The City Engineer shall exempt the following developments or improvements of any property outside of the New Model Colony whenever the City Engineer, in his or her discretion, that the proposed developments or improvements fit any one of the following criteria:
(a) Interior tenant improvements and special conditional use permits for which construction is not required;
(b) Exterior upgrading or repair of existing improvements, including but not limited to re-proofing, additions of awnings, landscaping, equipment screening, repainting and application of other exterior finishes;
(c) Additions of functional equipment to any existing improvements, including but not limited to air conditioners, antennae, block walls and fences, cooling towers, enclosure of outdoor storage areas, loading docks, satellite dishes, silos and water tanks;
(d) The development of a new single family residence on a property where the adjacent properties are serviced by overhead utility devices provided that the utility devices to connect the proposed single family residence shall be placed underground from said proposed residence to the previously existing utility devices; or
(e) Whenever the owner or developer of a subject property is required to underground utility devices under this chapter but the distance over which the utility devices is less than six hundred fifty (650) feet, the City Engineer may allow the owner or developer to pay a fee to the City that is equal to the unit cost of placing said utility devices underground multiplied by the distance over which the undergrounding is required, not to exceed six hundred fifty (650) feet, in lieu of such undergrounding. The unit price for undergrounding any utility devices shall be based upon the most recent unit price for undergrounding utility devices over a distance of greater than thirteen hundred (1,300) feet as established by the utility company that would otherwise be responsible for undergrounding said utility devices. The owner or developer shall obtain a written statement of the unit price for undergrounding the required utility devices from the utility serving the subject property and submit it to the City Engineer for determination of the amount of the in lieu fee.
(f) Whenever existing overhead utility lines or related devices are located in, on or between poles serving both electrical transmission lines (i.e. those carrying at least sixty-six (66) kV of energy) and electrical distribution lines (i.e. those carrying less than thirty-four and one-half (34.5) kV of energy) in the Old Model Colony, said lines required to be placed underground per this chapter may be left intact above ground on those poles provided that the owner or developer pay an in-lieu fee for undergrounding said utility devices as required by the City Engineer. The amount of the in-lieu fee shall be determined as provided for in § 7-7.302 (e).
(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 5, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)