(A) Compliance with other laws. Obtaining a right-of-way 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 other applicable rule, law or regulation. A permittee shall comply with all requirements of local, state and federal laws, including but not limited to M.S. §§ 216D.01—216D.09 (Gopher One Call Excavation Notice System) and Minnesota Rules Ch. 7560. A permittee shall perform all work in conformance with all applicable codes and established rules and regulations, and is responsible for all work done in the right-of-way pursuant to its permit, regardless of who does the work.
(B) Prohibited work. Except in an emergency, and with the approval of the city, no right-of-way obstruction or excavation may be done when seasonally prohibited or when conditions are unreasonable for such work.
(C) Interference with right-of-way. A permittee shall not so obstruct a right-of-way that the natural free and clear passage of water through the gutters or other waterways shall be interfered with. Private vehicles of those doing work in the right-of-way may not be parked within or next to a permit area, unless parked in conformance with city parking regulations. The loading or unloading of trucks must be done solely within the defined permit area unless specifically authorized by the permit.
(D) Trenchless excavation. As a condition of all applicable permits, permittees employing trenchless excavation methods, including but not limited to horizontal directional drilling, shall follow all requirements set forth in M.S. Ch. 216D and Minnesota Rules Ch. 7560 and shall require potholing or open cutting over existing underground utilities before excavating, as determined by the City Engineer.
(E) Obstructions in right-of-way. It is a misdemeanor for any person to place, deposit, display or offer for sale, any fence, goods or other obstructions upon, over, across or under any street without first having obtained a written permit from the Council, and then only in compliance in all respects with the terms and conditions of that permit, and taking precautionary measures for the protection of the public. An electrical cord or device of any kind is hereby included, but not by way of limitation, within the definition of an obstruction.
(1) Fires. It is a misdemeanor for any person to build or maintain a fire upon a right-of-way.
(2) Dumping in streets.
(a) It is a misdemeanor for any person to throw or deposit in any street any nails, dirt, glass or glassware, cans, discarded cloth or clothing, metal scraps, garbage, leaves, grass or tree limbs, paper or paper products, shreds or rubbish, oil, grease or other petroleum products, or to empty any water containing salt or other injurious chemical thereon, except for leaves raked into the gutter line specifically for and in compliance with a municipal leaf pick up program.
(b) It is a violation of this section to haul any material of this type, inadequately enclosed or covered, thereby permitting the same to fall upon streets.
(c) It is also a violation of this section to place or store any building materials or waste resulting from building construction or demolition on any street without first having obtained a written permit from the city.
(3) Signs and other structures. It is a misdemeanor for any person to place or maintain a sign, advertisement or other structure in any street without first having obtained a written permit from the city. In a district zoned for commercial or industrial enterprises, special permission allowing an applicant to erect and maintain signs overhanging the street may be granted upon terms and conditions as may be set forth in the zoning or construction provisions in Title XV of this Code.
(4) Placing snow or ice in a roadway or on a public sidewalk or trail.
(a) It is a misdemeanor for any person not acting under a specific contract with the city, or without special permission from the City Administrator, to remove snow or ice from private property and place the same in any roadway. Snow or ice on driveways, sidewalks and the like shall not be pushed across traveled portions of roadways and may only be stored on private property or on rights-of-way adjacent to the private property. The city may assess the cost of removal of snow or ice against the affected property owner pursuant to the provisions of § 90.32(C).
(b) Where permission is granted by the City Administrator, the person to whom that permission is granted shall be initially responsible for payment of all direct or indirect costs of removing the snow or ice from the street or sidewalk. If not paid, collection shall be by civil action or assessment against the benefitted property as any other special assessment.
(F) Uses of right-of-way. Purpose: rights-of-way provide many public benefits, including providing for placement of utilities, roadway safety and maintenance, and access to and protection of private property. Therefore, the city regulates utilization of rights-of-way to retain these and other public benefits of rights-of-way.
(1) Authority, permission and procedure. Upon an application duly made to the City Administrator and reviewed and recommended by the City Engineer, the Council may, in its discretion, grant special permission whereby on-street parking or the use of city-owned parking lots or ramps or public sidewalks may be temporarily or permanently prohibited or restricted for private reasons and purposes (including, but not limited to, establishment of private or leased parking, loading zones or benches) at places, on terms and for consideration as the Council may deem just and equitable. In establishing the amount of the consideration to be paid to the city, the Council shall consider the amount of space, location thereof, if any, public inconvenience and hazards to persons or property. Upon complaint of any aggrieved person at any time and by reason of any specific special permission so granted, the Council shall, at its next regular meeting after receipt of the complaint, call a hearing thereon to be held after ten days notice in writing to applicant and complainant and published notice at least ten days prior to the hearing. After the hearing, the Council shall by resolution decide whether to terminate, continue or redefine the terms of the permission, and the decision shall be final and binding on all persons directly or indirectly interested therein; except that, the Council may, on its own motion, reconsider the same.
(2) Permanent and semi-permanent fixtures in rights-of-way require a franchise from the city. Franchise agreements for permanent or semi-permanent fixtures must be approved by the City Council. Other uses of rights-of-way may be regulated by permit or ordinance as the Council sees fit.
(3) Permanent and semi-permanent fixtures shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Fixtures that are affixed to the ground by posts or foundations;
(b) Fixtures not affixed to the ground, but of size, mass, and/or dimension that may adversely affect the public function of the right-of-way;
(c) Fixtures specifically exempt from the definition of permanent or semi-permanent fixtures include:
1. Traffic control devices placed by a road authority, as defined by M.S. § 160.02;
2. Boulevard trees and landscaping features approved by a road authority.
3. Fixtures required to provide municipal utilities.
(4) Permanent and semi-permanent fixtures shall conform to the following requirements:
(a) After placement of a fixture, there shall remain at least six feet of unobstructed sidewalk in commercial districts and four feet of unobstructed sidewalk in residential and industrial districts where sidewalk exists. In all cases where trails exist, ten feet of unobstructed trail shall remain.
(b) Fixtures shall not block any traffic control device and shall not exceed 30 inches in height within the sight triangle area, defined as that triangular area formed by the hypotenuse of measurements 25 feet each direction from the intersection of comer property lines. A greater distance may be required as determined by the city.
(c) Fixtures shall not pose unreasonable safety hazards because of the type of materials, objects or property placed within rights-of-way.
(d) Fixtures shall not unreasonably restrict other necessary or beneficial uses of rights-of-way.
(e) Nothing herein shall prohibit:
1. The repair of fixtures and related appurtenances placed within rights-of-way by existing franchisees, a road authority, or municipal utilities;
2. The placement of mailboxes approved by the United States Postal Service;
3. The placement of driveways and accesses to private property otherwise permitted.
(5) Maintenance of rights-of-way.
(a) Work to maintain properties within rights-of-way is allowed by the city and franchisees, as governed § 90.04.
(b) Materials, objects or property may be placed in rights-of-way by the city or under permit from the city in association with community and special events.
(c) Landscape restoration by the city and franchisees shall consist of restoring disturbed areas within rights-of-way with turf grasses.
(6) Other uses of rights-of-way.
(a) No use of rights-of-way shall cause a nuisance, hazard, danger, or sight obstruction for any traffic, vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists using the right-of-way. The city may at its discretion remove, or order to be removed, at the owners expense, any property causing such nuisance, hazard, danger or sign obstruction and/or require appropriate warnings be placed.
(b) The owner of property placed within rights-of-way shall be liable for any damage, theft, vandalism, etc. of any fixture, item, object or property placed within rights-of-way or any damage caused thereby. The owner of any such property so placed shall hold the city harmless in any claims therefor.
(7) Unlawful acts. It is unlawful for any person to park or otherwise infringe upon a grant of right under this section, when clearly and distinctly marked or signposted. It is unlawful for any person not granted such a right to assert the same, or for any grantee of such a right to exceed the same under claim thereto.
(8) Condition. Before granting any permit under any of the provisions of this section, the Council may impose insurance or bonding conditions thereon as it, considering the projected danger to public or private property or to persons, deems proper for safeguarding those persons and property. The insurance or bond shall also protect the city from any suit, action or cause of action arising by reason thereof.
(9) Curb and gutter, street and sidewalk painting or coloring. It is unlawful for any person to paint, letter or color any street, sidewalk or curb and gutter for advertising purposes, or to paint or color any street, sidewalk or curb and gutter for any purpose, except as the same may be done by city employees acting within the course or scope of their employment; provided, however, that, this provision shall not apply to uniformly coloring concrete or other surfacing, or uniformly painted house numbers, as that coloring may be approved by the City Administrator.
(Ord. 18-0783, passed 6-26-2018; Ord. 19-796, passed 3-26-2019)