Ontario Municipal Code Art. 2 Requirements, Application, Utility Devices Assessment Form and Procedure…

(a) All proposed new development within those areas of the city described in § 7-7.202 of this Code shall be required, as a condition of development and subject to the exemptions and exclusions set forth in this chapter, to place underground all new and existing overhead cable television, electrical, telephone and other devices for the transmission and/or distribution or energy or communications, including but not limited to lines, poles, transformers, and related devices. The requirement to underground utility devices shall be imposed on each and every permit issued by the City for the development or improvement of any property to which this subsection applies.

(b) The undergrounding of all such 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 to underground shall not abrogate any rights offsets, or claims 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.

(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 2, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)

The requirement to underground utility devices created and imposed by this chapter shall apply, subject to the exclusions and exemptions provided in this chapter, to each and every property within the New Model Colony and along arterial and collector streets within the Old Model Colony, in any case in which the owner or developer of real property requires any permit from the City for its development or improvement, including any improvement to any existing facility or structure where the improvement exceeds one thousand (1,000) square feet or fifty percent (50%), whichever is smaller, of the area of the existing facility or structure.

(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004, § 3, Ord. 2892, eff. July 3, 2008)

(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; and

(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, or his or her designee 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 C-1, Exhibit “C” of this chapter.

(2) Whenever a utility pole is located on the frontage of the subject property and within five (5) 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 (5) feet or less between the pole and the other boundary line as depicted in Diagram C-2, Exhibit “C”; and the utility pole may remain in place and utilized as a riser.

(3) Whenever a utility pole is located within one hundred fifty (150) 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 C-3, Exhibit “C”. Whenever a utility pole is located more than one hundred fifty (150) 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 C-3, Exhibit “C”.

(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 (150) feet of one of the boundary lines of the subject property as depicted in Diagram C-4, Exhibit “C”.

(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004)

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 Development Advisory Board, 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.

(§ 1, Ord. 2804, eff. October 21, 2004)