For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. References to “subdivisions” are, unless otherwise specified, references to subdivisions in this chapter.
ABANDONED FACILITY. A facility no longer in service or physically disconnected from a portion of the operating facility, or from any other facility, that is in use or still carries service. A facility is not ABANDONED unless declared so by the right-of-way user.
APPLICANT. Any person requesting permission to excavate or obstruct a right-of-way.
CITY. The City of Sandstone, Minnesota. For purposes of this chapter, CITY also means the city’s elected officials, officers, employees and agents.
COLLOCATE or COLLOCATION. To install, mount, maintain, modify, operate or replace a small wireless facility on, under, within or adjacent to an existing wireless support structure or utility pole that is owned privately, or by the city or other governmental entity.
COMMISSION. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
CONSTRUCTION PERFORMANCE BOND. Any of the following forms of security provided at the permittee’s option:
(1) Individual project bond, including a “license and permit” bond;
(2) Cash deposit;
(3) Security of a form listed or approved under M.S. § 15.73, subd. 2;
(4) Letter of credit, in a form acceptable to the city;
(5) Self-insurance, in a form acceptable to the city; and
(6) A blanket bond for projects within the city, or other form of construction bond, for a time specified and in a form acceptable to the city.
DEGRADATION. A decrease in the useful life of the right-of-way caused by excavation in or disturbance of the right-of-way, resulting in the need to reconstruct such right-of-way earlier than would be required if the excavation or disturbance did not occur.
DEGRADATION COST. Subject to Minn. Rules part 7819.1100, the cost to achieve a level of restoration as determined the city at by the time the permit is issued, not to exceed the maximum restoration shown in plates 1 to 13, set forth in Minn. Rules parts 7819.9900 to 7819.9950.
DEGRADATION FEE. The estimated fee established at the time of permitting by the city to recover costs associated with the decrease in the useful life of the right-of-way caused by the excavation, and which equals the degradation cost.
DIRECTOR. The City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer of the city.
DELAY PENALTY. The penalty imposed as a result of unreasonable delays in right-of-way excavation, obstruction, patching or restoration as established by permit.
EMERGENCY. A condition that:
(1) Poses a danger to life or health, or of a significant loss of property; or
(2) Requires immediate repair or replacement of facilities in order to restore service to a customer.
EQUIPMENT. Any tangible asset used to install, repair or maintain facilities in any right-of-way.
EXCAVATE. To dig into or in any way remove or physically disturb or penetrate any part of a right-of-way.
FACILITY or FACILITIES. Tangible asset in the public right-of-way required to provide utility service. The term does not include facilities to the extent the location and relocation of such facilities are preempted by M.S. § 161.45, as it may be amended from time to time, governing utility facility placement in state trunk highways.
HIGH DENSITY CORRIDOR. A designated portion of the public right-of-way within which telecommunications right-of-way users having multiple and competing facilities may be required to build and install facilities in a common conduit system or other common structure.
HOLE. An excavation in the right-of-way, with the excavation having a length less than the width of the pavement or adjacent pavement.
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE. A local person or persons, or designee of such person or persons, authorized by a registrant to accept service and to make decisions for that registrant regarding all matters within the scope of this chapter.
MANAGEMENT COSTS. The actual costs the city incurs in managing its rights-of-way, including such costs, if incurred, as those associated with registering applicants; issuing, processing and verifying right-of-way or small wireless facility permit applications; inspecting job sites and restoration projects; maintaining, supporting, protecting or moving user facilities during right-of-way work; determining the adequacy of right-of-way restoration; restoring work inadequately performed, mapping of “as built” location of facilities located in the right-of-way; and revoking right-of-way or small wireless facility permits and performing all other tasks required by this chapter, including other costs the city may incur in managing matters described in this chapter. MANAGEMENT COSTS do not include payment by a telecommunications right-of-way user for the use of right-of-way, unreasonable fees of a third-party contractor used by the city including fees tied to or based on customer counts, access lines or revenues generated by the right-of-way or for the city, the fees and cost of litigation relating to the interpretation of Session Laws 1997, Chapter 123; M.S. §§ 237.162 or 237.163, as they may be amended from time to time, or any ordinance enacted under those sections, or the city fees and costs related to appeals taken pursuant to § 155.05 of this chapter.
OBSTRUCT. To place any tangible object in a right-of-way so as to hinder free and open passage over that or any part of the right-of-way.
OBSTRUCTION PERMIT. The permit which, pursuant to this chapter, must be obtained before a person may obstruct a right-of-way, allowing the holder to hinder free and open passage over the specified portion of that right-of-way, for the duration specified therein, including a blanket permit for a period of time and for types of work specified by the Director, if deemed appropriate in Director’s discretion.
OBSTRUCTION PERMIT FEE. Money paid to the city by a permittee to cover the costs as provided in § 155.23 of this chapter.
PATCH or PATCHING.
(1) A method of pavement replacement that is temporary in nature; and
(2) A PATCH consists of:
(a) The compaction of the subbase and aggregate base; and
(b) The replacement, in kind, of the existing pavement for a minimum of two feet beyond the edges of the excavation in all directions.
PAVEMENT. Any type of improved surface that is within the public right-of-way and that is paved or otherwise constructed with paver blocks, bituminous, concrete, aggregate or gravel.
PERMIT. Has the meaning given “right-of-way permit” in M.S. § 237.162, as it may be amended from time to time.
PERMITTEE. Any person to whom a permit to excavate or obstruct a right-of-way has been granted by the city under this chapter.
PERSON. Extends to and includes an individual, person, persons, firm, corporation, copartnership, trustee, lessee or receiver. Wherever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, the terms PERSON or “whoever” as applied to any unincorporated entity shall mean the partners or members thereof, as applied to corporations, the officers or agents thereof.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY or RIGHT-OF-WAY. Has the meaning given it in M.S. § 237.162, subd. 3, as it may be amended from time to time.
REGISTRANT. Any person who:
(1) Has or seeks to have its equipment or facilities located in any right-of-way; or
(2) In any way occupies or uses, or seeks to occupy or use, the right-of-way or place its facilities or equipment in the right-of-way.
RESTORE or RESTORATION. The process by which an excavated right-of-way and surrounding area, including pavement and foundation, is returned to the same condition and life expectancy that existed before excavation.
RIGHT-OF-WAY PERMIT. Either an obstruction or utility permit, depending on the circumstances.
RIGHT-OF-WAY USER.
(1) A telecommunications right-of-way user, as defined by M.S. § 237.162, subd. 4, as it may be amended from time to time; or
(2) A person owning or controlling a facility in the right-of-way that is used or intended to be used for providing utility service, and who has a right under law, franchise or ordinance to use the public right-of-way.
SERVICE or UTILITY SERVICE.
(1) Services provided by a public utility as defined in M.S. § 216B.02, subd. 4 and 6, as they may be amended from time to time;
(2) Services of a telecommunications right-of-way user, including transporting of voice or data information;
(3) Services of a cable communications system as defined in M.S. § 238.02, subd. 3, as it may be amended from time to time;
(4) Natural gas or electric energy or telecommunications services provided by a local government unit;
(5) Services provided by a cooperative electric association organized under M.S. Chapter 308A, as it may be amended from time to time; and
(6) Water, sewer, steam, cooling or heating services.
SMALL WIRELESS FACILITY. A wireless facility that meets both of the following qualifications:
(1) Each antenna is located inside an enclosure of no more than six cubic feet in volume or could fit within such an enclosure; and
(2) All other wireless equipment associated with the small wireless facility; provided, the equipment is, in aggregate, no more than 28 cubic feet in volume, not including electric meters, concealment elements, telecommunications demarcation boxes, battery backup power systems, ground equipment, power transfer switches, cutoff switches, cable, conduit, vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other services and any equipment concealed from public view within or behind an existing structure or concealment.
SUPPLEMENTARY APPLICATION. An application made to excavate or obstruct more of the right-of-way than allowed in, or to extend, a permit that had already been issued.
TEMPORARY SURFACE. The compaction of subbase and aggregate base and replacement, in kind, of the existing pavement only to the edges of the excavation.
TRENCH. An excavation in the right-of-way, with the excavation having a length equal to or greater than the width of the pavement or adjacent pavement.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS RIGHT-OF-WAY USER. A person owning or controlling a facility in the right-of-way, or seeking to own or control a facility in the right-of-way, that is used or is intended to be used for providing wireless service, or transporting telecommunication or other voice or data information. For purposes of this chapter, a cable communication system defined and regulated under M.S. Chapter 238, as it may be amended from time to time, and telecommunication activities related to providing natural gas or electric energy services, a public utility as defined in M.S. § 216B.02, as it may be amended from time to time, a municipality, a municipal gas or power agency organized under M.S. Chapters 453 and 453A, as they may be amended from time to time, or a cooperative electric association organized under M.S. Chapter 308A, as it may be amended from time to time, are not telecommunications right-of-way users, except to the extent such entity is offering wireless service.
UTILITY PERMIT. The permit which, pursuant to this chapter, must be obtained before a person may excavate in a right-of-way. A UTILITY PERMIT allows the holder to excavate that part of the right-of-way described in such permit.
UTILITY PERMIT FEE. Money paid to the city by an applicant to cover the costs as provided in § 155.24 of this chapter.
UTILITY POLE. A pole that is used in whole or in part to facilitate telecommunications or electric service.
WIRELESS FACILITY. Equipment at a fixed location that enables the provision of wireless services between user equipment and a wireless service network, including equipment associated with wireless service, a radio transceiver, antenna, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, regular and backup power supplies, and a small wireless facility, but not including wireless support structures, wirelines backhaul facilities or cables between utility poles or wireless support structures, or not otherwise immediately adjacent to and directly associated with a specific antenna.
WIRELESS SERVICE. Any service using licensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum, including the use of Wi-Fi, whether at a fixed location or by means of a mobile device, that is provided using wireless facilities. WIRELESS SERVICE does not include services regulated under Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, including cable service.
WIRELESS SUPPORT STRUCTURE. A new or existing structure in a right-of-way designed to support or capable of supporting small wireless facilities, as reasonably determined by the city.
(Prior Code, § 835.05) (Ord. 2004-04, passed 9-15-2004; Ord. 20171101-01, passed 11-1-2017)