Ch4.§1-1 · City of Nowthen public records

A. To provide for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, and to ensure the integrity of its streets and the appropriate use of the rights-of-way, the City strives to keep its rights-of-way in a state of good repair and free from unnecessary encumbrances.   B. Accordingly, the City hereby enacts this Section relating to right-of-way permits and administration. This Section imposes reasonable regulation on the placement and maintenance of facilities and equipment currently within its rights- of-way or to be placed therein at some future time. It is intended to complement the regulatory roles of state and federal agencies. Under this Section, persons excavating and obstructing the rights-of-way will bear financial responsibility for their work. Finally, this Section provides for recovery of out-of-pocket and projected costs from persons using the public rights-of-way. C. This Section shall be interpreted consistently with 1997 Session Laws, Chapter 123, substantially codified in Minnesota Statutes Sections 237.16, 237.162, 237.163, 237.79, 237.81, and 238.086 (the "Act") and the other laws governing applicable rights of the City and users of the right-of-way. This Section shall also be interpreted consistent with Minnesota Rules 7819.0050 - 7819.9950 where possible. To the extent any provision of this Section cannot be interpreted consistently with the Minnesota Rules, that interpretation most consistent with the Act and other applicable statutory and case law is intended. This Section shall not be interpreted to limit the regulatory and police powers of the City to adopt and enforce general ordinances necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. (Ordinance #31, adopted December 9, 2008) 4-1-2: ELECTION TO MANAGE THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAYS: Pursuant to the authority granted to the City under state and federal statutory, administrative and common law, the City hereby elects, pursuant Minn. Stat. 237.163 subd. 2(b), to manage rights-of-way within its jurisdiction. (Ordinance #31, adopted December 9, 2008) 4-1-3: DEFINITIONS: The following definitions apply in this Section. References hereafter to "sections" are, unless otherwise specified, references to sections in this ordinance. Defined terms remain defined terms, whether or not capitalized. Abandoned Facility: means a facility no longer in service or physically disconnected from a portion of the operating facility, or from any other facility, that is in use or still carries service. A facility is not abandoned unless declared so by the right-of-way user. Applicant means any person requesting permission to excavate or obstruct a right-of- way. City: means the City of Nowthen, Anoka County, Minnesota. For purposes of Section 4- 1-28, "city" means its elected officials, officers, employees and agents. Commission: means the State Public Utilities Commission.   Congested Right-of-Way: means a crowded condition in the subsurface of the public right-of-way that occurs when the maximum lateral spacing between existing underground facilities does not allow for construction of new underground facilities without using hand digging to expose the existing lateral facilities in conformance with Minnesota Statutes, section 216D.04. subdivision 3, over a continuous length in excess of 500 feet. Construction Performance Bond: means any of the following forms of security provided at permittee's option: A. Individual project bond; B. Cash deposit; C. Security of a form listed or approved under Minn. Stat. Sec. 15.73, subd. 3; D. Letter of Credit, in a form acceptable to the City; E. Self-insurance, in a form acceptable to the City; F. A blanket bond for projects within the City, or other form of construction bond, for a time specified and in a form acceptable to the City. Degradation: means a decrease in the useful life of the right-of-way caused by excavation in or disturbance of the right-of-way, resulting in the need to reconstruct such right-of-way earlier than would be required if the excavation or disturbance did not occur. Degradation Cost: subject to Minnesota Rules 7819.1100 means the cost to achieve a level of restoration, as determined by the City at the time the permit is issued, not to exceed the maximum restoration shown in plates 1 to 13, set forth in Minnesota Rules parts 7819.9900 to 7819.9950. Degradation Fee: means the estimated fee established at the time of permitting by the City to recover costs associated with the decrease in the useful life of the right-of-way caused by the excavation, and which equals the degradation cost. Department: means the public works maintenance department. Department Inspector: means any person authorized by the City to carry out inspections related to the provisions of this Section. Delay Penalty: is the penalty imposed as a result of unreasonable delays in right-of- way excavation, obstruction, patching, or restoration as established by permit.   Emergency: means a condition that (1) poses a danger to life or health, or of a significant loss of property; or (2) requires immediate repair or replacement of facilities in order to restore service to a customer. Equipment: means any tangible asset used to install, repair, or maintain facilities in any right-of-way. Excavate: means to dig into or in any way remove or physically disturb or penetrate any part of a right-of-way. Excavation permit: means the permit which, pursuant to this Section, must be obtained before a person may excavate in a right-of-way. An excavation permit allows the holder to excavate that part of the right-of-way described in such permit. Excavation permit fee: means money paid to the City by an applicant to cover the costs as provided in Section 4-1-12 of this Section. Facility" or "Facilities: means any tangible asset in the right-of-way required to provide Utility Service. High Density Corridor: means a designated portion of the public right-of-way within which telecommunications right-of-way users having multiple and competing facilities may be required to build and install facilities in a common conduit system or other common structure. Hole: means an excavation in the pavement, with the excavation having a length less than the width of the pavement. Local Representative: means a local person or persons, or designee of such person or persons, authorized by a registrant to accept service and to make decisions for that registrant regarding all matters within the scope of this Section. Management Costs: means the actual costs the City incurs in managing its rights-of- way, including such costs, if incurred, as those associated with registering applicants; issuing, processing, and verifying right-of-way permit applications; inspecting job sites and restoration projects; maintaining, supporting, protecting, or moving user facilities during right-of-way work; determining the adequacy of right-of-way restoration; restoring work inadequately performed after providing notice and the opportunity to correct the work; and revoking right-of-way permits. Management costs do not include payment by a telecommunications right-of-way user for the use of the right-of-way, the fees and cost of litigation relating to the interpretation of Minnesota Session Laws 1997, Chapter 123; Minnesota Statutes Sections 237.162 or 237.163; or any Section enacted under those sections, or the City fees and costs related to appeals taken pursuant to Section 4-1-30 of this Section. Obstruct: means to place any tangible object in a right-of-way so as to hinder free and   open passage over that or any part of the right-of-way. Obstruction Permit: means the permit which, pursuant to this Section, must be obtained before a person may obstruct a right-of-way, allowing the holder to hinder free and open passage over the specified portion of that right-of-way, for the duration specified therein. Obstruction Permit Fee: means money paid to the City by a permittee to cover the costs as provided in Section 4-12 of this Section Patch or Patching: means a method of pavement replacement that is temporary in nature. A patch consists of (1) the compaction of the subbase and aggregate base, and (2) the replacement, in kind, of the existing pavement for a minimum of two feet beyond the edges of the excavation in all directions. A patch is considered full restoration only when the pavement is included in the City's five-year project plan. Pavement: means any type of improved surface that is within the public right-of-way and that is paved or otherwise constructed with bituminous, concrete, aggregate, or gravel. Permit: has the meaning given "right-of-way permit" in Minnesota Statutes, section 237.162. Permittee: means any person to whom a permit to excavate or obstruct a right-of-way has been granted by the City under this Section. Person: means an individual or entity subject to the laws and rules of this state, however organized, whether public or private, whether domestic or foreign, whether for profit or nonprofit, and whether natural, corporate, or political. Public Right-of-Way: means the area on, below, or above a public roadway, highway, street, cartway, bicycle lane or public sidewalk in which the City has an interest, including other dedicated rights-of-way for travel purposes and utility easements of the City. A right-of-way does not include the airwaves above a right-of-way with regard to cellular or other nonwire telecommunications or broadcast service. Registrant: means any person who (1) has or seeks to have its equipment or facilities located in any right-of-way, or (2) in any way occupies or uses, or seeks to occupy or use, the right-of-way or place its facilities or equipment in the right-of-way. Restore or Restoration: means the process by which an excavated right-of-way and surrounding area, including pavement and foundation, is returned to the same condition and life expectancy that existed before excavation.   Restoration Cost: means the amount of money paid to the City by a permittee to achieve the level of restoration according to plates 1 to 13 of Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rules. Right-of-Way Permit: means either the excavation permit or the obstruction permit, or both, depending on the context, required by this Section. Right-of-Way User: means (1) a telecommunications right-of-way user as defined by Minnesota Statutes, section 237.162, subd. 4; or (2) a person owning or controlling a facility in the right-of-way that is used or intended to be used for providing utility service, and who has a right under law, franchise, or ordinance to use the public right-of-way. Service or Utility Service: includes (1) those services provided by a public utility as defined in Minn. Stat. 216B.02, subds. 4 and 6; (2) services of a telecommunications right-of-way user, including transporting of voice or data information; (3) services of a cable communications systems as defined in Minn. Stat. Chapter. 238; (4) natural gas or electric energy or telecommunications services provided by the City; (5) services provided by a cooperative electric association organized under Minn. Stat., Chapter 308A; and (6) water, and sewer, including service laterals, steam, cooling or heating services. Service Lateral: means an underground facility that is used to transmit, distribute, or furnish gas, electricity, communications, or water from a common source to an end-use customer. A service lateral is also an underground facility that is used in the removal of wastewater from a customer's premises. Supplementary Application: means an application made to excavate or obstruct more of the right-of-way than allowed by, or to extend, a permit that had already been issued. Temporary Surface: means the compaction of subbase and aggregate base and replacement, in kind, of the existing pavement only to the edges of the excavation. It is temporary in nature except when the replacement is of pavement included in the City's two year plan, in which case it is considered full restoration. Trench: means an excavation in the pavement, with the excavation having a length equal to or greater than the width of the pavement. Telecommunication right-of-way user: means a person owning or controlling a facility in the right-of-way, or seeking to own or control a Facility in the right-of-way, that is used or is intended to be used for transporting telecommunication or other voice or data information. For purposes of this Section, a cable communication system defined and regulated under Minn. Stat. Chap. 238, and telecommunication activities related to providing natural gas or electric energy services whether provided by a public utility as defined in Minn. Stat. Sec. 216B.02, a municipality, a municipal gas or power agency organized under Minn. Stat. Chaps. 453 and 453A, or a cooperative electric association   organized under Minn. Stat. Chap. 308A, are not telecommunications right-of-way users for purposes of this ordinance. (Ordinance #31, adopted December 9, 2008) 4-1-4: ADMINISTRATION: The City Council is responsible for the administration of the rights-of-way, right-of-way permits, and the ordinances related thereto. The City Council may delegate any or all of the duties hereunder. (Ordinance #31, adopted December 9, 2008)

Ch.4 § 1-1

Amendment history