(A) The purpose of this chapter is to provide requirements for the use or occupation of any and all right-of-way and public property 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.
(B) This chapter does not take the place of any franchise, license, or permit which may be additionally required by law and shall not alter or affect the requirements imposed by §§ 51.45 through 51.47, Chapter 92, and/or Chapter 117. Each permittee shall obtain any and all such additional franchises, licenses or permits necessary to the operations and conduct of its business.
(C) The Public Works Director, or his or her representative, is hereby granted the authority and duty of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
(D) No person shall erect, place or store any objects, items, basketball poles, fixtures, material, equipment, shed, roof, fence or temporary walk, guard, device or any other structure on a public right of way without first obtaining a permit from the Public Works Director; nor shall any person move any building or structure onto, across or over any public right-of-way without first obtaining a permit from the Public Works Director. Newspaper disseminating devices or other similar devices are exempt from requiring a permit if:
(1) The placement of the device does not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare; and
(2) The device does not materially interfere with other lawful uses of the right-of-way.
(E) The policy of the city with regard to right-of-way is hereby declared to be:
(1) To authorize any right-of-way user to utilize the right-of-way in a competitively neutral, non-discriminatory manner that maximizes the efficient use of and conserves the right-of-way and minimizes the burden on the right-of-way, physically and aesthetically;
(2) To promote public safety and protect public property;
(3) To promote the utilization of right-of-way for the public health, safety and welfare and to promote economic development in the city;
(4) To promote 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;
(5) To promote cooperation among the city and permittees in the occupation of right-of-way, and work therein, in order to minimize public inconvenience during work in the right-of-way and avoid uneconomic, unneeded and unsightly duplication of facilities;
(6) To ensure adequate public compensation for the regulation of the private use of the right-of- way and the regulation thereof; and
(7) To promote and require reasonable accommodation of all uses of right-of-way and to establish the following priority of use of right-of-way, when all requested usage of right-of-way by permittees cannot be accommodated:
(a) First priority: use by the city;
(b) Second priority: use by another governmental entity with city's concurrence or other uses required by law;
(c) General permitees and franchisees shall have third priority;
(d) General permitees shall have fourth priority; and
(e) Special permittees shall have fifth priority;
(f) Provided, however, that the Public Works Director may reasonably require right-of- way permittees to cooperate to accommodate use by other permittees and provided further that the Public Works Director may alter this priority when the Public Works Director reasonably determines a deviation to be in the public interest.
(8) To protect the value of private property by setting minimum aesthetic standards for uses of public property; and
(9) To require underground placement of all facilities in areas with existing underground facilities; and
(10) To require the improvement of existing areas to underground facilities to be at the permittee’s cost; and
(11) 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.
(12) To minimize the impact on existing facilities and/or utilities including landscaping.
(F) Nothing in this chapter should be construed to apply the provisions of this chapter to facilities owned or operated by the city or any of its operations.
(G) Unless otherwise specifically stated in a permit or in a franchise, all permits granted hereunder shall be non-exclusive.
(H) The Public Works Director is the principal city official for administration of right-of-way permits for work and excavations made in the right-of-way. The Public Works Director may delegate any or all of the duties hereunder.
(Ord. 5-08, passed 3-3-08) Penalty, see § 54.99