Azusa Municipal Code Art. XX Utility Franchises

(a) The public rights-of-way are unique public resources held in trust by the city for the benefit of the public. These physically limited resources require proper management by the city to maximize the efficiency and minimize the costs to the taxpayers, to protect against foreclosure of future economic expansion because of premature exhaustion of the public rights-of-way, and to minimize the inconvenience to and negative effects on the public from nontraditional uses of the public rights-of-way.

(b) Under applicable state and federal law, the city is empowered to control access to and use of its public rights-of-way, and to obtain reasonable and fair compensation for the use thereof.

(c) The purpose of this article is to serve and further the purposes identified herein for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.

(Ord. No. 00-08, § 1, 6-5-00)

For the purposes of carrying out the intent of this article, the following words, phrases, and terms shall have the meanings set forth herein unless a different meaning is clearly intended by the use and context of the word, phrase, or term:

Facility means any fiber optic, coaxial, or copper cable, telephone, telecommunications, electric, or other wire or line, oil, gas, or other pipeline, duct, conduit, cabinet, tunnel, vault, equipment, drain, manhole, splice box, surface location marker, pole, structure, utility, or other appurtenance, structure, property, or tangible thing owned, leased, operated, or licensed by a person and located or proposed to be located in, upon, above, beneath, or across any public right-of-way.

Person means any person, business, firm, corporation, or other legal entity who places, constructs, owns, controls, operates, manages, or uses any facility in, upon, above, beneath, or across any public right-of-way.

Public right-of-way means the area in, upon, above, beneath, or across any public street, road, lane, court, alley, boulevard, sidewalk, pathway, park, open space, landscape lot, drainage facility, easement or other public place or property within the city, as it now or hereafter exists.

(Ord. No. 00-08, § 1, 6-5-00)

Unless exempted by state or federal law, no person shall place, construct, own, control, operate, manage, or use any facility in, upon, above, beneath, or across any public right-of-way for the purpose of transmitting or distributing any telecommunications, electricity, gas, oil, water, or wastewater service without first obtaining a nonexclusive utility franchise from the city.

(Ord. No. 00-08, § 1, 6-5-00)

A utility franchise shall be granted at the discretion of the city council by adoption of an ordinance in accordance with the Broughton Act (Public Utilities Code section 6001 et seq.) or the Franchise Act of 1937 (Public Utilities Code section 6201 et seq.). The grant of a utility franchise shall not diminish, abrogate, or otherwise affect a grantee's obligation to comply with any other applicable provision of this Code, or state or federal law, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Any permit or authorization required for the privilege of transacting business within the city as required by this Code.

(2) Any permit, agreement, or authorization required in connection with activities in, upon, above, beneath, or across the public rights-of-way, including, but not limited to, street work, street excavation, use, removal and relocation of property within a street, or other street work.

(3) Any permits or agreements for occupying any other property of the city to which access is not specifically granted by the right-of-way agreement including, without limitation, permits and licenses for placing devices on or in poles, conduits, or other structures or facilities owned by the city or other governmental entity.

(Ord. No. 00-08, § 1, 6-5-00)

Any person granted a utility franchise by the city is prohibited from transporting natural gas or electricity for any other person using any facility that is subject to the utility franchise without assessing, collecting, and remitting a surcharge to the city, pursuant to Chapter 2.5 of the Public Utilities Code (commencing with section 6350 et seq.), to replace, but not increase, the fees that would have otherwise been collected by the city under the applicable utility franchise. This section shall not apply to any utility franchisee transporting natural gas pursuant to a "gas transportation only" agreement in effect prior to January 1, 1986.

(Ord. No. 00-08, § 1, 6-5-00)