4.15.090 Location of facilities.
A. Location of Facilities. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the City, whenever any existing electric utilities, cable facilities or communications facilities are located underground within a right-of-way of the City, a utility operator with permission to occupy the same right-of-way shall locate its facilities underground at its own expense. This requirement shall not apply to facilities used for transmission of electric energy at nominal voltages in excess of 50,000 volts or to pedestals, cabinets or other above-ground equipment of any utility operator. No such above-ground equipment, or any aerial facilities other than electric energy transmission wires in excess of 50,000 volts, shall be constructed without the written approval of the City, in addition to the permit required by BC 4.15.080(B).
B. Interference with the Rights-of-Way. No utility operator or other person may locate or maintain its facilities so as to unreasonably interfere with the use of the rights-of-way by the City, by the general public or by other persons authorized to use or be present in or upon the rights-of-way. All use of the rights-of-way shall be consistent with City codes, ordinances, rules and regulations.
C. Relocation of Utility Facilities.
1. When requested to do so in writing by the City, a utility operator shall, at no cost to the City, temporarily or permanently remove, relocate, change or alter the position of any utility facility within a right-of-way, including relocation of aerial facilities underground.
2. Nothing herein shall be deemed to preclude the utility operator from requesting reimbursement or compensation from a third party, pursuant to applicable laws, regulations, tariffs or agreements. However, the utility operator shall timely comply with the requirements of this section regardless of whether or not it has requested or received such reimbursement or compensation.
3. The City shall coordinate the schedule for relocation of utility facilities and based on such effort, shall provide written notice of the time by which the utility operator must remove, relocate, change, alter or underground its facilities. If a utility operator fails to remove, relocate, change, alter or underground any utility facility as requested by the City and by the date reasonably established by the City, the utility operator shall pay all costs incurred by the City due to such failure, including but not limited to costs related to project delays, and the City may cause, using qualified workers in accordance with applicable State and Federal laws and regulations, the utility facility to be removed, relocated, changed, altered or undergrounded at the utility operator’s sole expense. Upon receipt of a detailed invoice from the City, the utility operator shall reimburse the City within 30 days for the costs the City incurred.
D. Removal of Unauthorized Facilities.
1. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Public Works Department, within 30 days following written notice from the City or such other time agreed to in writing by the Public Works Department, a utility operator and any other person that owns, controls or maintains any abandoned or unauthorized utility facility within a right-of-way shall, at its own expense, remove the facility and restore the right-of-way to City standards.
2. A utility system or facility is unauthorized under any of the following circumstances:
a. The utility facility is outside the scope of authority granted by the City under the license, franchise or other written agreement. This includes facilities that were never licensed or franchised and facilities that were once licensed or franchised but for which the license or franchise has expired or been terminated. This does not include any facility for which the City has provided written authorization for abandonment in place.
b. The facility has been abandoned and the City has not provided written authorization for abandonment in place. A facility is abandoned if it is not in use and is not planned for further use. A facility will be presumed abandoned if it is not used for a period of one year. A utility operator may attempt to overcome this presumption by presenting plans for future use of the facility to the Public Works Department, which will determine application of the presumption in its sole discretion.
c. The utility facility is improperly constructed or installed or is in a location not permitted by the construction permit, license, franchise or this chapter.
d. The utility operator is in violation of a material provision of this chapter and fails to cure such violation within 30 days of the City sending written notice of such violation, unless the City extends such time period in writing.
E. Removal by City.
1. The City retains the right and privilege to cut or move the facilities of any utility operator or similar entity located within the rights-of-way of the City, without notice, as the City may determine to be necessary, appropriate or useful in response to a public health or safety emergency. The City will use qualified personnel or contractors consistent with applicable State and Federal safety laws and regulations to the extent reasonably practicable without impeding the City’s response to the emergency.
2. If the utility operator fails to remove any facility when required to do so under this chapter, the City may remove the facility using qualified personnel or contractors consistent with applicable State and Federal safety laws and regulations, and the utility operator shall be responsible for paying the full cost of the removal and any administrative costs incurred by the City in removing the facility and obtaining reimbursement. Upon receipt of a detailed invoice from the City, the utility operator shall reimburse the City for the costs the City incurred within 30 days. The obligation to remove shall survive the termination of the license or franchise.
3. The City shall not be liable to any utility operator for any damage to utility facilities, or for any consequential losses resulting directly or indirectly therefrom, by the City or its contractor in removing, relocating or altering the facilities pursuant to subsection C, D or E of this section or undergrounding its facilities as required by subsection A of this section, or resulting from the utility operator’s failure to remove, relocate, alter or underground its facilities as required by those subsections, unless such damage arises directly from the City’s negligence or willful misconduct.
F. Engineering Designs and Plans. The utility operator shall provide the City with two complete sets of as-built plans in a form acceptable to the City showing the location of all its utility facilities in the rights-of-way after initial construction if the utility operator’s engineered plans materially changed during construction. The utility operator shall provide two updated complete sets of as-built plans upon request of the Public Works Department, but not more than once per year. [BC 4.15.090, added by Ordinance No. 4684, 5/4/16]