(A) Highway purposes of county highways. The rights-of-way of county highways are established for the location of highways and the highway associated appurtenances. Utilities and facilities shall be located within such rights-of-way in a manner that will not impede or conflict with any existing highway or associated appurtenance or any future improvement or widening of a highway and the construction or reconstruction of associated appurtenances. A utility or facility is not considered a highway appurtenance.
(B) Relocation of existing utilities and facilities.
(1) Whenever a county highway pavement is widened, reconstructed, resurfaced, or additional lanes are added and an existing utility or facility will be under the widened pavement or traffic signal equipment, the owner of the existing utility or facility or the permittee shall relocate, remove, or modify the utility or facility from under the widened pavement at no cost to the county. The County Engineer shall determine the need for said relocation, removal, or modification on a case by case basis.
(2) Any and all additional or extraordinary costs that may be incurred by the county due to the presence, abandonment, or proposed placement of any utility or facility within the right-of-way of a county highway shall be borne solely by the owner of said utility or facility. Payment to the county for said additional or extraordinary costs shall be made as determined by the County Engineer.
(C) Conflicts with existing utilities and facilities/insufficient space.
(1) In the event of the placement, construction, relocation, removal, modification, abandonment, enlargement, or any manner of work to be performed on any utility or facility, existing or proposed, within the right-of-way of a county highway there does not exist sufficient space for said proposed work, the county is not responsible for providing additional space in any manner or form. In the event the County Engineer determines that there exists insufficient space within the right-of-way of a county highway, the proposed work may not be permitted.
(2) In the event a conflict exists between any existing or proposed utilities or facilities located or proposed to be located within the right-of-way of a county highway, said conflict shall be resolved by the owners of said utilities or facilities. The resolution of any conflict shall not result in the county incurring any costs, either now or in the future, and shall not impede traffic or hinder the operation of the county highway. The resolution of any conflict must be approved by the County Engineer if the proposed resolution involves work to be performed within the right-of-way of a county highway.
(D) Other agency requirements and permission. The issuance of a permit under the provisions of this chapter does not relieve, excuse, diminish, or negate, in any manner or form, the authority, rules, requirements or permission that may be required by any governmental authority or person that regulates any manner of work to be performed on any utility or facility, existing or proposed, within the right-of-way of a county highway. Prior to or subsequent to the issuance of a permit under the provisions of this chapter, the owner of a utility or facility may be required to submit evidence of compliance with the rules, regulations, and specifications of any other applicable regulatory agency or person for the work to be performed within the right-of-way of a county highway.
(E) Property owner's permission. The issuance of a permit under the provisions of this chapter does not relieve the permittee from obtaining permission from the legal property owner to locate the utility or facility on any county highway where the right-of-way is in the form of an easement for public road purposes and the county does not own the right-of-way. The rules, regulations, and specifications of such permission shall not be in conflict with the provisions of this chapter nor supersede, diminish, alter, or in any manner or form, interfere with use of said easement for roadway purposes, nor shall said permission result in any costs to the county either now or in the future. Failure to obtain permission can be just cause not to issue a permit or to suspend or revoke an issued permit.
(F) Locating utilities and facilities.
(1) The owner of any utility or facility located within the right-of-way of a county highway shall upon written request determine the location of its utility or facility as required by the County Engineer to facilitate design engineering, construction, or maintenance work to be performed on a county highway. Such locating may include, but are not limited to, exposing the utility or facility and/or providing distance and depth measures.
(2) The locating of a utility or facility shall be performed within ten working days of the receipt of the request of the County Engineer when seasonally possible to do so within such timeframe and shall not result in costs to the county due to delays in the design engineering, construction or maintenance work contemplated by the county. This requirement to locate utilities or facilities shall not be construed to be in conflict with damage prevention efforts of the Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavation (J.U.L.I.E) program, but a condition of any permit to construct and/or maintain a utility or facility within a county highway right-of-way. Failure to respond to such locating requests shall constitute a violation of this chapter, as detailed in § 90.033.
(G) Participation in the J.U.L.I.E. The owner of any utility or facility to be located within the right-of-way of a county highway shall be a member of J.U.L.I.E. The only allowed exceptions to J.U.L.I.E. membership are the owners of a single service connection for water or sanitary sewer within the county highway right-of-way.
(H) Maintenance of utilities and facilities.
(1) The owner of a utility or facility located within the right-of-way of a county highway shall be solely responsible for the use, operation, and maintenance of the utility or facility. All work performed on a utility or facility located within the right-of-way of a county highway shall be performed at no cost to the county and shall be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(2) In the event a utility or facility located within a right-of-way of a county highway becomes a hazard or potential hazard, the owner of the utility or facility shall immediately take the necessary steps to remedy and alleviate the hazard or potential hazard, at no cost to the county. Said remedy shall not alter, diminish, lessen, change, or in any manner or form, limit the use of a right-of-way for roadway purposes.
(3) The owner of the existing utility or facility shall obtain a permit to perform maintenance on the utility or facility located within the right-of-way of a county highway. Permit and inspection fees may be waived for minor maintenance work that does not substantially impact the county highway right-of-way. The waiver of permit and inspection fees shall be at the discretion of the County Engineer. All applicable fees under this chapter shall be paid by the owner for any maintenance work that involves the open cutting of the county highway pavement.
(4) Major maintenance. Major maintenance is the repair or inspection of an existing utility or facility that requires substantial disturbance of the county highway and/or right-of-way. Major maintenance or inspection work may require excavation and roadway lane and shoulder closures. The County Engineer shall determine whether the work constitutes major maintenance work.
COMMENTARY: Examples of major maintenance can include, but are not limited to, replacing a valve on an existing water main, replacing an existing utility pole, the installation or cut off of a single residential service which involves earthwork, and maintenance work that requires substantial earthwork or excavation. Any planned maintenance work that requires the open cutting of the county highway pavement shall be considered major maintenance. |
(5) Minor maintenance. Minor maintenance is the repair or inspection of an existing utility or facility that requires minimal disturbance of the county highway right-of-way. The County Engineer shall determine whether the work constitutes minor maintenance work.
COMMENTARY: Examples of minor maintenance may include, but are not limited to aerial work on existing utility lines, replacing sections of existing sidewalk in place, resurfacing a municipal street within the county highway right-of-way, televising or lining of an existing sewer without disturbing pavement, and adjusting manholes without affecting county highway pavement. |
(H) Emergency repair work.
(1) Emergency repair work may be performed on a utility or facility located within a right-of-way of a county highway prior to obtaining a permit to perform the work necessary to remedy the emergency situation. For all emergencies, the LCDOT shall be notified immediately during business hours and the Lake County Sheriff's Office shall be notified outside of normal business hours. The emergency repair notification form, available in the Technical Reference Manual, shall be submitted to the LCDOT within 24-hours of the discovery of the emergency. The County Engineer shall determine whether a permit is required for the work performed. A permit is required for all pavement open cuts.
(2) Emergency repair work traffic control. When emergency work is needed on the traveled portion of the roadway, immediate steps shall be taken by the utility or facility company to provide all necessary protection for traffic on the highway. Applicable traffic control standards in accordance with the Technical Reference Manual shall be used at all times. The person in charge shall notify the LCDOT Transportation Management Center (commonly named PASSAGE) of any lane closure and when the lane re-opens. Any time a portion of the county highway requires closure outside of normal business hours, the Lake County Sheriff's Office shall be notified.
(3) Emergency work duration. The duration of the work under an emergency situation by definition is considered 72 hours or less. This time frame is meant to resolve the immediate emergency and temporary pavement may be required as part of this job. The county highway shall be open to traffic as soon as possible. All permanent restoration to pavement, shoulders and right-of-way that was disturbed as the result of emergency work shall be completed within one week of the completion of the emergency repair. Should the emergency occur during the winter months, temporary restoration measures shall be required until permanent restoration can be completed in the spring.
(4) Emergency work permit requirements. Performance of the emergency repair work does not relieve the owner of the utility or facility of all other applicable rules, regulations, and specifications, as set forth in this chapter. A permit application for the emergency work shall be received by the LCDOT no later than one week after the emergency had been identified.
(I) Pavement open cut requirements. Open cutting of pavements degrades the pavement condition and creates the potential for increased future maintenance costs. Due to this impact, open cutting of the pavement for any utility or facility work is discouraged, and all efforts necessary shall be made by the owner of a utility or facility to avoid open cutting of the pavement. If there is no reasonable alternative to open-cutting, a request for open cut shall be made in accordance with the processes and forms contained in the Technical Reference Manual. No pavement open cuts shall be permitted between November 15 and April 15, except in the case of an emergency repair process.
(J) Service connections.
(1) The owner of a utility or facility located within the right-of-way of a county highway shall be responsible for and repair, or cause to be repaired, damage to any property of the county and shall restore any disturbed county highway rights-of-way due to any service connections whether installed by the owner, his or her authorized representative, or by others.
(2) Service connections for water service and sanitary sewer service are allowed to be located within the right-of-way of the county highway provided that the appropriate permit for said services has been issued and the appropriate acceptance form has been signed. The LCDOT is not responsible for re-establishing any service connections damaged by anyone performing work within the county highway right-of-way.
(K) Abandoned utilities and facilities.
(1) The owner of any utility or facility shall be responsible for any utilities and facilities remaining in the right-of-way that have been abandoned or are no longer in use. This responsibility shall include the location and removal or the cost of the removal of said utilities and/or facilities that are in conflict with any highway improvement, construction, and/or maintenance projects of the county and/or its agents. Should the highway pavement be widened, the abandoned utility and/or facility shall be removed out from under the proposed widened pavement or reconstructed at no cost to the county.
(2) The County Engineer may determine on a case by case basis that an abandoned utility or facility may remain in place provided good and sufficient reasons are presented to the County Engineer in writing by the owner of the abandoned utility or facility. However, cost of said removal shall not be the sole reason for a request to leave the abandoned utility or facility in place.
(3) Upon a determination by the County Engineer that an abandoned utility or facility may remain in place, the County Engineer may set forth conditions and requirements which shall include, but not be limited to, prompt reimbursement of the county or its agents for costs incurred due to allowing the abandoned utility or facility to remain in place or filling the abandoned utility with suitable material to avoid future collapse or failures.
(L) Change in permittee status. The permittee shall promptly notify the county of any actual or proposed change in status (including but not limited to bankruptcy) or transfer of, or acquisition by any other party of, control of the permittee. The word "control" as used herein is not limited to major stockholders but also includes actual working control in whatever manner exercised. A rebuttable presumption that a transfer of control has occurred shall arise upon the acquisition or accumulation by any person, group of persons, or group of persons jointly acquiring 5% or more of the voting shares of the permittee. Said notification shall be in writing and sent to the County Engineer within 30 days of the change in status.
(M) In addition to the rules, requirements, and regulations established by this chapter and the specifications, requirements and conditions contained in the Technical Reference Manual, utility requests that fall under the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act shall follow the rules, requirements, and regulations established by the Lake County Small Wireless Telecommunication Facilities in Public Rights-Of-Ways Ordinance.
(Ord. 19-1061, passed 7-9-2019)