(a) Utility Engineering Study Required.
(1) Prior to commencement of any initial construction, repair, extension, or relocation of facilities in the rights-of-way, except for minor repair or maintenance or relocations requested or caused by a third party (excluding the City) or another permittee, a permittee shall conduct a utility engineering study on the proposed route of construction expansion or relocation. Where such construction and/or relocation is requested or caused by a third party, every permittee located within the rights-of-way at issue or involved with the work shall use all best efforts to cooperate and assist any other permittee or person who is directed by the City to perform the required utility engineering study. A utility engineering study consists of, at minimum, completion of the following tasks:
A. Secure all available "as-built" plans, plats and other location data indicating the existence and approximate location of all facilities along the proposed construction route.
B. Visibly survey and record the location and dimensions of any facilities along the proposed construction route, including, but not limited to, manholes, catch basins, utility access holes, maintenance holes, sewers, valve boxes, culverts, signs, poles, trees, shrubs, landscaping, railroads, buildings, utility boxes, posts and visible street cut repairs. Show any item or feature that may be affected by the proposed work.
C. Determine and record the presence and precise location of all underground facilities the applicant or person on whose behalf the permit was applied for owns or controls in the rights-of-way along the proposed system route. Upon request of the Director of Service , a permittee shall also record and identify the general location of all other facilities in the rights-of-way along the proposed system route. For the purposes of this section, general location shall mean the alignment of other facilities in the right-of-way but shall not necessarily mean the depth of other facilities in the rights-of-way.
D. Plot and incorporate the data obtained from completion of the tasks described in and on the construction permittee's proposed system route maps, construction plans, plan sheets or computer aided drafting and design (CADD) files, or other data files in a format compatible with that used by the City.
E. Where the proposed location of facilities and the location of existing underground facilities appear to conflict on the plans drafted permittee has the option of either utilizing non-destructive digging methods, such as vacuum excavation, at the critical points identified to determine as precisely as possible, the horizontal, vertical and spatial position, composition, size and other specifications of the conflicting underground facilities, or re-designing the construction plans to eliminate the apparent conflict. A permittee shall not excavate more than a three (3) feet by three (3) feet square hole in the rights-of-way to complete this task.
F. Based on all of the data collected upon completion of the tasks described in this section, adjust the proposed system design to avoid the need to relocate other underground facilities.
(b) Copy to City. Upon completion of the tasks described in the application, the construction permittee shall plot and incorporate the data on the permittee's proposed system route maps, construction plans, plan sheets or CADD files, or other data files in the best and most advanced format available to both the City and the provider and deliver a copy to the Service Department.
(c) Qualified Firm. All utility engineering studies conducted pursuant to this section shall be performed by the permittee if in the discretion of the Director of Service the construction permittee is qualified to complete the project itself, alternatively utility engineering studies shall be performed by a firm specializing in utility engineering that is approved by the City.
(d) Cost of Study. The permittee shall bear the cost of compliance with this Chapter.
(e) Construction Schedule. Unless otherwise provided for in Sections 1180.01 through 1180.21, or unless the Director of Service waives any of the requirements of this section due to unique or unusual circumstances, a permittee shall be required to submit a written construction schedule to the City five (5) working days before commencing any work in or about the rights-of-way, and shall further notify the City not less than one working day in advance of any excavation in the rights-of-way. This section shall apply to all situations with the exception of circumstances (emergency situations) and (minor maintenance).
(f) Location of Facilities.
(1) The placement of new facilities and replacement of old facilities, either above ground or underground, shall be completed in conformity with applicable laws and the City's Design Guidelines-Creating a Quality Environment.
(2) The City shall have the power to prohibit or limit the placement of new, replaced, repaired, or additional facilities within the rights-of-way. In making such decisions, the City shall strive to the extent possible to accommodate all existing and potential users of the rights-of-way, but shall be guided primarily by considerations of the public health, safety and welfare, the condition of the rights-of-way, the time of year with respect to essential utilities, the protection of existing facilities in the rights-of-way, future City and county plans for public improvements, development projects which have been determined to be in the public interest and nondiscriminatory and competitively neutral treatment among providers. The City reserves the right to require placement of new, repaired or replacement facilities in a different right of way or a right of way corridor, or in existing conduit or require co-location on existing poles or structures, or new poles if deemed necessary by the City.
(g) Least Disruptive Technology. All construction or maintenance of facilities shall be accomplished in the manner resulting in the least amount of damage and disruption of the rights-of-way. Specifically, every permittee when performing underground construction, if technically and/or technologically feasible, shall utilize trenchless technology, including, but not limited to, horizontal drilling, directional boring, and micro tunneling. In addition, all cable, wire, or fiber optic cable installed in the subsurface rights-of-way pursuant to Sections 1180.01 through 1180.21 may be required to be installed in conduit, and if so required, no cable, wire or fiber optic cable may be installed pursuant to Sections 1180.01 through 1180.21 using "direct bury" techniques.
(h) Special Exceptions.
(1) The City may grant a special exception to the requirements of this Chapter if a permittee, upon application, demonstrates with written evidence that:
A. The exception will not create any threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.
B. Permittee demonstrates that the there is a significantly increased economic burden and the potential adverse impact on the permittee's construction schedule resulting from the strict enforcement of the requirement actually or effectively inhibits the ability of the permittee to provide services in the City. Short term economic burdens and short term impacts shall not qualify for relief. The City may consider the long term impact on any project, including the necessity to avoid construction or repairs, or replacement of facilities in the future on main roads, damage to other infrastructure and other factors as set forth herein or other Maumee Codified Ordinances
C. The permittee demonstrates that the requirement unreasonably or unlawfully discriminates against the permittee in favor of another person.
D. The requirements requested by the City herein create an unreasonable economic burden for the permittee that outweighs any benefit or potential benefit to the City.
(i) Relocation of Facilities.
(1) A provider shall as promptly as reasonably possible and at its own expense, permanently remove and relocate its facilities on property owned by the City of Maumee or in the right-of-way whenever the City finds it necessary to request such removal and relocation. In instances where the City requests removal and/or relocation, the City shall waive all applicable construction permit fees. Upon removal and/or relocation, the provider shall restore the rights-of-way to the same or better condition it was in prior to said removal or relocation. If existing poles are required to be removed and/or relocated, then the existing poles will be replaced with poles of the same or comparable size. The Director of Service may request relocation and/or removal in order to prevent unreasonable interference by the provider's facilities with:
A. A public improvement undertaken or approved by the City.
B. When the public health, safety, and welfare requires it, or when necessary to prevent interference with the safety and convenience of vehicular or pedestrian travel over the rights-of-way.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a provider who has facilities in the rights-of-way subject to a vacation or narrowing that is not required for the purposes of the City, shall have an easement in such vacated portion or excess portion.
(3) If, in the reasonable judgment of the City, a provider fails to commence removal and/or relocation of its facilities as designated by the City, within thirty (30) days after the City's removal order, or if a provider fails to substantially complete such removal, including all associated repair of the rights-of-way of the City, within twelve (12) months thereafter, then, to the extent not inconsistent with applicable law, the City shall have the right to:
A. Declare that all rights, title, and interest to the facilities belong to the City with all rights of ownership, including, but not limited to, the right to connect and use the facilities or to effect a transfer of all right, title, and interest in the facilities to another person for operation; or
B. Authorize removal of the facilities installed by the provider in, on, over or under the rights-of-way of the City at provider's cost and expense, by another person; however, the City shall have no liability for any damage caused by such action and the provider shall be liable to the City for all reasonable costs incurred by the City in such action; and
C. To the extent consistent with applicable law, any portion of the provider's facilities in, on, over or under the rights-of-way of the City designated by the City for removal and not timely removed by the provider shall belong to and become the property of the City without payment to the provider, and the provider shall execute and deliver such documents, as the City shall request, in form and substance acceptable to the City, to evidence such ownership by the City.
(j) Pre-Excavation Facilities Location.
(1) Before the start date of any rights-of-way excavation, each provider who has facilities located in the area to be excavated shall be responsible to mark the horizontal and approximate vertical placement of all its facilities and notify the City of Maumee Administrator of said marking so said locations can be reviewed before excavation is commenced.
(2) All providers shall notify and work closely with the excavation contractor and Maumee officials in an effort to establish the exact location of its facilities and the best procedure for excavation.
(k) Rights-of-Way Restoration.
(1) The work to be done under the permit, and the restoration of the rights-of-way as required herein, weather permitting, must be completed within the dates specified in the permit. In addition to its own work, the permittee must restore the general area of the work, and the surrounding areas, including trench backfill, paving and its foundations in accordance with the Maumee Codified Ordinances or other specifications as may be set forth by the City, and must inspect the area of the work and use reasonable care to maintain the same condition for twelve (12) months thereafter. If a permittee is unable to timely complete the restoration of rights-of-way due to unreasonable inclement weather conditions, the permittee shall complete the restoration of the rights-of-way as soon as weather conditions make it possible to do so and upon said completion notify the City.
(3) If the City chooses to allow permittee to restore the rights-of-way, the permittee shall at the time of application for a construction permit post a construction bond in an amount determined by the City to be sufficient to cover the cost of restoring the rights-of-way to its approximate pre-excavation condition. If, twelve (12) months after completion of the restoration of the rights-of-way, the City determines that the rights-of-way have been professionally restored, the surety on the construction bond shall be released.
(4) The permittee shall perform the work according to the standards and with the materials specified by the City. The City shall have the authority to prescribe the manner and extent of the restoration and may do so in written procedures of general application or on a case-by-case basis. The City in exercising this authority shall be guided by the following standards and considerations: the number, size, depth and duration of the excavations, disruptions or damage to the rights-of-way; the traffic volume carried by the rights-of-way; the character of the neighborhood surrounding the rights-of-way; the pre-excavation condition of the rights-of-way; the remaining life-expectancy of the rights-of-way affected by the excavation; whether the relative cost of the method of restoration to the permittee is in reasonable balance with the prevention of an accelerated depreciation of the rights-of-way that would otherwise result from the excavation, disturbance or damage to the rights-of-way; and the likelihood that the particular
method of restoration would be effective in slowing the depreciation of the rights-of-way that would otherwise take place. Methods of restoration may include, but are not limited to, patching the affected area, replacement of the rights-of-way base at the affected area, and in the most severe cases; milling, overlay and/or street reconstruction of the entire area of the rights-of-way affected by the work.
(5) By restoring the right-of-way, itself, the permittee guarantees its work and shall maintain it for twelve (12) months following its completion. During this twelve (12)-month period, it shall, upon notification from the Service Department, correct all restoration work to the extent necessary using the method required by the Service Department. Weather permitting, said work shall be completed within five calendar days of the receipt of the notice from the Service Department.
(6) If the permittee fails to restore the rights-of-way in the manner and to the condition required by the City or fails to satisfactorily and timely complete all repairs required by the City, the City, at its option, may do such work. In that event, the permittee shall pay to the City, within thirty (30) days of billing, the restoration cost of restoring the rights-of-way and any other costs incurred by the City. Upon failure to pay, the City may call upon any bond or letter of credit posted by permittee and/or pursue any and all legal and equitable remedies.
(l) Damage to Other Facilities.
(1) In the case of an emergency, and if possible after reasonable efforts to contact the provider seeking a timely response, when the City performs work in the rights-of-way and finds it necessary to maintain, support, or move a provider's facilities to protect those facilities, the costs associated therewith will be billed to that provider and shall be paid within thirty (30) days from the date of billing. Upon failure to pay, the City may pursue all legal and equitable remedies in the event a provider does not pay, or the City may call upon any bond or letter of credit posted by the permittee and pursue any and all legal or equitable remedies.
(2) Each provider shall be responsible for the cost of repairing any facilities or replacing any trees in the rights-of-way which it or its facilities damage or which are removed as part of any project. Each provider shall be responsible for the cost of repairing any damage to the facilities of another provider or trees caused during the City's response to an emergency occasioned by that provider's facilities.
(m) Rights-of-Way Vacation.
(1) If the City vacates a right-of-way which contains the facilities of a provider, such vacation shall be subject to the provisions of Maumee Codified Ordinances or Ohio R.C. § 723.04.1.
(2) If the vacation requires the relocation of the provider's facilities; and
A. If the vacation proceedings are initiated by the provider, the provider must pay the relocation costs; or
B. If the vacation proceedings are initiated by the City or other person or persons, for a public purpose of the City, the provider or permittee must pay the relocation costs unless otherwise agreed to by the City, the provider or permittee.
(n) Installation Requirements. The excavation, backfilling, restoration, and all other work performed in the rights-of-way shall be performed in conformance with specifications as promulgated by the City and in accordance with the minimum standards set forth in these provisions or in the Maumee Codified Ordinances.
(o) Inspection. When the construction under any permit hereunder is completed, the permittee shall notify the Service Department.
(1) The permittee shall make the construction site available to the inspector and to all others as authorized by law for inspection at all reasonable times during the execution and upon completion of the construction.
(2) At the time of inspection, the inspector may order the immediate cessation of any work which poses a serious threat to the life, health, safety, or well-being of the public, violates any law or which violates the term and conditions of the permit and/or this Code.
(3) The inspector may issue an order to the permittee for any work which does not conform to the permit and/or applicable standards, conditions, or codes. The order shall state that failure to correct the violation will be cause for revocation of the permit. The order may be served on the permittee. An order may be appealed to the Director of Service . The decision of the Director of Service may be appealed to the City Administrator whose decision shall be final. If not appealed, within ten (10) days after issuance of the order, the provider shall present proof to the Director of Service that the violation has been corrected. If such proof has not been presented within the required time, the Director of Service may revoke the permit.
(p) Other Obligations.
(1) Obtaining a construction permit does not relieve permittee of its duty to obtain all other necessary permits, licenses, easements, and authority to use the right of way and to pay all fees required by any other City, county, state, or federal laws.
(2) Permittee shall comply with all requirements of all State of Ohio and Federal laws, including the Ohio Utility Protection Service.
(3) Permittee shall perform all work in conformance with all applicable laws and standards and is responsible for all work done in the rights-of-way pursuant to its permit, regardless of who performs the work.
(4) No rights-of-way obstruction or excavation may be performed when seasonally prohibited or when conditions are unreasonable for such work, except in the case of an emergency.
(5) Permittee shall not obstruct a right-of-way so that the natural free and clear passage of water through the gutters or other waterways shall be interfered with.
(6) Private vehicles other than necessary construction vehicles may not be parked within or adjacent to a permit area. The loading or unloading of trucks adjacent to a permit area is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the permit.
(7) Tree roots and trees in the right of way shall be protected during any right of way project by the Permitee.
(q) Undergrounding Required. Any owner of property abutting upon a street or alley where service facilities are now located underground and where the service connection is at the property line, shall install or cause others to install underground any service delivery infrastructure from the property line to the buildings or other structures on such property to which such service is supplied. (Ord. 051-2022. Passed 12-5-22.)