4-9-170 RAILROAD AND UTILITY LINE CONSTRUCTION PERMIT:

A. PURPOSE: (Reserved)

B. APPLICABILITY:

No person or corporation shall build or construct any railroad of any kind or any street railway, telegraph line, telephone line, electric light line, gas main or underground conduit for use of any public utility company in any street, avenue or alley of the City without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Council and no person shall make any excavation of any kind or deposit any material or thing in any street, avenue or alley of this City for the purpose or with the intention of building, constructing or extending any such street railway, telegraph line, telephone line, electric light line, gas main or underground conduit for use of any public utility company without first obtaining such permit from the Council. (Ord. 1065, 9-5-1939)

C. NO PERMIT FOR ORDINARY REPAIR:

It shall be no defense of any prosecution or proceeding under this Chapter that a franchise to build or construct any such street railway, telegraph line, telephone line, electric light line, gas main or underground conduit for use of any public utility company that has been granted by any law of this City, but this Chapter shall not be so construed as to require a permit for the construction of ordinary repairs to any such structure where such repairs are made in good faith and not for the purpose of construction of such structure.

D. DECISION CRITERIA:

If the person applying to the Council for any such permit shall have a valid and existing franchise or permission for the structure desired under any valid law of the City, the Council may grant such permit provided that said Council shall defer or temporarily refuse the granting thereof until such time as it deems proper or in its discretion in all cases where the street, avenue or alley in or on which the work desired to be done is occupied or about to be occupied in any work by the City in improving or repairing such street, avenue, alley or public place, or in repairing other property of the City, or in cases where such street, avenue, alley or public place is occupied or about to be occupied by any other persons having the right to use the same in such manner as to render it inconvenient to the public to permit any further obstruction thereof at said time, and provided, further, that a sufficient portion of such street, avenue, alley or public place shall, as far as possible, be open for public use for the purposes of traffic, and in all cases, any work of the City or its contractors or employees shall have precedence over all other work of any kind.

E. VIOLATION OF THIS CHAPTER AND PENALTIES:

1. Construction without Permit Considered Public Nuisance: All street railways, telegraph lines, telephone lines, electric light lines, gas mains or underground conduits for use of any public utility company and all rails, ties, planks, posts, wires or other structures, apparatus or material built, constructed or placed in any street, avenue or alley of the City without a permit having first been issued therefor in compliance with the provisions of this Chapter shall constitute a public nuisance and shall be abated in the manner provided by the City law of the City. Unless otherwise specified, violations of this Section are misdemeanors subject to RMC 1-3-1. (Ord. 1065, 9-5-1939; Ord. 5159, 10-17-2005)