(a)
This article may be known and cited as the right-of-way management
ordinance for the city.
(b)
The city enacts these regulations to manage the public right-of-way,
to ensure public health, safety and welfare and to promote the most
efficient use of the right-of-way first and foremost for the traveling
public, and also for water and sewer uses and for utility uses designed
to benefit the citizens of the city, including such uses as have been
recognized in statutory and common law in the State of Texas.
(Ordinance 19-O-02, sec. 15.001,
adopted 1/14/2019)
(a)
This article shall be construed under and in accordance with the
laws of the State of Texas and the city charter and city code to the
extent that such charter and code are not in conflict with or in violation
of the Constitution and laws of the United States or the State of
Texas. All obligations of the parties hereunder are performable in
Williamson County, Texas.
(b)
All provisions of this article shall apply to all persons involved
with the right-of-way, all work performed therein, any facilities
maintained therein or any other matter as applicable.
(Ordinance 19-O-02, sec. 15.002,
adopted 1/14/2019)
This article shall be effective within the geographical limits
of the city, including any areas subsequently annexed by the city.
(Ordinance 19-O-02, sec. 15.003,
adopted 1/14/2019)
The definitions in this section apply to all of this article.
and its derivatives mean the facilities installed in the
right-of-way (including by way of example but not limited to: poles,
wires, conduit, manholes, handholes, cuts, network nodes and node
support poles, or portion thereof) that have been left by provider
in an unused or non-functioning condition for more than one hundred
twenty (120) consecutive calendar days unless, after notice to the
provider, the provider has established to the reasonable satisfaction
of the city that the applicable facilities, or portion thereof, are
still in active use.
means:
Unless the commission adopts a different definition under [Local
Government Code] section 283.003, a unit of measurement representing:
Each switched transmission path of the transmission media that
is physically within a public right-of-way extended to the end-use
customer’s premises within the municipality, that allows the
delivery of local exchange telephone services within a municipality,
and that is provided by means of owned facilities, unbundled network
elements or leased facilities, or resale;
Each termination point or points of a nonswitched telephone
or other circuit consisting of transmission media located within a
public right-of-way connecting specific locations identified by, and
provided to, the end-use customer for delivery of nonswitched telecommunications
services within the municipality; or
Each switched transmission path within a public right-of-way
used to provide central office-based PBX-type services for systems
of any number of stations within the municipality, and in that instance,
one (1) path shall be counted for every ten (10) stations served;
and
May not be construed to include interoffice transport or other
transmission media that do not terminate at an end-use customer’s
premises or to permit duplicate or multiple assessment of access line
rates on the provision of a single service.
means secondary, supporting, or subordinate.
means communications equipment that transmits or receives
electromagnetic radio frequency signals used in the provision of wireless
services.
means:
means a person submitting an application or proposal to the
city for a license, franchise, permit or notice to install facilities
or equipment or work in the right-of-way.
are synonymous for the purposes of this article. An “application”
or “proposal” means the process by which the applicant
submits a request and indicates a desire to be granted a license,
permit or franchise for all, or a part, of the city. An “application”
or “proposal” includes all written documentation, and
official statements and representations, in whatever form, made by
an applicant to the city.
of an authorization or transfer of an authorization means
any transaction or action which effectively or actually transfers
the authorization or franchise or changes operational or managerial
control from one (1) person or entity to another.
to use the right-of-way means a negotiated privilege pursuant
to an agreement between the city in its discretion and a person, allowing
a person to occupy any portion of a street, right-of-way, or easement
owned or controlled by the city, and may be for a limited period of
time or for a specific purpose.
means a person who has been issued a certificate of convenience
and necessity, certificate of operating authority, or service provider
certificate of operating authority by the commission to offer local
exchange telephone service or a person who provides voice service.
means the City of Liberty Hill, Texas or its lawful successor,
and includes the Liberty Hill city council.
means the Liberty Hill city manager, or designee.
means the city council for the Liberty Hill, Texas or its
lawful successor, which is the governing body for the city.
mean the installation, mounting, maintenance, modification,
operation, or replacement of network nodes in a public right-of-way
on or adjacent to a pole.
means the state public utility commission.
means a component or facility that is, wholly or partly,
physically located within a public right-of-way and that is used to
provide video programming, cable, voice, or data services.
means any wireless facility or pole that is covered, painted,
disguised, or blended in to its environment or otherwise hidden or
kept from sight such that the wireless facility blends into the surrounding
environment and is visually unobtrusive. A concealed or camouflaged
wireless facility or pole also includes any wireless facility or pole
conforming to the surrounding area in which the wireless facility
or pole is located and may include, but is not limited to, hidden
beneath a facade, blended with surrounding area design, painted to
match the supporting area, or disguised with artificial tree branches.
means the annual revised consumer price index for all urban
consumers for Texas, as published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
means Williamson County, Texas.
shall be included as a type of network node and have the
same meaning as “network node.”
means a streetlight pole specially designed and placed for
aesthetic purposes and on which no appurtenances or attachments, other
than specially designed informational or directional signage or temporary
holiday or special event attachments, have been placed or are permitted
to be placed according to nondiscriminatory municipal codes.
means an area that is zoned, or otherwise designated by municipal
code, and for which the city maintains and enforces unique design
and aesthetic standards on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis.
means an imminent, impending, or actual natural or humanly
induced situation wherein the health, safety, or welfare of the residents
of the city is threatened, and includes but is not limited to any
declaration of emergency by city, state or federal governmental authorities.
means, refers to or shall include any public easement or
other compatible use, whether created by dedication or by the other
means, for uses which include public utility purposes or any other
purpose whatsoever. “Easement” may include a private easement
used for the provision of utilities, depending upon usage.
means the federal administrative agency, or lawful successor,
authorized to oversee cable television and other multi-channel regulation
on a national level.
means a form of communication transmission that uses light
to send data, high-quality video and sound.
means the initial authorization, or subsequent renewal, granted
by the city in order for a person to construct, operate, and maintain
a system in all, or part, of the city right-of-way.
means the date of expiration, or the end of the term of a
franchise, permit or license agreement.
means the user fee or charge that the city requires as payment
for using the streets, rights-of-way, public ways, and easements of
the city.
means any and all compensation which is derived from the
operation of the system, and which is attributable to the system’s
operations within the city as allowed by law.
means right-of-way adjacent to a state or federal highway.
means an area that is zoned or otherwise designated as a
historic district under municipal, state, or federal law.
means common law or a federal, state, or local law, statute,
code, rule, regulation, order, or ordinance.
means within the geographical boundaries of the City of Liberty
Hill, Texas.
has the meaning assigned by section 51.002, Utilities Code.
means:
means the mayor for the City of Liberty Hill, Texas.
means a network node that is not larger in dimension than
twenty-four (24) inches in length, fifteen (15) inches in width, and
twelve (12) inches in height, and that has an exterior antenna, if
any, not longer than eleven (11) inches.
means an area that is zoned or otherwise designated by municipal
code as a public park for the purpose of recreational activity, and
includes the various properties under the direction, control and supervision
of the city’s director of parks and recreation department pursuant
to the authority granted by the city council and the city Code of
Ordinances.
means a utility pole owned or operated by a municipally owned
utility, as defined by section 11.003, Utilities Code, and located
in a public right-of-way.
means Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
means equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless
communications between user equipment and a communications network.
The term:
Includes:
Equipment associated with wireless communications;
A radio transceiver, an antenna, a battery-only backup power
supply, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration;
Coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is immediately adjacent to
and directly associated with a particular collocation; and
Small wireless facilities as defined in 47 CFR section 1.6002(1);
and
means:
means a pole as defined by chapter 284 of the Texas Local
Government Code.
has the same meaning as “municipal park.”
means a document issued by the city authorizing installation,
removal, modification and other work for equipment or facilities in
accordance with the approved plans and specifications.
means any individual, corporation, business, trust, estate,
trust, partnership, association of two (2) or more persons having
a joint common interest, governmental agency, or other legal entity,
including the city.
means a service pole, municipally owned pole, node support
pole, or other utility pole, and shall include network node support
poles.
has the same meaning as “network provider.”
means public right-of-way accessibility guidelines.
means this article and includes all other city ordinances
that comply with chapter 284 of the Texas Local Government Code.
means the surface of, and the space above and below, a public
street, road, highway, freeway, land, path, public way or place, alley,
court, boulevard, parkway, drive, or other easement now or hereafter
held by the city (including any street, as defined, which is acquired
by eminent domain) for the purpose of public travel and shall include
other easements or rights-of-way now or hereafter held by the city
(including any easements or rights-of-way acquired by eminent domain)
which shall, with their proper use and meaning, entitle the city or
utility provider, with proper authorization, to use thereof for the
purpose of installing or transmitting utilities over poles, wires,
cable, conductors, ducts, conduits, viaducts, manholes, amplifiers,
appliances, attachments, and other property as may ordinarily be necessary.
The term does not include a private easement or the airwaves above
a public right-of-way with regard to wireless telecommunications.
means a pole, other than a municipally owned utility pole,
owned or operated by a municipality and located in a public right-of-way,
including:
shall be included as a type of network node and have the
same meaning as “network node.”
means the State of Texas.
means only the portion of the right-of-way with a specially
prepared surface used for vehicular travel, which surface may be concrete,
blacktop or other material commonly used to prepare a surface for
vehicular travel, and is limited to the area between the inside of
the curb (when there is a curb) to the inside of the opposite curb,
and does not include the curb area or the area between the two (2)
parallel edges of the surface used for vehicular travel where there
is no curb. A street is generally part of, but less than, or smaller
in width than, the size or width of the right-of-way. Right-of-way
includes the sidewalks and utility easements and street does not include
a sidewalk or utility easement. A street does not include the curb,
sidewalk or ditch, if any or [are] present either at time of permitting
or if added later.
means storm water pollution prevention plan.
means Texas Accessibility Standards.
shall have the same meaning as “street.”
means any device, whether manually, electrically, or mechanically
operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to
proceed.
means each transmission path physically within right-of-way,
extending with a physical line from a network node directly to the
network, for the purpose of providing backhaul for network nodes.
means an area where poles, overhead wires, and associated
overhead or above-ground structures have been removed and buried or
have been approved for burial underground pursuant to municipal ordinances,
zoning regulations, state law, private deed restrictions, or other
public or private restrictions, that prohibit installing above-ground
structures in a public right-of-way.
means United States Code.
means a person or organization that owns, places or uses
facilities occupying the whole or a part of a public street or right-of-way,
depending on the context.
means a pole that provides:
means voice communications services provided through wireline
facilities located at least in part in the public right-of-way, without
regard to the delivery technology, including Internet protocol technology.
The term does not include voice service provided by a commercial mobile
service provider as defined by 47 U.S.C. section 332(d).
means “micro network nodes,” “network nodes,”
and “node support poles” as defined in Texas Local Government
Code chapter 284, and “small wireless facilities” as defined
in 47 CFR section 1.6002(1).
means any service, using licensed or unlicensed wireless
spectrum, including the use of wi-fi, whether at a fixed location
or mobile, provided to the public using a network node.
means a person that provides wireless service to the public.
(Ordinance 19-O-02, sec. 15.004,
adopted 1/14/2019; Ordinance adopting
2023 Code)
(a)
The city may institute all appropriate legal action to prohibit any
person from knowingly using the public rights-of-way unless the person
has complied with the terms of this article.
(b)
This article shall not be construed as imposing upon the city or
any official or employee any liability or responsibility for damages
to any person injured by the performance of any work for which a permit
is issued hereunder, nor shall the city or any official or employee
thereof be deemed to have assumed any such liability or responsibility
by reason of inspections authorized hereunder, the issuance of any
permit or the approval of any work.
(Ordinance 19-O-02, sec. 15.005,
adopted 1/14/2019)
It is an offense to violate any provision of this article. Any
person violating any provision of this article shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor. Each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate
offense for each and every day, or portion thereof, during which any
violation of any provision of this article is committed, continued,
or permitted.
(Ordinance 19-O-02, sec. 15.006,
adopted 1/14/2019)
