§ 7. UNDERGROUND REQUIREMENTS.  


Latest version.
  • (a)

    The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide that all Facilities constructed, replaced, or relocated in the Right-of-Way after the date hereof shall be placed underground unless, because of the nature of the Facility or the standard construction or operating practices of the Company, the Company requests approval for such Facilities to be placed above ground. Upon receipt of such request, the City Engineer shall review and approve the plans for the above ground placement of Facilities in accordance with reasonable procedures established by the City, and subject to such reasonable conditions as the City may establish for public safety, appearance, or coordination with Public Projects. Where there are obstructions in the Right-of-Way, such as trees, shrubs, other utilities, commercial signs, man-made structures, or other like obstructions that make the cost of such underground burial unreasonable, the Company may request waiver of this requirement, in which event the City will not unreasonably withhold consent.

    (b)

    All new Facilities installed in the Downtown Area shall be installed underground. Additionally, all replacement or upgrading of Facilities in the Downtown Area shall be installed underground.

    (c)

    The City may require any portions of Company's Facilities in the Downtown Area that are not presently underground to be placed underground. The City shall provide reasonable written notice to the Company of the City's request that such Facilities be placed underground. The Company shall promptly undertake the removal and replacement of such Facilities to underground locations at no cost to the City.

    (d)

    Except as may otherwise be provided by other applicable ordinances of the City, where reasonable and appropriate and where adequate Right-of-Way exists, the Company shall place above-ground Facilities underground in conjunction with City capital improvement projects and/or at specific locations requested by the City provided that such placement is practical, efficient, and economically feasible.

    (e)

    Where not otherwise required to be placed underground by this franchise, the Company's Facilities shall be located underground at the request of the adjacent property owner, provided the placement of such Facilities shall be consistent with the Company's construction and operating standards and provided that property owner making the request pays the Company for such undergrounding pursuant to the Company's applicable tariffs and terms and conditions.

    (f)

    When undertaking a project of undergrounding, the City and the Company shall, to the extent practicable, work with other utilities or companies that have their lines overhead to have all lines undergrounded as part of the same project. When other utilities or companies are placing their lines underground, the Company shall cooperate with these utilities and companies and undertake to underground Company's Facilities as part of the same project where feasible; provided, however, the Company shall not be required to pay the costs of any other utility or company.

    (g)

    The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to coordinate its installation of new underground Facilities with preexisting underground facilities of other companies. The underground requirements of this subsection shall not apply to the maintenance and repair of existing Facilities, as determined by the City Engineer, except as may be required in Section 7(b).