[HISTORY: Adopted by the North Hempstead Town Board 11-29-1977 L.L. No. 8, 1977 (this local law also repealed former Ch. 64, Utilities Regulation, Article I, Utility Pole Regulation, adopted 12-3-1974 as L.L. No. 13, 1974). Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Condemnation of Utility Pole Space Law of the Town of North Hempstead."
It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the Town of North Hempstead that the public health, safety and welfare require adequate streetlighting and attachments for fire and police equipment on utility poles to avoid the unnecessary expense, environmental damage and hazards to travel which may be incurred by the installation of separate poles. In furtherance of such public policy, the Town of North Hempstead may acquire an interest in utility poles for the purpose of attaching municipal apparatus thereto pursuant to the power granted to the town by Article IX, § 1(e), of the Constitution of the State of New York and § 10(2) of the Statute of Local Governments.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
INTEREST
A permanent nonexclusive easement in so much of a utility pole or a replacement or substitute pole to permit the attachment of municipal apparatus or the continued maintenance of existing municipal apparatus.
MUNICIPAL APPARATUS
All fixtures, appurtenances, wires, signals for streetlighting and fire alarm, police telecommunication and traffic control systems owned or leased by the town.
TOWN RIGHT-OF-WAY
Public roads, streets or highways belonging to or controlled by the town or upon which the town has the duty, obligation or right to provide streetlighting or traffic controls, or other town property.
UTILITY COMPANY
Any person, partnership, association, company or corporation possessing a franchise or a special franchise to construct, maintain or operate in, under, above, upon or through any public road, street, highway, waterway or other public place within the Town of North Hempstead mains, pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers, with the appurtenances, for conducting water, steam, light, power, electricity, gas or other substance or communication.
UTILITY POLES
Those upright poles constructed or erected, or to be constructed or erected, owned, leased or maintained by utility companies in the town right-of-way by virtue of and pursuant to the special franchises held by such utility corporations for the purpose of attaching wires, equipment, appurtenances and other facilities for the public utility purposes of such utility company.
The town, for its own use or for the use of any special district operating within the town which performs a town function, shall have the right, exercisable as set forth in § 64-6 of this chapter, to acquire an interest in a utility pole.
No such acquisition or use shall:
A. 
Unreasonably interfere with the right of the utility company and its licensees to use such utility poles for the purpose of its franchise.
B. 
Interfere with the right of any utility company to remove, eliminate or relocate any utility pole which it may own, lease or maintain to which municipal apparatus may or may not have been attached.
C. 
Limit the right of the utility to adopt and enforce reasonable safety rules and regulations relating to the use of its poles.
Pursuant to Section 11.10.0(a) of the Nassau County Administrative Code, the procedure for the acquisition of an interest in a utility pole or poles shall, as far as practicable, be as provided in Title B of Chapter XI of the Nassau County Administrative Code.
If, after acquisition of an interest in and/or installation of municipal apparatus on utility poles, the utility changes or desires to change its use of such pole(s) for utility purposes in such a way as the continued use of the pole(s) for such municipal apparatus would violate § 64-5 of this chapter, the utility shall serve a written notice of such change on the Town Engineer. The town shall remove such apparatus within sixty (60) days after receipt of such notice.
If a utility upon whose poles municipal apparatus has been installed hereunder desires to move or remove such a pole, it shall give written notice to the Town Engineer. The town shall remove such apparatus from such pole within sixty (60) days after receiving such notice.
Nothing in this chapter shall affect the town's right to install, maintain or remove municipal apparatus on utility poles in accordance with a voluntary agreement heretofore or hereafter made or the town's right to make and the utility's right to receive payments thereunder.
For the purpose of this section, a proceeding shall be commenced when the Town Board of the Town of North Hempstead authorizes an acquisition map to be prepared and filed pursuant to Section 11-22.0(b) of the Nassau County Administrative Code.
This chapter shall be liberally construed to effectuate the declaration of policy contained herein.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or Article of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or Article thereof directly involved in said judgment.