(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. Each Permittee shall obtain any and all such additional franchises, licenses or permits necessary to the operations and conduct of its business.
(c) No person shall use occupy, own or operate facilities in, under or over any right-of-way within the City or on property owned by the City, unless such person first obtains a Permit conforming to the requirements set forth in this Chapter; provided, however, that permits shall not be required for de minimis uses.
(d) The policy of the City with regard to right-of-way is hereby declared to be:
(1) To promote public safety and protect public property;
(2) To promote the utilization of right-of-way for the public health, safety and welfare and to promote economic development in the City;
(3) To promote the availability of a wide range of public utility, telecommunication and other services, including the rapid deployment of new technologies and innovative services to the City's citizens and taxpayers at reasonable rates;
(4) To promote cooperation among the City, Franchisees, 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, to facilitate the delivery of quality services and products by Franchisees and Permittees to the public, to avoid uneconomic, unneeded and unsightly duplication of facilities and to manage the use of space within the right-of-way to provide for the addition of municipal and public utility infrastructure to meet the future needs of the public;
(5) To ensure adequate public compensation for the private use of the right-of-way and the regulation thereof; and
(6) 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. Use by the City shall have first priority;
B. Use by another governmental entity, with City concurrence, or other uses required by law shall have second priority;
C. Use by public utilities Permittees shall have third priority;
D. Use by telecommunications provider Permittees which are not public utilities, but which provide services to the public shall have fourth priority; and,
E. Special Permittees shall have fifth priority;
provided, however, that the Service Director may reasonably require Permittees to cooperate to accommodate use by other Permittees and Franchisees and provided further that the City Manager may alter this priority when the City Manager determines that such alteration is necessary to protect the public health, safety and/or welfare.
(e) It is neither the intent nor the policy of the City to engage in any discriminatory acts violative of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
(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 or to sewer laterals and waterlines located in the rights-of-way which are connected to the City's water or sewer facilities with the City's permission.
(g) Unless otherwise specifically stated in a Permit, all Permits granted hereunder shall be nonexclusive.