A Class 3 encroachment permit may be obtained by a utility company by completing and submitting an application in a form which shall be adopted and provided by the County Road Department.
(A) The encroachment permit application shall set forth and include:
(1) The name, address and telephone number of the applicant;
(2) The location of the proposed encroachment and/or the county road rights-of-way, or portion(s) thereof, to be affected thereby;
(3) A description on a route map of the proposed encroachment, including the purpose therefor, the type and scope of activities, the dimensions thereof, the materials to be used, the times and dates thereof and such other information as the Supervisor may deem pertinent. If haulage is anticipated, the application shall be accompanied with a route map and shall describe the haul tonnage, haul schedules and/or such other information as the Supervisor may deem pertinent;
(4) If the Supervisor requires it, evidence of a satisfactory bond, guarantee or other financial undertaking tendered by the applicant or by a third-party entity on behalf of the applicant, guaranteeing the completion of any and all improvements and or construction proposed therein in conformance with the specifications contained in the application, and a written and signed acknowledgment that upon the applicant’s failure to so perform, the county may complete the same to its satisfaction and charge the costs thereof, including any administrative fees, against the third-party bonding entity or other guarantor, and/or against the applicant’s organization, and/or against the applicant personally until paid in full. Said recoverable costs may, at the Supervisor’s discretion, include any attorney fees, litigation and other court costs necessarily incurred by the county to recover the costs; and
(5) Maps, plats or engineering drawings displaying the current locations in pertinent views of utility lines within the county road rights-of-way to be affected by the proposed encroachment, and the proposed alignment of any new or replacement lines or pipelines for which the encroachment permit is requested.
(B) The Supervisor shall review all applications with a view toward eliminating or minimizing potential overlaps, conflicts or interference between utilities using the affected county road rights-of-way and may, at his or her discretion, specify where the applicant may place its proposed line or lines in relation to existing utility lines, and may impose any additional conditions, limits, bonds, insurance, waivers or other guarantees he or she may deem necessary to protect the county and other utility users of the rights-of-way and to assure compliance by the applicant with the terms of said encroachment permit.
(C) The applicant and his or her employees, assigns, agents and contractors shall not exceed or otherwise go beyond the county road rights-of-way involved in the encroachment permit. Permission is not given to encroach upon any privately owned property in the project area. Fences do not necessarily define property lines or county road rights-of-ways.
(D) The applicant shall agree in writing to waive any and all claims against the county for liability for alleged damage to the applicant’s lines caused by the county or caused by other utilities whose existing lines are located within the vicinity of the applicant’s proposed new or replacement line. The applicant shall also agree in writing to indemnify and hold the county harmless for any damage the applicant may cause to other utilities whose existing lines are located within the vicinity of the applicant’s proposed new or replacement line.
(E) If the utility line or other utility equipment is not installed according to the encroachment permit requirements and conditions and the line or equipment becomes damaged, the permittee will be solely responsible for repairs at its expense.
(F) Utilities who have ever been issued a Class 3 encroachment permit shall include in their application a written and signed acknowledgment that they will be responsible to relocate their utility lines and solely bear the costs of such relocation in the event it ever becomes necessary in the future for any county road rights-of-way to be realigned and/or relocated.
(G) The issuance of a Class 3 encroachment permit may be conditioned on passing any additional testing requirements that the Supervisor, in his or her discretion, may require.
(H) After receipt of the application for an encroachment permit, the Supervisor shall review the application and shall, within a reasonable time, either grant the same or decline it. At any time after the Supervisor’s decision, the applicant may request that the Supervisor reconsider the decision.
(Ord. 2023-4-1, passed 4-10-2023)