(a) During Construction, Reconstruction or Maintenance of System, Grantee Shall Not Obstruct Public Ways Without Prior Consent of Authorities. In connection with the construction, reconstruction, operation, maintenance, repair, or removal of the system, a grantee shall give due regard to the aesthetics of the franchise areas and shall not obstruct the public ways, streets, railways, passenger travel, or other traffic to, from or within the County, without prior consent of the appropriate State and/or County authorities. In addition:
(1) All transmission and distribution structures, lines, and equipment erected by a grantee within the County shall be so located as to cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any streets or public way.
(2) In case of any disturbance to any public way, street, easement, paved area or other property, a grantee, at its own cost and expense, and in a manner and time period approved by the County, shall replace and restore such public rights-of-way in as good a condition as before the work involving such disturbance was done.
(b) Permits Required to be Obtained Prior to Any Physical Work Being Performed in Public Rights-of-Way. A grantee or its authorized contractors must obtain permits from the Department of Building and Development prior to any physical work being performed in the public rights-of-way, or on County-owned property. Permits will be issued to a grantee or its contractors only on approved plans by approved contractors, which plans must be submitted concurrently with or prior to the request for the construction permit. All work will be done in accordance with the County's Facility Standards Manual and must comply with all applicable law. All physical work to be performed in the public rights-of-way also requires permission from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Evidence of such permission shall be submitted in conjunction with each request for a permit submitted to the Department of Building and Development pursuant to this section.
(c) Grantee to Prepare Detailed Maps of Affected Portion of the System Prior to Issuance of Permit for Construction or Reconstruction. A grantee shall cause detailed maps of the affected portion of the cable system, showing materials of construction, amplifier, and power supply locations, to be filed in the office of the Director of Building and Development prior to the issuance of a permit for construction or reconstruction. Prior to requesting the issuance of a permit for the installation of any facility or apparatus in accordance with the provisions of this section, a grantee shall file such maps with all public agencies whose facilities are affected by such installation.
(d) Upon Undergrounding of Utility Lines, Grantee Shall Concurrently Place Lines Underground in Conduits at Depth Approved by Director of Building and Development or Designee. Trunk, feeder and drop cable may be constructed overhead where poles now exist and electrical or telephone lines or both are now overhead, but where electrical or telephone lines are now underground, all trunk, feeder and drop cable shall be constructed underground at such depths and locations as shall be approved by the Director of Building and Development or his or her designee. Whenever and wherever electrical lines and telephone lines are moved from overhead to underground placement in an area, all cable system facilities and plants in that area shall be similarly and concurrently moved underground by the grantee, at the grantee's sole cost and expense at such depths and locations as shall be approved by the Director of Building and Development or his or her designee.
(e) Grantee May be Required to Move its Facilities to Accommodate Changes in Public Improvements. A grantee shall from time to time protect, support, temporarily dislocate, or temporarily or permanently, as may be required, remove or relocate, without expense to the County or any other governmental entity, any facilities installed, used, or maintained under a franchise, if and when made necessary by any lawful change of grade, alignment, or width of any public street by the County or any other governmental entity, or made necessary by any other public improvement or alteration in, under, on, upon or about any public street or other public property, whether such public improvement or alteration is at the instance of the County or another governmental entity, and whether such improvement or alteration is for a governmental or proprietary function, or made necessary by traffic conditions, public safety, street vacation or any other public project or purpose of the County or any other governmental entity. The decision of the Director of Building and Development under this section, absent review by the County Board of Supervisors, shall be final and binding on a grantee.
(f) Grantee Shall Obtain Prior Approval Before Altering Any Publicly Owned Facility or Any Public Utility Facility; Alterations to be at Cost of Grantee. In connection with the construction, operation, maintenance, repair, or removal of the system, a grantee shall, at its own cost and expense, protect any and all existing structures belonging to the Federal, State or County government or to any public utility. A grantee shall obtain the prior approval of the affected governmental agency or public utility and submit evidence of such approval to the County before altering any water main, sewage or storm drainage system, or any other publicly owned structure or public utility facility in any public way or street, because of the presence of the system in the public ways or streets. Any such alteration shall be made by a grantee, at its sole cost and expense, and in a manner reasonably prescribed by the County. A grantee shall also be liable, at its own cost and expense, to replace or repair and restore to as close to its prior condition as is reasonably possible and in a manner reasonably specified by the County, any public way, street or any Municipal structure involved in the construction of the system that may become disturbed or damaged as a result of any work thereon by or on behalf of the grantee.
(g) Grantee Shall Temporarily Move its Wires to Permit Moving of Buildings. A grantee shall, at the request of any person holding a moving permit issued by the County, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the moving of buildings. The expense of such temporary removal or raising or lowering of wires shall be paid to the grantee by the person requesting the same, and the grantee shall have the authority to require such payment in advance. The grantee shall be given not less then fourteen days notice to arrange for such temporary wire changes.
(h) Grantee Shall Repair and Restore Damage to County Facilities and Shall Maintain Restoration. In the event that a grantee, during construction, installation, inspection or repair of its facilities, causes damage to pavement, sidewalks, driveways, landscaping or other property, the grantee or the authorized agent shall, at its own expense and in a manner approved by the County, replace and restore such places to the same condition which existed before said work was commenced. The grantee shall further continue to maintain all such restoration in the condition approved by the County.
(i) Failure by Grantee to Complete Required Work in Any Street or Other Public Place Can Result in County Causing Work to be Done at Expense of Grantee. Notwithstanding any franchise provision regarding liquidated damages, and under normal operating conditions, upon failure of the grantee to complete any work required by law, or by the provisions of a franchise, to be done in any street or other public place, within ten days following due notice and to the satisfaction of the Director of Building and Development, the County may, at its option, cause such work to be done and the grantee shall pay to the County the cost thereof, in the itemized amounts reported by the Director of Building and Development to the grantee within ten days after receipt of such itemized report, or, at the County's option, the County may demand of the grantee the estimated cost of such work as estimated by the Director of Building and Development, and such shall be paid by the grantee to the County within ten days of such demand; upon award of any contract or contracts for such work, the grantee shall pay to the County within ten days of demand any additional amount necessary to provide for cost of such work. Upon completion of such work, the grantee shall pay to the County or the County shall refund to the grantee such sums so that the total received and retained by the County shall equal the cost of such work. “Cost”, as used herein, shall include fifteen percent for the County's overhead expense.
(j) County May Remove Grantee's Facilities as May be Required During Emergencies. The County reserves the right to remove any portion of a grantee's equipment and facilities as may be required in any emergency as determined by the County without liability for interruption of cable service, and the County shall not be obligated to restore cable service or to pay the costs of expenses of restoring cable service.
(k) Cost of Tree Trimming is to be at Expense of Grantee; County Has Option to Decide Whether County or Grantee Does the Trimming. A grantee shall notify the County regarding the need to trim trees upon and overhanging public rights-of-way so as to prevent the branches of such trees from coming in contact with the wires and cables of the grantee or creating a safety hazard. At the option of the County, such trimming may be done by the County at the expense of the grantee, or by the grantee, under the County's supervision and direction, at the expense of the grantee. When authorized, such trimming shall be limited to the area required for clear cable passage and shall not include major structural branches which materially alter the appearance and natural growth habits of the tree. If such trimming is not performed by the County, the grantee shall be responsible for any and all damage to any tree as a result of trimming, or to the land surrounding any tree, whether such tree is trimmed or removed, or for damage to property or person caused by such trimming and removal of any tree.
(l) Grantee Shall Remove System From Any Public Street Following Termination or Expiration of Franchise. In the event that the use of a part of the cable system is discontinued for any reason for a continuous period of twelve months, or in the event such cable system or property has been installed in any street or public place without complying with the requirements of the franchise, or the franchise has been terminated, canceled or has expired without renewal, a grantee shall promptly, at its own expense, upon being given ten days written notice from the Director of Building and Development, remove from the streets or public places all such property and poles of such cable system, other than any which the Director of Building and Development may permit to be abandoned in place. In the event of such removal, a grantee shall promptly restore the street or other area from which such property has been removed to a condition satisfactory to the Director of Building and Development. The Director of Building and Development shall not give such notice if the property or poles are needed to ensure continuous uninterrupted service or if the County chooses to exercise its right to purchase the grantee's system pursuant to Section 805.16.
(m) Grantee's Property May be Considered Abandoned Sixty Days After Termination or Expiration of Franchise. Any property of a grantee remaining in place sixty days after the termination or expiration of a franchise may, at the option of the County Board of Supervisors, be declared permanently abandoned. Once declared abandoned, the grantee shall have thirty days to remove the property. The Director of Building and Development may, upon the request of the grantee, extend such time for a period not to exceed an additional sixty days. Any property not removed shall, at the option of the County, be declared forfeited to the County.
(n) Abandonment in Place Shall be Done at Direction of Department of Building and Development; Ownership of Property Shall be Transferred to County. Any property which a grantee wishes to abandon in place shall be abandoned in such a manner as the Department of Building and Development or its designee shall prescribe. Such abandonment of the property of a grantee in place shall require a grantee to submit to the County an instrument in writing, to be approved by the County Attorney, transferring to the County the ownership of such property. If such an instrument is not received within thirty days of the abandonment, the property shall, at the option of the County, be declared forfeited to the County.
(Ord. 98-05. Passed 4-15-98.)