Chino Municipal Code Ch. 13.32 Underground Utility Devices

The council finds that the absence of utility poles, overhead utility lines and related transmission devices serve the public health, safety and welfare in the following respects:

A. Eliminate potential hazards to life and property in the event of emergencies or disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hazardous or toxic waste releases, rains, and riots;

B. Facilitate the delivery of emergency services to persons and property located adjacent to the public right-of-way;

C. Improve or increase the utility of the public right-of-way for such public uses as pedestrian travel, ease of deliveries to adjacent property, and landscaping treatments;

D. Improve or increase the visibility of persons operating motor vehicles on public and private streets and thereby promote the safety of the pedestrian and motoring public.

(Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

A. The term "development" shall mean any construction, erection or installation of any facility or structure on any property.

B. The term "improvement" shall mean any addition or modification to any existing facility or structure on any property.

C. The term "permit" shall mean any permit required to be issued by the city, or any of its officials, as a prerequisite to the development or improvement of any property within the city including, but not limited to, any building permit, conditional use permit, grading permit, occupancy permit, site approval, subdivision approval or variance.

D. The term "utility device" shall mean any device necessary, convenient or required for the transmission of energy or any communication signal to or from any property within the city.

(Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

A. All existing and proposed cable television, electrical, telephone and other energy or communication devices such as lines, poles, transformers and related devices shall be placed underground. The requirement to underground utility devices shall be imposed on each and every permit required from the city for the development or improvement of any property within the city by the city engineer, the planning commission or the city council.

B. The requirement to underground utility devices shall be performed by the owner or developer of the property seeking its development or improvement, or any construction thereon, at the owner's or developer's sole expense. The owner or developer shall arrange for the placement of said utility devices underground with the appropriate utility or communication company including the processing of any application, payment of any fees or expenses, the submission and approval of any plans and the coordination of said undergrounding with the city engineer. This requirement shall not abrogate any rights which the owner or developer may have as to any utility or communication company.

C. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any property whose development or improvement requires the undergrounding of utility devices unless and until compliance with this chapter shall have been accomplished to the satisfaction of the city engineer. Where an owner or developer has entered into a written agreement with each applicable utility company to underground utilities and paid the required costs, a certificate of occupancy may be issued upon proof thereof.

(Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

The requirement to underground utility devices created and imposed by this chapter shall apply to each and every property within the city whose owner or developer requires any permit from the city for its development or improvement including any improvement to any existing facility or structure whose area exceeds six hundred fifty square feet.

(Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

A. Upon an application for any permit from the city to develop or improve any property, the owner or developer shall submit a utility devices assessment form without which the permit application shall be incomplete and ineligible for action by the city. The utility devices assessment form shall require the following information:

1. The name, address and telephone number of the developer and owner;

2. The location of the property and its legal description;

3. The nature of the proposed development or improvement;

4. A statement from each utility or communication company serving the property containing a general description of the utility devices capable of being undergrounded and the cost thereof or order of magnitude costs;

5. Any other information required by the city engineer to implement the purposes and requirements of this chapter.

B. The city engineer shall review the utility devices assessment form in order to identify which utility devices described in the assessment form shall be required for placement underground and which utility devices may be exempted. The city engineer may require the owner to amplify or revise the utility devices assessment form to assist in making this determination. Upon review, the city engineer shall determine which utility devices identified shall be placed underground for each development or improvement and which utility devices may be exempted. However, no utility device may be exempted unless it has been identified on the utility devices assessment form.

C. The approval or issuance of any permit to develop or improve any property shall be conditioned by the requirement to underground each utility device required to be placed underground by the city engineer.

D. In the exercise of the discretion granted to the city engineer herein, he or she shall determine which utility devices shall be placed underground and require the owner or developer to place said utility devices underground on the property subject to the development or improvement as follows:

1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the entire frontage of the subject property from boundary line to boundary line as depicted in diagram D-1.

2. Whenever a utility pole is located on the frontage of the subject property and within five feet of its boundary line, the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the frontage of the property from boundary line to the pole except for that distance of five feet or less between the pole and the other boundary line as depicted in diagram D-2; and the utility pole may remain in place and utilized as a riser.

3. Whenever a utility pole is located within one hundred fifty feet of a boundary line of the subject property, the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the entire frontage of the subject property from boundary line to boundary line and from one of the boundary lines to said existing utility pole as depicted in Diagram D-3. Whenever a utility pole is located more than one hundred fifty feet from a boundary line of the subject property, a new utility pole shall be installed at one boundary line of the subject property and the required utility devices shall be placed underground along the entire frontage of the subject property from one boundary line to the newly installed utility pole as depicted in diagram D-3.

4. In the event that the subject property is located on a corner where two streets intersect, the required undergrounding shall extend across one or both of the streets to the next existing pole provided that the pole is within one hundred fifty feet of one of the boundary lines of the subject property as depicted in diagram D-4.

[Figure]

(Ord. 2002-04 § 1, 2002: Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

The following utility devices shall be exempted from underground placement:

A. Street lights and traffic signals;

B. Utility devices operated at voltages in excess of thirty-four thousand five hundred volts;

C. Existing overhead utility devices located in alleys, trails and utility easement except those utility devices within five hundred feet of the right-of-way line of Central Avenue;

D. In residential areas where utility poles presently exist along or near rear property lot lines, overhead utility lines to serve residential structures may be left or placed above ground;

E. Appurtenances and associated equipment including, but not limited to, surface mounted transformers and switches, pedestal mounted terminal boxes and meter cabinets which may be left or placed above ground.

(Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

The city engineer shall exempt the following developments or improvements of any property whenever the city engineer finds, in his or her discretion, that the proposed developments or improvements fit any one of the following criteria:

A. Interior tenant improvements and special conditional use permits for which construction is not required; or

B. Exterior upgrading or repair of existing improvements, including but not limited to, reproofing, additions of awnings, landscaping, equipment screening, repainting and application of other exterior finishes; or

C. Additions of functional equipment to any existing improvements, including but not limited to, air conditioners, antennae, block walls and fences, cooling towers, enclosure of outdoor storage areas, loading docks, satellite dishes, silos and water tanks; or

D. The development of a new single family residence on a property where the adjacent properties are serviced by overhead utility devices provided that the utility devices to connect the proposed single family residence shall be placed underground from said proposed residence to the previously existing utility devices.

E. Whenever the owner or developer of a subject property is required to underground utility devices under this chapter but the distance over which the utility devices is less than six hundred fifty feet, the city engineer may allow the owner or developer to pay a fee to the city that is equal to the unit cost of placing said utility devices underground multiplied by the distance over which the undergrounding is required, not to exceed six hundred fifty feet, in lieu of such undergrounding. The unit price for undergrounding any utility devices shall be based upon the most recent unit price for undergrounding utility devices over a distance of greater than six hundred feet as established by the utility company that would otherwise be responsible for undergrounding said utility devices. The owner or developer shall obtain a written statement of the unit price for undergrounding the required utility devices from the utility serving the subject property and submit it to the city engineer for determination of the amount of the in lieu fee.

(Ord. 2002-04 § 2, 2002: Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)

Where the city engineer has authority to issue a permit for the development or improvement of any property within the city, said official shall condition the permit upon the placement of specified utility devices underground. For other development approvals, said official shall recommend to the planning commission or the city council which utility devices shall be placed underground and which utility devices, developments or improvements are exempt from this chapter. Thereafter, the planning commission or the city council shall determine which utility devices shall be placed underground or exempted for each development or improvement and which developments or improvements are exempt pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. 92-21 § 2 (part), 1992.)