removal and Replacement: The Licensee and the Village agree to develop a cooperative program for the removal and replacement of certain Municipally owned trees located in the public ways or on public property which conflict or potentially conflict with the overhead facilities. The trees to be removed and replaced shall be designated by the Village after consultation with the Edison representative. Within thirty (30) days after receipt of a written notice from the Village of trees to be removed, the Licensee shall schedule a removal date acceptable to the Village, and shall remove the designated trees and dispose of all tree brush except that the Village shall dispose of all stumps and logs over four inches (4") in diameter. The Village shall purchase, plant and maintain all trees planted pursuant to the tree removal and replacement program, and the Licensee shall reimburse the Village for one-half (1/2) of the Village's cost of tree replacement, up to a maximum amount of one hundred twenty five dollars ($125.00) per tree. The reimbursement shall be made to the Village within sixty (60) days after the Licensee's receipt of a written request for reimbursement.
2. Tree Selection: The Village agrees to implement a policy for the purpose of regulating tree planting on the public ways or public properties so as to allow only such low-growing tree species as will not attain a mature height that will conflict with primary electrical lines and thereby require line clearance maintenance. Such policy shall not preclude planting upright, columnar or pyramidal shaped trees to the side of power lines, thereby avoiding the need for severe and disfiguring line clearance tree trimming.
3. Tree Location: The Village agrees that it will attempt to locate new trees and other new vegetation on the public ways and public property so as to minimize contact with utility facilities.
4. Duration of Program: The tree location program provided for in subsections E1 through E3 of this Section shall remain in effect for the first ten (10) years of this agreement, after which it shall be renewed on terms that are mutually agreeable.
F. Use of Utility Facilities: The Licensee shall, when requested by the Village, 1) permit its overhead facilities to be used for the suspension and maintenance of wires and 2) permit its underground facilities to be used for the running and maintenance of wires, both as may be reasonably required either by the Village or by other persons holding a valid Municipal license or other valid authorization to use the public ways or public property. Except as provided in the following sentence, the Village shall be entitled to make such use without charge. Such use by other persons, and such use by the Village for a proprietary purpose, shall be subject to such terms and conditions, including fees, as the Licensee may reasonably require. Such use of the utility facilities shall be under the supervision and direction of the Licensee so as not to materially interfere with the Licensee's present or reasonably contemplated usage of the utility facilities. Such use may not be for the purpose of allowing any person to transmit or distribute electricity. The Village agrees to save and keep harmless the Licensee from any and all liability incurred by the Licensee as a result of the Village's use of the utility facilities pursuant to this subsection F. In no event shall the Village be responsible for liability incurred by the Licensee as a result of the use of the utility facilities by other persons.
G. Removal of Facilities: The Licensee shall promptly remove from the public ways and public property all above ground wires and the supports therefor whose use is abandoned and shall either promptly remove or board up or render reasonably inaccessible all other utility facilities whose use is abandoned or discontinued. The Licensee shall take reasonable steps to prevent any such nonremoved utility facilities from becoming nuisances.
H. Undergrounding of Facilities: The Licensee will relocate its overhead distribution facilities in or on public ways and public property in the Village, other than alleys, by placing the overhead distribution facilities under ground, or rerouting them if necessary, if so requested by the Village. The overhead distribution facilities to be placed under ground or rerouted shall not exceed five hundred feet (500') annually and will be determined by the mutual agreement of the Licensee and the Village; the agreement of the Licensee will not be unreasonably withheld. Scheduling of the requested work to be performed will be in accordance with the Licensee's normal work scheduling practices. The total cost for such work, including but not limited to material, labor and overhead shall not exceed forty one-hundredths of one percent (0.40%) of the revenues collected by the Licensee in the prior calendar year for electric service in the Village; except that if, on or before November 15, 1991, the Licensee had made a written offer to the Village to underground its overhead distribution facilities at the rate of either five hundred feet (500') annually or two thousand five hundred feet (2,500') every five (5) years, then the cost of such work shall not be subject to the foregoing limitation. The number of feet available to be undergrounded or rerouted in any year which are not utilized may be carried forward for utilization in future years. (Ord. 92-26, 11-18-92)
Notes
| 1 | 1. See Section 7-3-1 of this Code. |