[Adopted 5-15-2000 by Ord. No. 612 (Ch. 13, Part 2, of the 1978 Code
of Ordinances)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Utility poles, utility towers and other ground-set utility
boxes, units and structures designed and installed to support, encase
or protect aboveground utility equipment.
Any residential use or occupation of land for which a subdivision
or land development plan is hereafter approved by the Borough or not
heretofore serviced by the utility equipment of a utility service
company.
A wire, cable, fiber optic, pipe, pipeline or other line
used to convey utility service from utility equipment to individual
structures. Typically, service lines are owned and maintained by the
property owner.
Wires, cables, fiber optics, pipes, pipelines or other transmission
lines and all accessory equipment or facilities appurtenant thereto,
installed or otherwise used for providing utility services, including,
but not limited to, telephone, television, electric light and power,
data and information transmission, including Internet and intranet
services, or natural gas, water or sewage services to any residential,
commercial, industrial, institutional or other property within the
Borough of Fox Chapel. Utility equipment does not include service
lines.
Any person, partnership, corporation, company, agency or
other private, public or quasi-public entity that, through the installation
and use of utility equipment, provides and charges fees or rates for
providing utility services regardless of whether such entity is a
public utility as defined and regulated by the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission or any other regulatory agency or body.
For the purposes of this article, utility services shall
mean the provision by means of utility equipment of water, sewerage,
energy or communication signals and shall include, but is not limited
to, telephone services (except wireless telephone services), television,
electric light and power services, electronic data and information
transmission services (including Internet and intranet services),
natural gas services and water and sewage services.
From and after the effective date of this article, except as
otherwise provided in this article, all utility equipment within the
Borough of Fox Chapel (the "Borough") shall be installed underground,
unless aboveground installation is authorized by the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission (PUC) or other regulatory body whose regulations
govern the installation of utility equipment. To the extent that a
utility service company is not a public utility subject to the regulations
or jurisdiction of the PUC or other governmental regulatory body,
the utility equipment of such utility service companies shall be installed
underground and located within validly created or existing easements
or rights-of-way or may be installed pursuant to a license agreement
between the utility service company and the owner of the land in or
upon which such utility equipment is to be installed. A utility service
company proposing to install utility equipment pursuant to this article
shall first secure the necessary permissions, agreements, approvals
or grants of easements, rights-of-way or other such interests in land
prior to submitting proposed construction plans pursuant to this article.
Utility equipment in new residential developments shall be installed
underground. Utility equipment proposed to be installed in Borough
rights-of-way or other real property in which the Borough has an ownership
or possessory interest ("Borough property") shall be installed underground
notwithstanding whether the utility service company proposing to install
such utility equipment is regulated by the PUC or any other state
or federal agency or body.
Notwithstanding the general requirements of § 310-24 of this article, all items of accessory equipment not capable of being installed underground may be installed and maintained on the surface of the ground; provided, however, that all such accessory equipment shall be painted forest green and further concealed from view by appropriate screen plantings, such as evergreen trees, shrubs or hedges. An application for the installation of utility equipment pursuant to this article which includes aboveground utility equipment must be accompanied by a landscape plan for the concealment of such aboveground utility equipment. The Borough may require a utility service company that is not subject to the rules, regulations or jurisdiction of the PUC, petitioning to install utility equipment above the ground, to retain an engineer or other appropriate utility expert satisfactory to the Borough, who shall, based on his or her knowledge and experience, opine as to whether such utility equipment could be or should be installed underground.
Utility equipment existing and installed as of the effective date of this article that is not in compliance with the terms hereof because said utility equipment is not installed under the ground may be continued so long as it remains otherwise lawful, subject to the provisions and regulations set forth in § 310-25, except that, to the extent that such nonconforming aboveground utility equipment is destroyed by any means to an extent of more than 50% of its replacement value at the time of destruction or is moved any distance for any reason, such utility equipment so moved, reconstructed or replaced shall thereafter conform to the provisions of this article, unless aboveground installation is regulated and authorized by the PUC.
The Council of the Borough of Fox Chapel may authorize overhead
lines in new residential developments which ultimately will contain
less than four lots when, in its opinion, underground installation
would not be feasible or practicable.
All utility equipment to be installed underground shall be placed
not less than 30 inches beneath the surface of the ground. All utility
equipment, whether installed above the ground or underground, shall
be of such type, material and construction as the utility service
companies shall deem proper, provided that the same shall meet all
of the requirements, specifications and safety standards as are now
required or may be required by the PUC or by any other regulatory
commission or agency having jurisdiction over the same. In the event
a utility service company proposing to install utility equipment pursuant
to this article is not regulated by the PUC or any other regulatory
agency or body, all utility equipment proposed to be installed shall
meet or exceed the safety and quality standards of the industry of
which the utility service company is a part.
The location of underground utility equipment shall be in accordance
with the Public Utility Commission's applicable rules and regulations.
No such facilities shall be installed less than five feet from publicly
owned waterlines without the written approval of the Fox Chapel Authority.
In conjunction with the installation of underground conduits, a continuous
foil-backed warning tape ("terra tape") shall be installed approximately
18 inches below the ground surface and directly above the conduit.
In all instances where underground utility equipment crosses cartways
used for vehicular traffic, said utility equipment shall be contained
in conduits. Following the installation of the underground facilities,
the location of said facilities shall be indicated by appropriate
markers to forewarn contractors or operators of digging or trenching
equipment of the existence of underground utility equipment. The spacing
of said markers shall be approved by the Borough Manager.
Prior to the actual installation of underground utility equipment,
the utility service company that is not subject to the regulations
or jurisdiction of the PUC or other regulatory body or proposing to
install utility equipment in or on Borough property and/or its utility
equipment installer or developer shall submit two sets of construction
plans to the Borough of Fox Chapel for review and/or approval showing
the precise proposed location of all utility equipment proposed to
be installed pursuant to such plans. Such utility service company
shall also submit original or certified copies of all properly executed,
acknowledged and recorded agreements or instruments by which the utility
service company acquired the right to enter upon the land of another
and install utility equipment therein or thereon. In the event such
plans propose the installation of any aboveground utility equipment,
the utility service company or its installer or developer shall also
submit two sets of landscape plans to the Borough of Fox Chapel for
approval of the concealment of such aboveground utility equipment.
Following completion of installation, the utility service company
or its installer or developer shall provide the Borough of Fox Chapel
two sets of as-built installation and landscape plans. Utility service
companies subject to the regulations and jurisdiction of the PUC or
other regulatory body with respect to the location and installation
of utility equipment proposing to install utility equipment in or
on property other than Borough property shall file with the Borough
before installation commences a copy of the PUC document or instrument
authorizing said utility service company to install utility equipment
in the Borough. To the extent that said plans provide for the installation
of aboveground utility equipment, such utility service company shall
also file with the Borough landscape plans for the concealment of
such aboveground utility equipment as hereinbefore provided.
Whenever and wherever the provisions of this article require
the underground installation of utility equipment, the installation
of wooden or metal poles designed for use in supporting overhead utility
equipment shall be prohibited; provided, however, that lamppoles which
will be used exclusively for street illumination purposes may, with
the approval of Borough Council, be installed, providing that such
lamppoles shall be served by means of underground wiring to such poles.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania
Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall
be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 plus court costs and
reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement
proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction,
or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine
or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and
committed to the Allegheny County correctional facility for a period
not exceeding 30 days, provided that each violation of any provision
of this article and each day the same is continued shall be deemed
a separate offense.
