(a) Discontinued Operations. A provider who has determined to discontinue its operations in the City must either:
(1) Provide information satisfactory to the City Manager that the provider's obligations for its equipment in the right of way under this chapter have been lawfully assumed by another provider; or
(2) Submit to the City Manager a proposal and instruments for transferring ownership of its equipment to the City. If a provider proceeds under this clause, the City may, at its option: purchase the equipment; require the provider, at its own expense, to remove it; or require the provider to post a bond in an amount sufficient to reimburse the City for reasonably anticipated costs to be incurred in removing the equipment.
(b) Abandoned Equipment. Equipment of a provider who fails to comply with the discontinued operations provisions of this chapter and which remains unused shall be deemed to be abandoned. Unused equipment means facilities located in the rights of way which have remained unused for a period of two years and for which the provider is unable to: (i) provide the City with a credible plan detailing the procedure by which the provider intends to begin actively using such facilities within the next twelve months; or (ii) that it has a potential purchaser or user of the facilities who will be actively using the facilities within the next twelve months; or (iii) that the availability of such facilities is required by the provider to adequately and efficiently operate its system. Abandoned equipment is deemed to be a nuisance. The City may exercise any remedies or rights it has at law or in equity, including, but not limited to: (i) abating the nuisance; (ii) taking possession of the equipment and restoring it to a useable condition; or (iii) requiring removal of the equipment by the provider, or the provider's successor in interest.
(c) Removal. Any provider who has unused and abandoned equipment in any right of way shall remove it from that right of way during the next scheduled excavation, or at such different time as designated by the City Manager, unless this requirement is waived by the City Manager.
(d) Conflicts of Law. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this section and with Federal law known as the Miller Act, the provisions of the Miller Act shall control.
(Ord. 00-07. Passed 8-21-00.)