A. Permit Required; Exemptions: No person shall "construct" (as defined in section 8-1-2 of this chapter) any facility on, over, above, along, upon, under, across, or within any city right of way which: 1) changes the location of the facility; 2) adds a new facility; 3) disrupts the "right of way" (as defined in section 8-1-2 of this chapter); or 4) materially increases the amount of area or space occupied by the facility on, over, above, along, under, across or within the right of way without first filing an application with the city engineer (director of public works) and obtaining a permit from the city therefor, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. No permit shall be required for installation and maintenance of service connections to customers' premises where there will be no disruption of the right of way.
B. Application For Permit:
1. All applications for permits pursuant to this chapter shall be filed on a form provided by the city and shall be filed in such number of duplicate copies as the city may designate. The applicant may designate those portions of its application materials that it reasonably believes contain proprietary or confidential information as "proprietary" or "confidential" by clearly marking each page of such materials accordingly.
2. The application shall be made by the utility or its duly authorized representative and shall contain, at a minimum, the following:
a. The utility's name and address and telephone and telecopy numbers;
b. The applicant's name and address, if different than the utility, telephone and telecopy numbers, e-mail address, and interest in the work;
c. The names, addresses and telephone and telecopy numbers and e-mail addresses of all professional consultants, if any, advising the applicant with respect to the application;
d. A general description of the proposed work and the purposes and intent of the facility and the uses to which the facility will be put. The scope and detail of such description shall be appropriate to the nature and character of the work to be performed, with special emphasis on those matters likely to be affected or impacted by the work proposed;
e. Evidence that the utility has placed on file with the city:
(1) A written traffic control plan demonstrating the protective measures and devices that will be employed consistent with the "Illinois Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices", to prevent injury or damage to persons or property and to minimize disruptions to efficient pedestrian and vehicular traffic; and
(2) An emergency contingency plan which shall specify the nature of potential emergencies, including, without limitation, construction and hazardous materials emergencies, and the intended response by the applicant. The intended response shall include notification to the city and shall promote protection of the safety and convenience of the public. Compliance with ICC regulations for emergency contingency plans constitutes compliance with this section unless the city finds that additional information or assurances are needed;
f. Drawings, plans and specifications showing the work proposed, including the certification of an engineer that such drawings, plans, and specifications comply with applicable codes, rules, and regulations;
g. Evidence of insurance as required in subsection 8-1-5A of this chapter;
h. Evidence of posting of the Security Fund as required in subsection 8-1-5C of this chapter;
i. Any request for a variance from one or more provisions of this chapter (see section 8-1-15 of this chapter); and
j. Such additional information as may be reasonably required by the City.
3. In addition to the requirements of subsection B2 of this section, the permit application shall include the following items, as applicable to the specific utility that is the subject of the permit application:
a. In the case of the installation of a new electric power, communications, telecommunications, cable television service, video service or natural gas distribution system, evidence that any "certificate of public convenience and necessity" or other regulatory authorization that the applicant is required by law to obtain, or that the applicant has elected to obtain, has been issued by the ICC or other jurisdictional authority;
b. In the case of natural gas systems, state the proposed pipe size, design, construction class, and operating pressures;
c. In the case of water lines, indicate that all requirements of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Public Water Supplies, have been satisfied;
d. In the case of sewer line installations, indicate that the land and water pollution requirements of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control and the metropolitan water reclamation district (other local or State entities with jurisdiction), have been satisfied; or
e. In the case of petroleum products pipelines, state the type or types of petroleum products, pipe size, maximum working pressure, and the design standard to be followed.
4. Throughout the entire permit application review period and the construction period authorized by the permit, any amendments to information contained in a permit application shall be submitted by the utility in writing to the City within thirty (30) days after the change necessitating the amendment. (Ord. 2007-O-35, 11-6-2007)
C. Fees; Exemption: Unless otherwise provided by franchise, license, or similar agreement, all applications for permits pursuant to this chapter shall be accompanied by a fee or fees in the amounts established in section 3-2A-1 of this Code including a street opening fee for any non-exempt entities. No application fee is required to be paid by any electricity utility that is paying the Municipal electricity infrastructure maintenance fee pursuant to the Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Law 1 . (Ord. 19-O-11, 7-16-2019)
D. Action On Applications:
1. Review Of Applications; Grant Or Denial Of Permit: Completed permit applications, containing all required documentation, shall be examined by the Director of Public Works within a reasonable time after filing. If the application does not conform to the requirements of applicable ordinances, codes, laws, rules, and regulations, the Director of Public Works shall reject such application in writing, stating the reasons therefor. If the Director of Public Works is satisfied that the proposed work conforms to the requirements of this chapter and applicable ordinances, codes, laws, rules, and regulations, the Director of Public Works shall issue a permit therefor as soon as practicable. In all instances, it shall be the duty of the applicant to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works, that the construction proposed under the application shall be in full compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
2. Additional Review Of Telecommunications Retailers' Applications:
a. Pursuant to section 4 of the Telephone Company Act, 220 Illinois Compiled Statutes 65/4, a telecommunications retailer shall notify the City that it intends to commence work governed by this chapter for facilities for the provision of telecommunications services. Such notice shall consist of plans, specifications, and other documentation sufficient to demonstrate the purpose and intent of the facilities, and shall be provided by the telecommunications retailer to the City not less than ten (10) days prior to the commencement of work requiring no excavation and not less than thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of work requiring excavation. The director of public works shall specify the portion of the right of way upon which the facility may be placed, used and constructed.
b. In the event that the director of public works fails to provide such specification of location to the telecommunications retailer within either: 1) ten (10) days after service of notice to the city by the telecommunications retailer in the case of work not involving excavation for new construction; or 2) twenty five (25) days after service of notice by the telecommunications retailer in the case of work involving excavation for new construction, the telecommunications retailer may commence work without obtaining a permit under this chapter.
c. Upon the provision of such specification by the city, where a permit is required for work pursuant to subsection A of this section, the telecommunications retailer shall submit to the city an application for a permit and any and all plans, specifications and documentation available regarding the facility to be constructed. Such application shall be subject to the requirements of subsection D1 of this section.
3. Additional Review Of Holders Of State Authorization Under The Cable And Video Competition Law: Applications by a utility that is a holder of a state issued authorization under the cable and video competition law of 2007 shall be deemed granted forty five (45) days after submission to the city, unless otherwise acted upon by the city, provided the holder has complied with applicable city codes, ordinances, and regulations.
E. Effect Of Permit:
1. A permit from the city authorizes a permittee to undertake only certain activities in accordance with this chapter on city rights of way, and does not create a property right or grant authority to the permittee to impinge upon the rights of others who may have an interest in the rights of way.
2. No permit issued under this chapter shall be valid for a period longer than six (6) months unless construction is actually begun within that period and is thereafter diligently pursued to completion.
3. No construction shall begin pursuant to a permit issued under this chapter prior to attendance by the permittee and all major contractors and subcontractors who will perform any work under the permit at a preconstruction meeting. The preconstruction meeting shall be held at a date, time and place designated by the city with such city representatives in attendance as the city deems necessary. The meeting shall be for the purpose of reviewing the work under the permit and reviewing special considerations necessary in the areas where work will occur, including, without limitation, presence or absence of other utility facilities in the area and their locations, procedures to avoid disruption of other utilities, use of rights of way by the public during construction, and access and egress by adjacent property owners.
4. The issuance of a permit by the city does not excuse the permittee from complying with other requirements of the city and applicable statutes, laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations.
F. Revised Permit Drawings: In the event that the actual locations of any facilities deviate in any material respect from the locations identified in the plans, drawings and specifications submitted with the permit application, the permittee shall submit a revised set of drawings or plans to the city within ninety (90) days after the completion of the permitted work. The revised drawings or plans shall specifically identify where the locations of the actual facilities deviate from the locations approved in the permit. If any deviation from the permit also deviates from the requirements of this chapter, it shall be treated as a request for variance in accordance with section 8-1-15 of this chapter. If the city denies the request for a variance, then the permittee shall either remove the facility from the right of way or modify the facility so that it conforms to the permit and submit revised drawings or plans therefor.
G. Suspension Or Revocation Of Permit:
1. Grounds: The city may revoke or suspend a permit issued pursuant to this chapter for one or more of the following reasons:
a. Fraudulent, false, misrepresenting, or materially incomplete statements in the permit application;
b. Noncompliance with this chapter;
c. Permittee's physical presence or presence of permittee's facilities on, over, above, along, upon, under, across, or within the rights of way presents a direct or imminent threat to the public health, safety, or welfare; or
d. Permittee's failure to construct the facilities substantially in accordance with the permit and approved plans.
2. Notice Requirements: The city shall send written notice of its intent to revoke or suspend a permit issued pursuant to this chapter stating the reason or reasons for the revocation or suspension and the alternatives available to permittee under this subsection.
3. Options Of Permittee:
a. Upon receipt of a written notice of revocation or suspension from the city, the permittee shall have the following options:
(1) Immediately provide the city with evidence that no cause exists for the revocation or suspension;
(2) Immediately correct, to the satisfaction of the city, the deficiencies stated in the written notice, providing written proof of such correction to the city within five (5) working days after receipt of the written notice of revocation; or
(3) Immediately remove the facilities located on, over, above, along, upon, under, across, or within the rights of way and restore the rights of way to the satisfaction of the city, providing written proof of such removal to the city within ten (10) days after receipt of the written notice of revocation.
b. The city may, in its discretion, for good cause shown, extend the time periods provided in this subsection G3.
4. Stop Work Order: In addition to the issuance of a notice of revocation or suspension, the city may issue a stop work order immediately upon discovery of any of the reasons for revocation set forth within subsection G1 of this section.
5. Failure Or Refusal Of Permittee To Comply: If the permittee fails to comply with the provisions of subsection G3 of this section, the city or its designee may, at the option of the city: a) correct the deficiencies; b) upon not less than twenty (20) days' notice to the permittee, remove the subject facilities or equipment; or c) after not less than thirty (30) days' notice to the permittee of failure to cure the noncompliance, deem them abandoned and the property of the city. The permittee shall be liable in all events to the city for all costs of removal. (Ord. 2007-O-35, 11-6-2007)
Notes
| 1 | 1. 35 ILCS 645/5-1 et seq. |