(a) The purpose of this chapter is to provide requirements for the use or occupation of any and all rights-of-way in the City, the issuance of permits to persons for such use or occupancy and to set forth the policies of the City related thereto. The Director of Public Service is hereby granted the authority and duty of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
(b) No person shall use, occupy, own or operate facilities in, under or over any rights-of- way or other public ground abutting a public street within the City unless such person first obtains a permit therefor from the Director of Public Service, or his or her authorized agent, and conforms to the requirements set forth therein and in this chapter.
(c) This chapter does not take the place of any franchise, license, or permit which may be additionally required by law. Each permittee shall obtain any and all such additional franchises, licenses or permits necessary to the operation and conduct of its business.
(d) The policy of the City with regard to rights-of-way is hereby declared to be:
(1) To promote public safety and protect public and private property;
(2) To promote the utilization of rights-of-way for the public health, safety and welfare and to promote economic development in the City;
(3) To promote of the availability of a wide range of utility, communication and other services including the rapid deployment of new technologies and innovative services, to the City's citizens and taxpayers at reasonable rates;
(4) To promote cooperation among the City and permittees in the occupation of rights-of-way, and work therein, in order to minimize public inconvenience during right-of- way work, and uneconomic, unneeded and unsightly duplication of facilities;
(5) To ensure adequate public compensation for private use of the rights-of-way and the regulation thereof; and
(6) To promote and require reasonable accommodation of all uses of rights-of-way and to establish the following priority of use of rights-of-way, when all requested usage of rights-of-way by permittees cannot be accommodated:
A. First priority is use by the City;
B. Second priority is use by another governmental entity with City's concurrence or other uses required by law;
C. Franchise permittees shall have third priority;
D. General permittees shall have fourth priority; and
E. Special permittees shall have fifth priority; provided, however, that the Director of Public Service may reasonably require right-of-way permittees to cooperate to accommodate use by other permittees and provided further that the Director may alter this priority when he reasonably determines a deviation to be in the public interest.
(7) To protect the value of private property by setting minimum aesthetic standards for uses of public property; and
(8) To require underground placement of all facilities in areas with existing underground facilities; and
(9) To require the improvement of existing areas to underground facilities to be at the permittee's cost; and
(10) To protect existing facilities, structures, and trees in the public right-of-way during the installation of new underground facilities and to assure the repair of existing underground facilities and co-existence with new underground facilities to protect the first facilities' usability.
(11) To minimize the impact on existing facilities and/or utilities including landscaping.
(e) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the City's use of facilities owned, controlled, or operated by the City or any of its operations. Unless otherwise specifically stated in a permit or in a franchise, all permits granted hereunder shall be non-exclusive.
(Ord. 78-2004. Passed 6-28-04.)