(A) Placement, location, and relocation of facilities must comply with the Act, with other applicable law, and with Minn. Rules 7819.3100, 7819.5000, to the extent the rules do not limit authority otherwise available to cities.
(B) Corridors.
(1) The city may assign a specific area within the right-of-way, or any particular segment thereof as may be necessary, for each type of facilities that is or, pursuant to current technology, the city expects will someday be located within the right-of-way. All excavation, obstruction, or other permits issued by the city involving the installation or replacement of facilities shall designate the proper corridor for the facilities at issue.
(2) Any registrant who has facilities in the right-of-way in a position at variance with the corridors established by the city shall, no later than at the time of the next reconstruction or excavation of the area where the facilities are located, move the facilities to the assigned position within the right-of-way, unless this requirement is waived by the city for good cause shown, upon consideration of such factors as the remaining economic life of the facilities, public safety, customer service needs and hardship to the registrant.
(C) Limitation of space. To protect health, safety and welfare, or when necessary to protect the right-of-way and its current use, the city shall have the power to prohibit or limit the placement of new or additional facilities within the right-of-way. In making such decisions, the city shall strive to the extent possible to accommodate all existing and potential users of the right-of-way, but shall be guided primarily by considerations of the public interest, the public’s needs for the particular utility service, the condition of the right-of-way, the time of year with respect to essential utilities, the protection of existing facilities in the right-of-way and future city plans for public improvements and development projects which have been determined to be in the public interest.
(D) Damage to other facilities. When the city does work in the right-of-way and finds it necessary to maintain, support or move a registrant’s facilities to protect it, the city shall notify the local representative as early as is reasonably possible. The costs associated therewith will be billed to that registrant and must be paid within 30 days from the date of billing. Each registrant shall be responsible for the cost of repairing any facilities in the right-of-way which it or its facilities damage. Each registrant shall be responsible for the cost of repairing any damage to the facilities of another registrant caused during the city’s response to an emergency occasioned by that registrant’s facilities.
(E) Nuisance. One year after the passage of this subchapter, any facilities found in a right-of-way that have not been registered shall be 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, abating the nuisance or taking possession of the facilities and restoring the right-of-way to a useable condition.
(F) Pre-excavation facilities location. In addition to complying with the requirements of Minn. Stat. §§ 216D.01 through 216D.09 (“One Call Excavation Notice System”), as they may be amended from time to time, before the start date of any right-of-way excavation, each registrant who has facilities or equipment in the area to be excavated shall mark the horizontal and vertical placement of all said facilities. Any registrant whose facilities are less than 20 inches below a concrete or asphalt surface shall notify and work closely with the excavation contractor to establish the exact location of its facilities and the best procedure for excavation.
(Ord. 17-13, passed 11-27-2017)