Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 12.08 or Section 14.56.150 of the Lake Stevens Municipal Code, no person shall commence or continue with the construction, installation, maintenance, or repair of cable or telecommunications facilities within public ways of the City or upon City-owned property, except as provided in this Chapter.
Cable and telecommunications facilities shall be constructed, installed, operated, and maintained in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local codes, rules and regulations.
All City land use regulations shall be met as identified in Title 14, Land Use Code. Chapter 14.40, Table 14-40-I: Table of Permissible Uses, Use Description 18.000, Towers and Related Structures, identifies zones where towers and antennas are permitted outright or with an approved City approval, administrative conditional use permit, or conditional use permit.
(Ord. 811, Sec. 10, 2010)
No person shall construct, install, repair, or maintain any cable or telecommunications facilities within the public ways of the City or upon City property without first obtaining the appropriate construction permit therefor, provided, however:
(a) 
No construction permit shall be issued for the construction or installation of cable or telecommunications facilities within the City unless the cable operator or telecommunications carrier has filed an application for a telecommunications business registration pursuant to Chapter 4.20 of the Lake Stevens Municipal Code;
(b) 
No permit shall be issued for the construction or installation of telecommunications facilities in the public ways unless the cable operator or telecommunications carrier or provider has applied for and received an authorization or franchise pursuant to this chapter;
(c) 
No permit shall be issued for the construction or installation of cable or telecommunications facilities without payment of any applicable construction permit fee; and
(d) 
No permit shall be issued for the construction or installation of telecommunications or other equipment on City property unless the telecommunications carrier or provider has applied for and received a facilities lease from the City. The City Council reserves unto itself the sole discretion to lease City property for telecommunications and other facilities, and no vested or other rights shall be created by this section or any provision of this chapter applicable to such facilities leases.
Applications for permits to construct cable or telecommunications facilities shall be submitted to the Public Works Director upon forms to be provided by the City and shall be accompanied by drawings, plans and specifications in sufficient detail to demonstrate:
(a) 
That the facilities will be constructed in accordance with all applicable codes, rules and regulations;
(b) 
The location and route of all facilities to be installed on existing utility poles;
(c) 
The location, route, and configuration of all facilities to be located under the surface of the ground, including the line and grade proposed for the burial at all points along the route which are within the public ways;
(d) 
The location of all existing underground utilities, conduits, ducts, pipes, mains, and installations which are within the public ways along the underground route proposed by the applicant;
(e) 
The location of all other facilities to be constructed within the City, but not within the public ways;
(f) 
The construction methods to be employed for protection of existing structures, fixtures, and facilities within or adjacent to the public ways;
(g) 
The location, dimension and types of all trees within or adjacent to the public ways along the route proposed by the applicant, together with a landscape plan for protecting, trimming, removing, replacing and restoring any trees or areas to be disturbed during construction;
(h) 
Proposed construction schedule and work hours; and
(i) 
The location of all survey monuments which may be displaced or disturbed by the proposed construction.
Where required by the Public Works Director, permit applications shall be accompanied by drawings, plans and specifications bearing the certification of a registered professional engineer.
All permit applications which involve work on, in, under, across, or along any public ways shall be accompanied by a traffic control plan demonstrating the protective measures and devices that will be employed, consistent with Uniform Manual of Traffic Control Devices, to prevent injury or damage to persons or property and to minimize disruptions to efficient pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
After submission of all plans and documents required of the applicant and payment of the permit fees required by this Article, the Public Works Director, if satisfied that the applications, plans and documents comply with all requirements of this Chapter, shall issue a permit authorizing construction of the facilities, subject to such further conditions, restrictions or regulations affecting the time, place and manner of performing the work as he or she may deem necessary or appropriate.
Any person aggrieved by the granting or denying of a Construction Permit pursuant to this Article shall have the right to appeal to the City Council as follows:
A. 
All appeals filed pursuant to this Section must be filed in writing with the Public Works Director within 10 working days of the date of the decision appealed from;
B. 
All appeals filed pursuant to this Section shall specify the error of law or fact, or new evidence which could not have been reasonably available at the time of the Public Works Director's decision, which shall constitute the basis of the appeal;
C. 
Upon receipt of a timely written notice of appeal, the Public Works Director shall advise the City Council of the pendency of the appeal and request that a date for considering the appeal be established;
D. 
The City Council shall have the option of directing that the appeal be heard before the Hearing Examiner who shall forward a recommendation to the City Council which shall take final action on the appeal. Referral to the Hearing Examiner may be made by motion approved by a majority of the Councilmembers present at the time of voting;
E. 
At the time of notifying the City Council of the pendency of the appeal, the Public Works Director shall make his or her recommendation to the City Council as to whether the appeal should be heard by the Hearing Examiner or the City Council. The recommendation shall be based upon relevant considerations including, but not limited to, the time expected to be required to hear the appeal and the need to create a full, formal record;
F. 
Regardless of whether the appeal is heard by the City Council or Hearing Examiner, all relevant evidence shall be received during the hearing on the appeal;
G. 
Unless substantial relevant information is presented which was not considered by the Public Works Director, such decision shall be accorded substantial weight, but may be reversed or modified by the City Council if, after considering all of the evidence in light of the applicable goals, policies, and provisions of this Chapter, the City Council determines that a mistake has been made. Where substantial new relevant information which was not considered in the making of the decision appealed from has been presented, the City Council shall make its decision only upon the basis of the facts presented at the hearing of the appeal, or may elect to remand the matter for reconsideration by the Public Works Director in light of the additional information;
H. 
For all appeals decided pursuant to this Section, the City shall provide for a record that shall consist of written findings and conclusions and a taped or written transcript;
I. 
Unless otherwise provided by state statute or other law, all actions seeking review of a final action of the City, whether in the form of an appeal, declaratory judgment action, petition for writ of review or other extraordinary writ, or in any other form shall be filed with a court having jurisdiction over such action within 14 working days of the decision, or the expiration of the reconsideration period, whichever is later, and otherwise shall be barred; and
J. 
No action to obtain judicial review shall be commenced unless all rights of appeal provided by this Section are fully exhausted. The cost of transcription of all records ordered certified by the court for such review shall be borne by the party seeking such review. A copy of each transcript prepared by such party shall be submitted to the City for confirmation of its accuracy.
All construction practices and activities shall be in accordance with the permit and approved final plans and specifications for the facilities. The City Public Works Director or designee shall be provided access to the work and such further information as may be required to ensure compliance with such requirements.
The permittee shall maintain a copy of the Construction Permit and approved plans at the construction site, which shall be displayed and made available for inspection by the Public Works Director or designee at all times when construction work is occurring.
If the Construction Permit specifies the location of facilities by depth, line, grade, proximity to other facilities or other standard, the permittee shall cause the location of such facilities to be verified by a state-registered land surveyor. The permittee may be required to relocate any facilities which are not located in compliance with permit requirements.
Upon order of the City Public Works Director, all work which does not comply with the permit, the approved plans and specifications for the work, or the requirements of this Chapter, shall be remedied or removed.
The permittee shall promptly complete all construction activities so as to minimize disruption of the public and other ways and other public and private property. All construction work authorized by a permit within public and other ways, including restoration, must be completed within 120 days of the date of issuance, or within such other period as may be approved.
Within 60 days after completion of construction, the permittee shall furnish the City with 2 complete sets of plans, drawn to scale and certified to the City as accurately depicting the horizontal and vertical location and configuration of all cable or telecommunications facilities constructed pursuant to the permit. The Public Works Director shall have the discretion to prescribe the format and/or media of said as-built drawings, consistent with City codes and policies.
Upon completion of any construction, maintenance, or repair work, the permittee shall promptly repair any and all public and private property improvements, fixtures, structures, and facilities in the public or other ways or otherwise damaged during the course of construction, restoring the same as nearly as practicable to its condition before the start of construction. All survey monuments disturbed or displaced shall be referenced and replaced as required by WAC 332-120 and comply with the City of Lake Stevens survey standards. The referencing and replacement of survey monuments shall be performed by a licensed land surveyor. The Public Works Director shall have final approval of the completeness of all restoration work and all permittees shall warrant said restoration work for a period of 1 year.
A. 
All trees, landscaping and grounds removed, damaged or disturbed as a result of the construction, installation maintenance, repair, or replacement of cable or telecommunications facilities, whether such work is done pursuant to a franchise, permit, or lease shall be replaced or restored as nearly as may be practicable, to the condition existing prior to performance of work.
B. 
All landscape restoration work within the public ways shall be done in accordance with landscape plans approved by the City Public Works Director.
Unless otherwise provided in an authorization, franchise, or lease agreement, all cable operators and telecommunications carriers are subject to the requirements of this Article.
The owner of the facilities to be constructed and, if different, the grantee, franchisee, or lessee, are responsible for performance of and compliance with all provisions of this Article.
(Ord. 562, 1998)