City of Altoona, PA Chapter 690 Utilities

[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Altoona as Ch. 1040 of the 1974 Codified Ordinances and 11-25-1986 by Ord. No. 4957; amended in its entirety 8-15-2023 by Ord. No. 5807. Susequent amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 690-1 Utilities regulated.

A. Utilities regulated. No utility, entity or person may place any facilities within a right-of-way of the City of Altoona for any purpose whatsoever, except as herein provided. This chapter establishes the rules and regulations for any and all utilities, entities or persons placing any and all facilities or assets within the City of Altoona's rights-of-way which are under the jurisdiction of the City's Department of Public Works.

B. Definitions. General. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

APPLICANT

The public and/or private utility, entity, or person making a request to place any facility or asset within the City's rights-of-way.

ASSET

See "facilities."

CITY

The City of Altoona, PA.

ENTITY

See "utility" and "person."

FACILITIES

Conduit, pipes, cables, wires, lines, towers, optic fiber, antennas, poles, associated equipment and appurtenances and any other facilities located in the right-of-way and designed, constructed, and/or used by telecommunications providers, public utilities, or other persons for transmitting, transporting, or distributing communications, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas or manufactured gas, oil, gasoline, steam, or any other form of energy, signal or substance.

PERSON

Includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, firm, or other legal entity.

PUC

Public Utility Commission.

RIGHT-OF-WAY

Any City-owned and/or maintained area, including but not limited to streets, avenues, roadways, alleys, etc.

RIGHT-OF-WAY MASTER LICENSE AGREMENT

Agreement between the City of Altoona and utility, person or entity wanting to install facilities within the City's right-of-way.

STREET

Any City-owned and/or maintained right-of-way, including alleys. This shall include open and unopened rights-of-way.

UTILITY

Any public and/or private individual or entity which provides or transmits, including but not limited to, gas, water, sewer, electric, steam, oil, gasoline, telephone, television, cable, telecommunication or any other form of energy signal or substance, or any other person or entity owning or maintaining facilities within the City of Altoona rights-of-way.

§ 690-2 Statement of facilities owned and/or maintained.

On or before March 1 in each calendar year, any utility, entity, or person not regulated by the PUC owning or maintaining facilities within the City's right-of-way shall make a return, under oath, to the City's Director of Public Works, setting forth all facilities owned or maintained within the City's right-of-way on a map attached thereto showing plainly and in detail the exact location, in such return which may have been existing, constructed or installed since the date of filing the previous report. All information shall be of reasonable scale and dimension to clearly depict facilities and shall include a summary of all reportable assets. The utility shall also simultaneously submit payment to the City for applicable licensing fees pursuant to § 690-9.

§ 690-3 Filing of return.

The return of a map with the locations of facilities, including a summary of all reportable assets, in the City's rights-of-way required under the provisions of § 690-22 shall be made by the Manager or other person in the City in charge of the business of the company making the report.

§ 690-4 Initial application fee and review.

Each applicant shall submit to the City their respective project plans, which shall be reviewed by the City Department of Public Works to ensure that the project plans are complete and in compliance with the terms and conditions of this chapter and all other applicable provisions of the Altoona City Code. Applicant shall simultaneously pay to the City a one-time administrative fee in an amount as prescribed in the City of Altoona Fee Resolution, as updated from time to time by Altoona City Council.

§ 690-5 Application for permit to erect poles.

No person, entity or utility shall erect within the City's rights-of-way, excepting PUC regulated utilities, any pole without first making an application, in writing, to the City for a permit therefor, stating the location where the poles are desired to be erected. Such application shall be accompanied by a plan, giving the exact location where the poles are desired to be erected within any City right-of-way. Additional requirements relating to building and electrical permits may also be required based upon the scope of the project and the applicability of other relevant provisions of the Altoona City Code.

§ 690-6 Approval of pole plans, including pole attachments; issuance of permit; fee.

If the City's Director of Public Works determines that the locations indicated on the plan submitted pursuant to the provisions of § 690-5 are proper and approves the same, in writing, a permit to erect poles within the City's rights-of-way will be issued. The applicant shall also be responsible for the payment to the City of Altoona a license fee as prescribed in the City of Altoona Fee Resolution, as updated from time to time by Altoona City Council for each pole.

§ 690-7 Agreement to restore and maintain streets and sidewalks.

A pole permit required by the provisions of § 690-5 will only be issued upon condition that the applicant guarantees to restore such portions of any sidewalk injured or destroyed and reset or replace any curb displaced by reason of the erection of any poles for which a permit is issued. If work takes place within the street, a street opening permit will also be required as set forth in Chapter 633 of the Altoona City Code.

§ 690-8 Replacement of existing poles.

If the application for a permit to erect poles under the provisions of this chapter is for the purpose of replacing existing poles by the erection of new poles in the exact location of existing poles, the applicant will follow the provisions as set forth in §§ 690-4, 690-5, 690-6 and 690-7.

§ 690-9 License fee.

Every utility, entity, or person not regulated by the PUC doing business within the City shall pay an annual license fee as prescribed in the City of Altoona's Fee Resolution, as updated from time to time via resolution by Altoona City Council, for each pole and for each linear foot of aerial and/or underground facility owned or occupied by such utility, entity, or person erected within the City's rights-of-way which amount shall be paid to the City of Altoona. Whenever a utility or person attaches its facilities to a pole owned by a third party, it is the sole responsibility of the utility or person to obtain permission from the pole owner of such facilities. The license fee is applicable to both coexisting locations and as well as individual locations pursuant to § 690-6.

§ 690-10 Overhead poles and wires prohibited.

A. No utility, entity, or person shall erect, maintain, use, operate or employ any poles, wires, cables or devices over or above the surface of the ground, except poles and wires used for terminal purposes, in the following portions of the City:

(1) Bounded by the northeast side of Ninth Street, the southwest side of Eighteenth Street, the southeast side of Tenth Avenue and the northwest side of Twelfth Avenue Alley.

(2) Bounded by the southwest side of Eleventh Street, the northeast side of Ninth Street, Chestnut Avenue and the northwest side of Chestnut Alley.

(3) Known as Union Avenue, from the southwest side of Eighteenth Street and the southeast side of Tenth Avenue to the southeast side of Broad Avenue.

(4) Known as Union Avenue between the southeast side of Broad Avenue and the southeast side of Beale Avenue.

(5) Known as Union Avenue between the southeast side of Broad Avenue and the southwest side of Ward Avenue.

(6) Known as Chestnut Avenue between the southwest side of seventh Street and the northeast side of Juniata Gap Road.

(7) Known as North Fourth Avenue between the southwest side of North Fifth Street and the northeast side of North Eighth Street.

B. No utility, entity, or person shall erect, maintain, use, operate, or employ any poles, wires, cables or devices over or above the surface of the ground, except for poles used for terminal purposes along and parallel to the following portions of the City:

(1) Known as sixth Avenue between the northeast side of First Street to the Southwest Twenty-Ninth Street.

(2) Known as seventh Avenue between the southwest side of second Street to the southwest side of thirty-first Street.

(3) Known as eighth Avenue between the northeast side of twelfth Street to the northeast side of seventeenth Street.

(4) Known as ninth Avenue between the northeast side of twelfth Street to the northeast side of seventeenth Street.

§ 690-11 Right of certain utility companies to construct underground systems in streets and sidewalks.

All PUC regulated utilities which have obtained the consent of the City to operate therein and have used for that purpose poles, overhead wires, cables, devices and apparatus above and over the surface of the ground, and which are required, in compliance with the terms of this chapter, to remove such poles, overhead wires, cables, devices or apparatus, shall have the right and power to enter upon, over and under, and use and occupy any of the streets or sidewalks or parts thereof within the City's rights-of-way for the purpose of making and constructing the necessary conduits and subways. Such companies shall have the right and power to lay, place and construct therein the wires, cables, tubes and other apparatus and to connect the same with such terminal poles and devices as may be necessary to build an underground distributing systerm, subject to the regulations of this chapter.

§ 690-12 Approval of plans of proposed system; granting of permission to construct system.

Every utility, entity, or person not regulated by the PUC, before entering upon any street or sidewalk for the purpose of constructing therein any conduits, subways, apparatus, devices or means as set out in this chapter, shall make application, and shall file with the City's Director of Public Works a full plan, showing the location, size and detail of all such proposed conduits and subways and the number and location of their terminal poles. All such plans and specifications shall be subject to the approval of the City's Director of Public Works. After such plans have been approved a written agreement or a permit for the installations shall be submitted to the City's Director of Public Works before approval of the work. City inspection fees will be determined per individual project as prescribed in the City of Altoona Fee Resolution as updated from time to time via resolution by Altoona City Council. Any utility, entity, or person not regulated by the PUC shall be required to enter in a Right-of-Way Master License Agreement with the City for any and all facilities placed within the City's right-of-way. Any and all projects built, owned, or leased by the utility, entity, or person, shall be included as part of the agreement. In the event that the ownership of any assets covered in any agreement are sold or transferred, the acquiring entity will be required to execute a new Right-of-Way Master License Agreement adhering to all provisions of the existing agreement. The Right-of-Way Master License Agreement will cover all applicable sections of this chapter and all other sections of the Altoona City Code.

§ 690-13 Appeals.

Whoever fails to secure the approval of his/her plans or devices, in any respect, as provided in this chapter, shall thereupon have the right to make application to the Code Appeals Board for relief from any denial, conditions, or requirements issued by the City following review by the City's Director of Public Works or his/her designee.

§ 690-14 Requirements for construction of underground systems and restoration of streets.

All wires and cables, conduits, tubes, subways or other parts of any underground system, constructed under the surface of any street or sidewalk by any person, shall be placed at such depth beneath the surface thereof as may be determined by the City's Director of Public Works. Whoever removes, takes up, displaces or disturbs any portion of the pavement or surface of any street shall promptly replace or renew such portion in good, first-class order and condition, or better under the supervision and direction of and subject to the control and approval of the City's Director of Public Works, as well as the requirements set forth in Chapter 633 of the Altoona City Code.

§ 690-15 Terminal poles and connection wires.

Terminal poles or other devices may be erected and maintained within the limits of each block by every utility or person connecting therewith, and overhead cables or wires may be distributed from such terminal poles or other devices to such places within such block as customers or patrons may require, but no overhead cable or wire shall be constructed or maintained between a terminal pole or device in one block and any such terminal pole or device in another block. The number and location of such terminal poles or devices in any block shall be subject to the approval of the City's Director of Public Works. All poles, devices and wires shall be located in alleys, wherever practicable, and no wires shall cross any street or highway except at the intersection of a cross street and an alley. The material and design of all terminal poles shall be subject to the approval of the City's Director of Public Works.

§ 690-16 Connection of terminal poles to premises.

Any poles used for terminal purposes, and the wires thereon, shall not be connected with any other poles or terminal poles, but all such terminal poles shall be connected with the premises for which such wires are to be used.

§ 690-17 Right of City to inspect and supervise systems; furnishing desired information.

The entire underground system of any utility, entity, or person not regulated by the PUC, and all the devices, means, appliances, apparatus and every part thereof, so far as the same may relate to or in any way affect or endanger or tend to affect or endanger the safety of the public or other property of the City, shall at all times be open and subject to the review, approval and inspection, as applicable, and shall be under the supervision, approval and control of the City's Department of Public Works as may pertain to public safety as well as protection of any City asset. For such purposes, all such persons shall furnish to the Department, whenever required, complete and specific information, in detail, of the operation of its system and of every part thereof.

§ 690-18 Right of City to use underground systems for City-owned cables; requirements for City use.

A. The City shall at all times have the right and power to place within any underground system, under the provisions of this chapter, and use and operate therein, all the wires, cables, devices and apparatus necessary to the City for its own use. The electrical characteristics of City-owned cables shall not create a hazardous condition to the cables of the utility owning the conduit system. The City shall specify to the installing utility at the time of installation the anticipated duct requirements to be reserved for City use.

B. Power cables owned by the City shall not be contained in a conduit system containing only communication cables. The City shall place, replace, alter, repair and replenish its cables, such work to be done under the supervision of the party owning the conduit system.

§ 690-19 Liability of persons operating systems.

Every person, entity, or utility operating under the provisions of this chapter shall indemnify, save and keep harmless the City against all damages to the streets, water and gas pipes, sewers, cables, wires and all property of every kind belonging to the City, and any damages to persons or private property caused by the laying, construction or operation of such system. Every person, entity, or utility operating under the provisions of this chapter shall provide the city with a valid certificate of insurance with coverage as required by the City of Altoona.

§ 690-20 Inspection of utilities at City bridge structures.

The mains and conduits belonging to, used by, or under the control of each and every utility or person which mains and conduits may hereafter be laid on, under, against, or in the bridge structure owned by the City of Altoona, shall be inspected by the City of Altoona at the frequency required for the bridge structure to be inspected. This inspection frequency shall not exceed two years. Any deficiencies found to any utility, entity, or person attached to any City bridge structure shall be noted in the NBIS bridge inspection and shall be reported to the affected utility or person. In the event that any utility or person needs to be either removed or temporarily relocated off of or around the bridge structure due to construction activity, it shall be done at the utility's or person's expense.

§ 690-21 Indemnification of City.

Each utility, entity, or person that is under the jurisdiction of this chapter shall fully indemnify and save harmless the City of Altoona, its elected officials, employees, and agents from any and all damages, claims, and causes of action of any kind and all costs, liabilities, and expenses that arise or are related to a utility's or person's installation that embraces or comes into contact with a City-owned bridge.

§ 690-22 Violations and penalties.

Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined not less $500 nor more than $1,000 per violation, if, in default of the payment thereof for a period in excess of 60 days.