12.20A.010 Purpose.

It is necessary for Clark County, in exercising its responsibilities to protect and preserve the county road system and to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, to accommodate and regulate the use of county roads and their rights-of-way by public and private utility providers as is provided for in statute. The purpose of this chapter is to establish a county policy, administered by the county engineer, to provide administrative, procedural and technical guidance for the installation, replacement, adjustment, relocation and maintenance of all above- and below-ground utilities which are located within the county road right-of-way.

Such accommodation of utilities in county road rights-of-way shall place primary emphasis on transportation operation and safety, maintaining the structural integrity of the transportation facility, protecting the public’s investment in the roadway and associated facilities, and accommodating development or improvement of the county road right-of-way. Utilities shall be accommodated in such a manner as not to materially degrade or adversely affect traffic operation, safety and structural integrity.

It is the county’s policy to accommodate utilities within the road right-of-way when such use of the right-of-way is consistent with the provisions of federal, state, or local laws or regulations. This chapter is developed to provide direction as to when and how utilities may use the county’s public road right-of-way. It is not the intention of this chapter to force utilities to relocate outside the county road right-of-way. Utility services are in the public’s interest and every effort should be made to accommodate utilities, as cost-effectively as possible, while maintaining public safety, operational efficiency and structural integrity of the road system. (Sec. 1 of Ord. 1999-11-15)