§ 28-176. Excavation to be under supervision of the director.

Any ROW user engaged in making or backfilling any excavation in any right-of-way shall at all times while such work is in progress keep at the job location the permit, or a copy thereof, and shall, on demand, exhibit the permit to the director, right-of-way manager or any police officer. At all time while the work is in progress the ROW user shall also maintain at the job location, a sign, barricade, or other device bearing the ROW user's name.

The ROW user shall protect from damage utility conduits, sewer conduits, water conduits, lawns, shrubbery, trees, fences, structures, or other property at, near or encountered in his work.

All excavations and other construction in the streets shall be conducted so as to interfere as little as practicable with the use of rights-of-way and with the use of private property, in accordance with any lawful and reasonable direction given by or under the authority of the governing body of the city under the policy and regulatory powers of the city necessary to provide for public convenience. The ROW user shall reasonably protect from damage utility facilities, sewer facilities, water facilities, lawns, shrubbery, trees, fences, structures, or other property encountered in his work. The ROW user shall not trespass upon private property. The ROW users shall determine the boundary between public right-of-way and private property to avoid encroachment if deemed necessary by director.

All transmission and distribution structures, lines, equipment and facilities erected by an ROW user within the city shall be so located as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of the public right-of-way, and to cause minimum interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners who join any of the said streets.

The city reserves the right to lay and allow to be laid, electricity, sewer, gas, water and other pipe lines or cables and facilities, as well as drainage pipes and channels and Streets and to perform, and allow to be performed, any underground and overhead installation or improvement that may be deemed necessary or proper by the governing body of the city, in across, along, over or under any grade of any street and to maintain all the city's facilities. In allowing such work to be performed by others, the city as manager of the public right-of-way shall not be liable to an ROW user for any damage caused by those persons or entities. Nothing herein shall relieve any third party from responsibility for damages caused to an ROW user by such third party. If the city requires an ROW user to adapt or conform its facilities, or in any way or manner to alter, relocate or change its property to enable any other corporation or person, except the city, to use, or to use with greater convenience, any right-of-way or public place, the ROW user shall not be required to make any such changes until such other corporation or person shall have undertaken, with solvent bond, to reimburse an ROW user for any loss and expense which will be caused by, or arise out of such removal, change, adaptation, alteration, conformance or relocation of an ROW user's facilities; provided, however, that the city shall never be liable for such reimbursement.

Except where otherwise provided by federal or state law, a utility shall install its facilities underground to the fullest extent possible if:

(1)

Electric and telephone utilities are already underground (for utilities other than electric and telephone);

(2)

The utility to which the utility's trunk and feeder lines are attached is underground; or

(3)

Where required by law.

If other utilities convert from aerial to underground cable so that electric and telephone utilities are underground, each utility shall relocate previously installed aerial cable underground in concert with the utility or utilities that are converting from aerial to underground.

All costs and expenses associated with the requirements of this section shall be borne by the utility, except where otherwise provided by law or by a cost allocation agreement among utilities.

(Ord. No. 2009-O-045, 4-6-09)