(A) Subject to the provisions of § 93.07(O), a registrant that desires to place or maintain a communications facility within a particular segment of the public rights-of-way in the town shall first obtain a permit from the town in accordance with this chapter. No registrant shall place or maintain any communications facility in a public right-of-way without a permit to do so issued by the town.
(B) A permit shall not convey any title, equitable or legal, to the registrant in the public rights-of-way. Permits under this chapter gives the registrant/permittee a license to place or maintain communications facilities in public rights-of-way.
(C) Each registrant that desires to place or maintain a communications facility within a particular segment of the public rights-of-way in the town shall first obtain a permit by filing with the town Building Department an application for a permit which shall include the following information:
(1) Name of the registrant who is applying for a permit;
(2) Name, address and telephone number of the registrant’s primary contact person in connection with the permit, and the person to contact in case of an emergency;
(3) The location of the proposed communication facilities, including a description of the facilities to be installed, where the facilities are to be located, and the approximate size of facilities that will be located in the public rights-of-way;
(4) A description of the manner in which the facility will be installed (such as, anticipated construction methods or techniques);
(5) A “maintenance of traffic plan” for any disruption of the public rights-of-way;
(6) If appropriate given the facility proposed, an estimate of the cost of restoration to the public rights-of-way;
(7) The timetable for construction of the project or each phase thereof, and the areas of the town which will be affected; and
(8) Such additional information as the town finds reasonably necessary with respect to the placement or maintenance of the communications facility that is the subject of the permit application to review such permit application.
(D) Permit application fees. No permit application fees shall be imposed.
(E) The town shall either issue or deny the permit to a registrant within 30 days after receipt of permit application information from the registrant. An incomplete application shall not preclude a registrant from filing subsequent applications for permit for the same public right-of-way segment, or from filing applications for a different segment of the public right-of-way, pursuant to the provisions of this section. A registrant whose permit application has been conditionally approved or disapproved may appeal the determination of the town Building Department to the Town Council within 30 days of the Building Department’s written decision.
(F) Standards for the issuance of a permit. The following shall be standards for the issuance of each permit issued by the town for placement or maintenance of a communication facility in the public right-of-way:
(1) Minimum interference. The facility shall not interfere with existing utilities or other facilities. The permit applicant shall submit a general layout plan demonstrating how the installation, maintenance, and continuous location of facilities will achieve the most minimal level of interference with other utilities and facilities.
(2) Utility crowding. The facility shall be three feet away from any other utility or where space does not permit such distance shall be as far away as possible.
(3) Identification. The plan of installation and actual installation shall provide the method by which the facilities are clearly and conspicuously marked for easy identification. All facilities installed after the effective date of this chapter shall include tape, tracer wire, or other similar means of locating buried facilities deemed acceptable by the town Building Department.
(4) Ownership of installed communication facilities. Application for permit shall identify who shall own the utilities.
(5) Underground facilities. It shall be the permittees responsibility to locate and identify all of the permitees existing underground utilities and facilities as required by F.S. Chapter 556.
(6) Pavement cuts. A permit application shall describe the manner in which the facility will be installed. If pavement cuts will be used, the application shall so specify. If the permit is approved, pavement cuts may be used, and the permit applicant will pay for the cost to make the pavement cuts. No authorization for pavement cuts is required for repair work of the type referenced in § 93.07(O).
(7) Unacceptable materials. The permittee shall not use and shall provide certification that it or any builder or contractor installing or maintaining a facility at its direction shall not use asbestos- containing or lead-containing materials in the construction, installation, or maintenance of any facility placed in the town’s right-of-ways after the effective date of this chapter.
(8) Approved procedures and materials. The permittee shall construct all facilities in accordance with any applicable town or other governmental building, fire, life safety, or other codes or requirements. No facility shall be flammable or explosive in character. No hazardous materials, as defined by 42 USC § 9601 et seq., or any regulation adopted in furtherance thereof, shall be used in the installation or maintenance of the facility.
(9) Minimum interference with motor vehicle, pedestrian, or other traffic. The facility shall not interfere with motor vehicle, pedestrian, or other traffic within the public right-of-way or on private property, unless consented to by the local government having operational and maintenance responsibility for the public-right-of-way or other private property. The permit applicant shall submit a plan demonstrating how the installation, maintenance, and continuous location of communication facilities will achieve the most minimal level of interference with motor vehicle, pedestrian, or other traffic.
(10) Tree trimming; landscaping. The permittee may trim trees or other vegetation owned by the town to prevent branches, leaves or roots from touching or otherwise interfering with its existing or proposed wires, lines, fiber optic lines, cables, structures, or other appurtenances to the communications facilities or as approved by the town. The permittee shall use its best efforts to obtain the prior permission of the owner of any privately-owned trees or other vegetation before it prunes or trims same.
(G) Permit conditions. The following shall be conditions of each permit issued by the town for placement or maintenance of a communication facility in the public right-of-way:
(1) Generally. The permittee shall give appropriate notice to the town and other appropriate governmental agency having jurisdiction over a public property or public right-of-way and residents or business owners within a reasonable time of proposed tree/root trimming, pruning, clipping, or cutting, but in no event shall such notice be given less than five business days before such commencement, except in the case of an emergency.
(2) Preconstruction.
(a) Before commencing work within the public right-of-way, the registrant shall comply with the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act, F.S. Ch. 556; and
(b) No sidewalk or street public right-of-way shall be closed in part or in whole as a result of construction for longer than 60 days.
(3) Town right of inspection. The town Building Department shall have the right to inspect installation or restoration work in the town’s right-of-way performed under the provisions of this chapter and to make such tests as it shall find necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of this section. No construction work within a segment of the public right-of-way shall be deemed completed until such time as the town shall accept the work as having been made consistent with this code and regulations promulgated hereunder. The fact that construction work has been accepted by the town shall not be interpreted to bar the town from a future determination that the work was improperly completed.
(4) Notice of construction. At least three days before the communication service provider begins any major permitted work, the town may require the communications services provider to post a notice at town hall and or at or near the rights-of-way to be affected by the work showing the commencement date of work and its projected duration.
(5) Permit drawings. Within 15 days of the completion of the placement of a new communications facility within the public right-of-way, the registrant shall supply to the town a revised permit drawing if the actual installation differs in any material respect from the initial permit drawings. It shall be the permittee’s responsibility to locate and identify all of the permittee’s existing underground utilities and facilities as required by F.S. Ch. 556.
(Ord. 2010-01, passed 1-26-2010)