(a) The purpose and intent of this chapter is to:
(1) Manage occupancy or use of the public right-of-way.
(2) Encourage the provision of advanced, competitive utility and telecommunications services on the widest possible basis to the businesses, institutions and residents of the Village.
(3) Manage reasonable access to the public right-of-way of the Village for utility and telecommunications service purposes on a competitively neutral basis.
(4) Conserve the limited physical capacity of the public right-of-way held in trust by the Village for the benefit of the public.
(5) Assure that the Village receives cost recovery for the occupancy and use of the public right-of-way in accordance with law.
(6) Assure that all service providers with facilities in the public right-of-way comply with the ordinances, rules and regulations of the Village.
(7) Assure that the Village fairly and responsibly protects the public health, safety and welfare.
(8) Enable the Village to discharge its public trust consistent with rapidly evolving Federal and State regulatory policies, industry competition and technological development.
(b) For the purpose of this chapter, and the interpretation and enforcement thereof, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context of the sentence in which they are used shall indicate otherwise:
(1) “Affiliate” means a person that (directly or indirectly) owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with another person.
(2) “Capital Improvement” means an addition made to enhance the value or extend the useful life of an existing system or facilities, including construction, reconstruction, installation, rehabilitation, renovation, improvement, enlargement and extension of facilities, but not including ordinary or routine maintenance, emergency work and new service orders.
(3) “Cable Operator” means a person providing or offering to provide cable service within the Village.
(4) “Cable Service” means "cable service" as defined in the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 532 et seq., as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as each might be further amended.
(5) “Cable System” means "cable system" as defined in the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 532 et seq., as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as each might be further amended.
(6) “Construct,” “Constructing,” or “Construction” means installing, repairing, replacing, relocating or removing any public or private facility, regardless of the methods employed.
(7) “Construction Permit” or “Permit” means a permit issued pursuant to Section 1066.07.
(8) “Emergency” means an unforeseen occurrence or condition calling for immediate action, including, but not limited to, emergency temporary repairs and subsequent follow-up permanent repairs relating to the emergency condition.
(9) “Excavate,” “Excavating” or “Excavation” means cutting, sawing, breaking, drilling into, boring under, or otherwise altering any public street or sidewalk pavement, and/or digging, drilling into or boring under any unpaved portion of the public right-of-way, including any other work or activity which disturbs the existing surface or subsurface structure, composition, or soil compaction, for the purpose of carrying on any construction activity.
(10) “Excess Capacity” means the volume or capacity in any existing or future duct, conduit, manhole, or other facility in the public right-of-way that is or will be available for use for additional facilities, which are compatible with the existing use and ordinarily related to fiber optic and telecommunications equipment.
(11) “Facilities” or “Facility” means the plant, equipment and property, including but not limited to, cables, fibers, wires, pipes, conduits, ducts, pedestals, antennas, electronics, poles, mains, plant, equipment and other appurtenances located under, on or above the surface of the ground in the public right-of-way of the Village and used or to be used to operate a system to transmit, receive, distribute, provide or offer a service but also including private system.
(12) “Lane Obstruction” means the blocking or diverting of vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic from a street or sidewalk for the purpose of constructing, excavating, installing, repairing, maintaining, operating, replacing, relocating or removing any facility, including the lifting or removing of manhole or handhole covers, and the opening or accessing of at-grade or pole-mounted cabinets, pedestals, transformers, power supplies, amplifiers, splice enclosures, traps or other facilities.
(13) “Mayor” means the Mayor, or his or her designee.
(14) “New Service Orders” means the physical connection from the public service provider's existing facilities for the purpose of providing a new service to a customer in the Village, which is not a capital improvement.
(15) “Occupancy,” “Occupy” or “Use” means, with respect to the public right-of-way, to place a tangible thing in the public right-of-way for any purpose, including, but not limited to, constructing, repairing, positioning, maintaining or operating lines, poles, pipes, conduits, ducts, equipment or other structures, appurtenances or facilities necessary to operate a system for the delivery of public utility-like services, including service provided by a cable operator, or other services over private facilities in the public right-of-way.
(16) “ODOT” means the Ohio Department of Transportation.
(17) “Other Ways” means the highways, streets, alleys, or other rights-of-way within the Village, but under the jurisdiction and control of a governmental entity other than the Village.
(18) “Overhead Facilities” means utility poles and wires, cables and other such equipment running between and on such poles, including the underground supports and foundations for such facilities.
(19) “Person” means and includes corporations, companies, associations, joint stock companies or associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts and individuals and includes their lessors, trustees and receivers.
(20) “Private Facility” means the plant, equipment and property, including but not limited to, cables, fiber optics, wires, pipes, conduits, ducts, pedestals, antennas, electronics and other appurtenances or facilities used or to be used to operate a system to transmit, receive, distribute or provide telecommunications or other services between or among private buildings or facilities where there is no offer of service to the public.
(21) “Private Service Provider” means any person who, pursuant to the consent to occupy or use the public right-of-way pursuant to Section 1066.02 of this chapter, directly or indirectly owns, controls, operates or manages private facilities within the Village's public right-of-way used or to be used for the purpose of operating a system to transmit, receive, distribute or provide telecommunications or other services between or among private buildings or facilities where there is no offer of service to the public.
(22) “Public Easement” means any easement under the jurisdiction and control of the Village and acquired, established, dedicated or devoted for public purposes, including utility purposes.
(23) “Public Right-of-way” means the surface of, and the space within, through, on, across, above or below, any public street, public road, public highway, public freeway, public lane, public path, public alley, public court, public sidewalk, public boulevard, public parkway, public drive, public easement and any other land dedicated or otherwise designated for a compatible public use, which is owned or controlled by the Village but excludes a private easement.
(24) “Public Service Provider” means any person that, pursuant to the consent to occupy or use the public right-of-way pursuant to Section 1066.02, directly or indirectly owns, controls, operates or manages facilities within the Village's public right-of-way, used or to be used for the purpose of operating a system offering service to the public within the Village or outside of the Village's boundaries.
(25) “Public Street” means the paved and unpaved portion of any street, road, boulevard, drive, highway, freeway, parkway, lane, court, alley or other public right-of-way in which the Village has an interest in law or equity and which has been acquired, established, dedicated or devoted to street purposes.
(26) “PUCO” or “Public Utilities Commission of Ohio” means the State administrative agency, or lawful successor, authorized to regulate and oversee certain public or private service providers and services in the State of Ohio.
(27) “Reconstruct,” or “Reconstruction,” means substantial physical change to or capital improvement of all or a portion of an existing system or facilities including a change in location, or additional locations, of facilities involving construction in public streets, or a public right-of-way.
(28) “Routine Maintenance” means repair, upkeep, replacement or restoration of existing facilities that is not an emergency or a new service order.
(29) “Service” means the offering of water, sewer, electric, gas, telephone, telecommunications, cable television, information or other utility-like service for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available to the public, regardless of the facilities used.
(30) “Service Provider” means any public service provider and/or private service provider.
(31) “State” means the State of Ohio.
(32) “Surplus Space” means that portion of the usable space on a utility pole which has the necessary clearance from other public or private service providers using the pole, as required by the orders and regulations of PUCO and other applicable State and local orders and regulations, to allow its use by an additional public or private service provider for a pole attachment.
(33) “System” means a network of facilities for the transmission and/or distribution of a service.
(34) “Trenchless Technology” means the use of directional boring, horizontal drilling and micro-tunneling and other techniques in the construction of underground portions of facilities that result in the least amount of disruption and damage to the public right-of-way as possible.
(35) “Underground Facilities” means that portion of a system located under the surface of the ground, excluding the underground foundations or supports for overhead facilities.
(36) “Usable Space” means the total distance between the top of a utility pole and the lowest possible attachment point that provides the minimum allowable vertical clearance as specified in the orders and regulations of the PUCO.
(37) “Utility Easement” means any easement owned by a service provider and acquired, established, dedicated or devoted for the purpose of providing service to the public.
(38) “Village” means the Village of Walton Hills, Ohio.
(39) “Village Property” means and includes all real property owned by the Village, other than public streets and public easements as those terms are defined herein, and all property held in a proprietary capacity by the Village, which are not subject to public right-of-way consent and permit requirements of this chapter.
(Ord. 2007-8. Passed 4-3-07.)