(a) Construction Standards.
(1) All construction practices shall be in accordance with all applicable sections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, as well as all state and local codes where applicable, as adopted by the Village.
(2) All installation of electronic equipment shall be of a permanent nature, durable and installed in accordance with the provisions of the National Electrical and Safety Code and National Electrical Code as amended.
(3) Antennas and their supporting structures (towers) shall be painted, lighted, erected and maintained in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration and all other applicable state or local laws, codes and regulations.
(4) All of the Operator’s plant and equipment, including, but not limited to, the antenna site, headend and distribution Cable System, towers, house connections, structures, poles, wire, fiber optic, coaxial cable, fixtures and appurtenances:
A. Shall be installed, located, erected, constructed, reconstructed, replaced, removed, repaired, maintained and operated in accordance with good engineering practices; and
B. All such work must be performed by experienced maintenance and construction personnel so as not:
1. To endanger or interfere with improvements the Village may deem appropriate to make,
2. To interfere in any manner with the rights of any property owner, or
3. To unnecessarily hinder or obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
(5) The Operator shall at all times employ ordinary care and shall install and maintain in use commonly accepted methods and devices preventing failures and accidents which are likely to cause damage, injury or nuisance to the public.
(b) Construction Codes and Permits.
(1) An Operator shall obtain all required permits from the Village before commencing any work requiring a permit, including the opening or disturbance of any Street, or Public Property or public easement within the Village. The Operator shall strictly adhere to all building and zoning codes currently or hereafter applicable to construction, operation or maintenance of the Cable System in the Village.
(2) The Village shall have the right to inspect all construction or installation work performed pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter and/or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement and to make such tests as it shall find necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of this Chapter and/or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement and applicable provisions of local, state and federal law. The Operator shall notify the Village’s Village Administrator (the “Village Administrator”) of any work in a Street ten (10) days in advance of commencement of work.
(3) Nothing contained in this Chapter or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement shall be construed to give the Operator the authority to enter upon or work on private property in areas not encumbered with public easements without the permission of the property owner.
(4) The obligations of the Operator under this Subsection (b) are subject to the procedures for imposition of penalties under Section 955.12 of this Chapter.
(c) Repair of Streets and Property. Any and all Streets, Public Property, or private property, that are disturbed or damaged during the construction, repair, replacement, relocation, operation, maintenance or reconstruction of the Cable System shall be promptly repaired by the Operator, at its expense, to a condition as good as that prevailing prior to the Operator’s disturbance of, or damage to, the property. If the Operator fails to repair, replace, or otherwise correct a Street or property, the Village may, after reasonable notice affording the Operator an opportunity to first correct the problem, complete any repair, replacement or other correction.
(d) Use of Existing Poles.
(1) No pole or other similar wire-holding structure shall be erected by an Operator without prior approval of the Village Administrator with regard to location, height, type, and any other pertinent aspect. The Village Administrator shall consider the availability of poles and the need to avoid pole proliferation in approving new poles. However, no location of any pole or other similar wire-holding structure of the Operator shall be a vested interest and such poles or structures shall be removed or modified by the Operator at its own expense whenever the Village determines that the public convenience would be enhanced thereby. Nothing in this Chapter or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement shall be construed as granting to the Operator any right or interest in any pole or conduit of any other utility, including any utility owned by the Village. It is the responsibility of the Operator to secure agreements for use of such poles or conduits.
(2) Where poles or other wire-holding structures already existing for use in serving the Village are available for use by the Operator, but it does not make arrangements for such use, the Village may require the Operator to use such poles and structures if it determines that the public convenience would be enhanced thereby and the terms of the use available to the Operator are just and reasonable.
(3) Unless preempted by State law, if the Village or a public utility serving the Village desires to make use of the poles or other wire-holding structures of the Operator, but agreement thereof with the Operator cannot be reached, the Village may require the Operator to permit such use for such consideration and upon such terms as are just and reasonable, if the Village determines that the use would enhance the public convenience and would not unduly interfere with the Operator’s operations.
(e) Undergrounding of Cable.
(1) Cable shall be installed underground at the Operator’s expense where both the existing telephone and electrical utilities are already underground or where the Village has available conduit which is suitable to the Operator’s use. The Operator shall place cable underground in newly platted areas in concert with both the telephone and electrical utilities, unless this requirement is waived by the Village.
(2) In the event an underground installation is required and the ground is frozen, saturated, or otherwise unable to immediately facilitate underground installation, such installation shall be performed on a temporary basis in compliance with all state and federal rules, regulations, codes, or other generally applicable standards. As soon as conditions change to permit proper underground installation of the cable, the Operator shall immediately, and in no event later than thirty (30) days after such conditions have changed to allow underground installation, undertake all necessary steps to install the cable underground pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Chapter and the Operator’s Franchise Agreement.
(f) Reservation of Street Rights.
(1) Nothing in this Chapter or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement shall be construed to prevent the Village from constructing, maintaining, repairing or relocating sewers; grading, paving, maintaining, repairing, relocating and/or altering any Street; constructing, laying down, repairing, maintaining or relocating any water mains; or constructing, maintaining, relocating, or repairing any sidewalk or other public work.
(2) All such work shall be done, insofar as practicable in such a manner as not to obstruct, injure or prevent the free use and operation of the poles, wires, conduits, conductors, pipes or appurtenances of the Operator.
(3) If any such property of the Operator shall interfere with the construction or relocation, maintenance or repair of any Street or public improvement, whether it be construction, repair, maintenance, removal or relocation of a sewer, public sidewalk, or water main, Street or any other public improvement, thirty (30) days notice shall be given to the Operator by the Village and all such poles, wires, conduits or other appliances and facilities shall be removed or replaced by the Operator in such manner as shall be directed by the Village so that the same shall not interfere with the said public work of the Village, as determined by the Village’s Administrator and such removal or replacement shall be at the expense of the Operator; provided that if the Village compensates any utility for such removal or replacement, then the Operator shall be similarly compensated.
(4) Nothing contained in this Chapter or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement shall relieve any Person from liability arising out of the failure to exercise reasonable care to avoid injuring the Operator’s facilities while performing any work connected with grading, regrading, or changing the line of any Street or public place or with the construction or reconstruction of any sewer or water system.
(g) Trimming of Trees. The Operator shall have the authority to trim trees, in accordance with all applicable utility restrictions, ordinance and easement restrictions, upon and hanging over Streets, alleys, sidewalks, and public places of the Village so as to prevent the branches of such trees from interfering with the Cable System.
(h) Street Abandonment.
(1) The Operator must provide the Village with no less than six (6) months advance written notice before it stops using any portion of the Cable System, except for non-usage which occurs in the ordinary course of system operations and maintenance.
(2) If any Street or portion thereof is vacated or abandoned by the Village during the term of the Operator’s Franchise or the Operator discontinues the use of all or part of any Street during the term hereof, the Operator shall, at its expense, promptly remove the affected portion of the Cable System. After completing the removal, the Operator shall repair and reconstruct the Street area where such removal has occurred and restore the Street to a condition substantially similar to that existing before such removal took place. If the Operator has not completed the required removal and Street restoration within thirty (30) days of receiving notice from the Village to do so, the Village has the option to complete the removal and restoration, and all costs and expenses incurred by the Village will be the direct and uncontested liability of the Operator. The Operator must promptly pay all removal and restoration costs and expenses upon receiving evidence of the same from the Village.
(i) Movement of Facilities. In the event it is necessary temporarily to move or remove any of the Operator’s wires, cables, poles, or other facilities placed pursuant to the Operator’s Franchise, in order to lawfully move a large object, vehicle, building or other structure over the Streets of the Village, upon two (2) weeks notice by the Village to the Operator, the Operator shall move at the expense of the Person requesting the temporary removal, such of its facilities as may be required to facilitate such movements. Any service disruption provisions of this Chapter, or any other Chapter of the Village’s codified ordinances, or the Operator’s Franchise Agreement, shall not apply in the event that the removal of the Operator’s wires, cables, poles or other facilities pursuant to this subsection (i) results in temporary service disruptions.
(Ord. 2001-109. Passed 11-13-01.)