(a) In addition to the other requirements set forth herein each telecommunication and utility and special permittee shall:
(1) Use its best efforts to cooperate with other franchisees and permittees and the City for the best, most efficient, most aesthetic and least obtrusive use of rights of way, consistent with safety, and to minimize traffic and other disruptions including street cuts;
(2) Participate in joint planning and advance notification of right of way work, excepting such work performed in emergencies or other exigent circumstances;
(3) Cooperate with other non-residential permittees and franchisees in utilization of, construction in and occupancy of private rights of way, but only to the extent the same is not inconsistent with the agent thereof or state or federal law;
(4) Upon written notice of, and at the direction of, the Director and at the permittees' sole cost, promptly remove or rearrange facilities as necessary, e.g. during any construction, repair or modification of any street, sidewalk, City utility or other governmental uses, or if additional or subsequent City or other public uses of rights of way are inconsistent with then current uses of franchisees and permittees or for any other reasonable cause as determined by the Director;
(5) All persons granted a permit on or after the effective date of this section shall provide maps or other information in such form and at such times as the City may reasonably require. Said maps and information shall locate, describe and identify all structures and facilities of such permittee, of and in the rights of way;
(6) Perform all work, construction, maintenance or removal of structures and facilities within the right of way in accordance with good engineering and construction practice, including any appropriate safety codes and in accordance with the best efforts to repair and replace any street, curb or other portion of the right of way, or facilities or structure located therein, to a condition materially equivalent to this condition prior to such work, and to do so in a manner which minimizes inconvenience to the public, the City and other franchisees and permittees, all in accordance with all applicable regulations;
(7) Register with all appropriate underground reporting services; and
(8) Unless otherwise set forth in a permit, not enter into leases or other agreements for physical space in or on permittee's facilities located within the rights of way without prior notification of the City. Such notice shall include a general description of the uses to be made of the facilities.
(b) Construction and Technical Standards.
(1) Upon grant of the permit and in order to construct, operate and maintain a telecommunications system or utility in the City, the permittee may enter into contracts with any public utility companies or any other owner or lessee of any poles or underground areas located within or without the City, obtain right of way permits from appropriate City, state, county, and federal officials necessary to cross or otherwise use highways or roads under their respective jurisdiction; obtain permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to erect and maintain antennas; and obtain whatever other permits a City, county, state or federal agency may require.
(2) In those areas of the City where telephone and electric services are provided by underground facilities, all new facilities shall be placed underground. In all other areas, the permittee, upon request of the City, shall use its best efforts to place facilities underground. However, the term “facilities” as used in the preceding sentence shall not include equipment which is customarily placed on or above the ground in conjunction with underground transmission facilities (e.g. splice and terminal pedestals, equipment cabinets and transformers).
Where not otherwise required to be placed underground by this chapter, the permittee's system shall be located underground at the request of the adjacent property owner, provided the placement of such system shall be consistent with the permittee's construction and operating standards and provided that the excess cost over the aerial location shall be borne by the property owner making the request. All cable to be installed under the roadway shall be installed in conduit. In no circumstance shall new poles be located in any area of the City where they are not replacing existing poles without written approval of the Director, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(3) The permittee shall construct, install, operate and maintain its system in a manner consistent with all laws, ordinances, construction standards, governmental requirements and FCC technical standards, and those standards are incorporated by reference herein. The system shall be designed, constructed, operated and maintained for twenty-four hour a day continuous operation.
(4) The permittee shall comply with the City's normal permitting process prior to commencing any work in the rights of way except for emergencies and otherwise as provided in this chapter. No work in the rights of way shall be commenced until such time as any and all required permits have been issued by the City. The City shall not unreasonably withhold the granting of any permit.
(5) Any contractor proposed for work of construction, installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of system equipment must be properly licensed under laws of the State, and all local ordinances. The contractor's or permittee's system and associated equipment erected by the contractor or permittee within the City shall be so located as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of streets, alleys and other public ways and places, and to cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of said streets, alleys or other public ways and places. No pole or other fixtures placed in any public ways by the contractor or permittee shall be placed in such a manner as to interfere with normal travel on such public way.
(6) The City does not guarantee the accuracy of any maps showing the horizontal or vertical location of existing substructures. In public rights of way, where necessary, the location shall be verified by excavation.
(7) Construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of the utility or telecommunications system shall be performed in an orderly and workmanlike manner, in accordance with the permittee's then current corporate construction and maintenance practices. When consistent with the safety codes and standards set forth in Section 1157.06, all cables and wires shall be installed, where possible, parallel with electric and telephone lines. Multiple configurations shall be arranged in parallel and bundled with due respect for engineering considerations.
(8) The permittee shall at all times comply with applicable National Electrical Safety Code (National Bureau of Standards); applicable National Electrical Code (National Bureau of Fire Underwriters); and applicable FCC or other federal, state and local regulations; and standards as set forth in the permit.
(9) In any event, the system shall not endanger or interfere with the safety of persons or property in the permit area or other areas where the contractor or permittee may have equipment located.
(10) The franchisee or permittee shall provide either a performance bond (or self-bonding by permittee having capitalization in excess of five million dollars ($5,000,000) as determined by the Director), an irrevocable letter of credit acceptable to the City or a certified check in an amount determined by the Director to pay the cost of restoration of the right of way should the permittee fail to perform restoration required by this chapter or the permit or to pay for the cost of removal or relocation of the system required by this chapter should the permittee fail to perform said removal or relocation.
(c) Right of Way Work Permit Required. All permittees shall obtain a right of way work permit from the Director prior to beginning the erection, installation or maintenance including tree trimming, of any lines or equipment. Prior City approval shall not be required for emergency repairs, routine maintenance and repairs, operations which do not require excavation in the public right of way, blockage of any street or alley or material disruption to any landscaping or structures and/or irrigation systems. The permittee, and/or its subcontractors shall leave the streets, alleys, and other public places where such work is done in as good condition or repair as they were before such work was commenced and to the reasonable satisfaction of the City. Such right of way work permit shall be issued in writing and is subject to conditions that may be attached by the Director including, but not limited to, requirements concerning traffic control, safety scheduling, notification of adjoining property owners, and restoration with seed, sod or specific plant materials as directed by the City of St. Clairsville. The permittee and/or its subcontractors shall endeavor to complete in a timely manner repairs to the right of way. All workmanship and materials used by the permittee and/or its subcontractors to repair the streets and roadways shall be subject to the inspection and approval of the Director or his authorized agent and shall be warranted for a period of one year from the date of completion for any failure due to workmanship or quality of materials.
(Ord. 97-63. Passed 12-29-97.)