[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Media as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 253.
Subdivision and land development — See Ch. 257.
[Adopted 11-4-1891 by Ord. No. 41]
[Amended 9-1-1909 by Ord. No. 69]
The Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough of Media do ordain that from and after the passage of this article it shall not be lawful for any telegraph, electric light or telephone company, firm or individual to erect or cause to be erected any pole or poles upon any public street, lane or alley within the present limits of the Borough of Media unless the company, firm or individual seeking to erect said pole or poles shall first make application to the Council for permission to erect the same.
[Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]
It shall be the duty of said company, firm or individual to submit to the Council, accompanying such application, a written statement specifying the number and location of said poles, and if permission shall be granted by the Council to erect said poles, said company, firm or individual shall cause said poles to be erected either in accordance with such statements or subject to such conditions and modifications as the Council may direct.
If any company, firm or individual shall, by the erection of any pole or poles, violate any of the foregoing provisions of this article it shall be the duty of the Street Commissioner to report such violation to the Mayor, who shall notify said company, firm or individual to remove said pole or poles within 10 days from said notice under a penalty of $10 for every 10 days said pole or poles are allowed to remain after the expiration of said notice.
[Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]
In all cases where poles have heretofore been erected and whenever, in pursuance of this article, any poles may hereafter be erected in or upon any of said streets, lanes or alleys or said borough, it shall be the duty of such company, firm or individual owning such poles to submit to the Borough Secretary, on or before the first day of January in each and every year after the passage of this article, a sworn statement of the number and location of the poles so erected, and thereupon said Borough Secretary shall issue a permit for each pole which shall entitle said company, firm or individual to maintain said pole, subject to the provisions of this article, for the term of one year for the time of such payment and no longer.
It shall be the duty of the Street Commissioner, at least once a year, to cause a thorough inspection of all telegraph, telephone and electric poles erected within the limits of said borough, and if any pole shall be found to be defective, unsuitable or unsound he shall notify the owner of said pole to forthwith replace the same with a sound pole, and if such owners neglect to replace such defective, unsuitable or unsound pole within five days after receiving such notice, said owners shall be liable to a fine of $5 for each and every day during which said neglect or refusal shall continue, to be recoverable as debts of like character are now recoverable by law and the ordinances of said borough.
All telegraph, telephone and electric light poles now or hereafter erected in said borough shall be designated by the names or initials of the owner or owners of said poles and each of said poles shall bear a distinctive number, which names, initials and numbers shall be legibly marked with oil paint upon the poles so designated, and said poles shall also be painted with dark brown paint for the distance of at least seven feet from the base thereof and said paint shall be renewed whenever, in the opinion of the Council, it may be necessary. Upon the neglect or refusal of any owner or owners to so mark and paint their said poles within 10 days after notice so to do, it shall be lawful for the Council to order said work to be done and the cost thereof to be collected from the owner or owners of said poles.
The permission of the Council referred to in § 283-2 of this article may be exercised by a majority vote at any meeting and in such cases authorize the erection of any pole or poles as fully as if an ordinance to that effect had been duly enacted.
[Adopted 9-6-1905 by Ord. No. 53]
It shall not be lawful for any telegraph, telephone or electric light company or any firm or individual to lay or construct or cause to be laid or constructed any conduits, ducts, pipes, manholes or other underground appliances to contain wires or cables to be used for the transmission of electricity along, under or through the streets, alleys or highways of the Borough of Media unless such company, firm or individual shall first make application to the Council for permission to lay and construct the same and shall submit a detailed statement together with a plan showing the character and location of the proposed construction and the streets, alleys and highways along, under and through which it is proposed to construct the same.
If the Council shall approve the plan so submitted or any modification thereof, the permission to lay and construct said conduits, ducts, pipes, manholes and other underground appliances may be granted by a majority vote of the whole Council at any stated or regular meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose as fully as if an ordinance to that affect had been duly enacted, but such permission shall not take effect until the plan so approved shall be identified by the signatures of the Mayor and President of Council or in such other manner as the Council shall direct, and a copy of the same certified by such company, firm or individual shall be furnished to the borough to be filed among its records.
[Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]
Such permission may contain any conditions or stipulations which the Council may deem applicable to the circumstances of each particular case and shall in all cases, whether so expressed or not, be taken to be subject to all the provisions of this article, and no work shall be done in pursuance thereof until a permit shall also be obtained from the clerk of the Council for that purpose, and such permit shall not be issued for work to be done in the months of December, January or February without the consent of the Highway Committee.
All work done under the provisions of this article and of any permission granted as aforesaid shall be so performed as to obstruct as little as possible the streets, alleys and highways wherein it shall be carried on and also in such manner that no opening or encumbrance shall remain for a longer period than absolutely necessary for the proper execution of the work. No opening for the purpose aforesaid shall extend over more than one block at a time. Said company, firm or individual shall relay any sidewalk, curb or pavement which may have been removed or damaged by it or them and shall restore the surface of the street, alley or highway to as good a condition as it was in before it was disturbed by any excavation or construction. It shall be the duty of the Highway Committee to supervise said work and said Committee shall have power to enforce these provisions.
[Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]
Any permission granted in pursuance of this article shall be taken to be subject to the right of the borough authorities to impose at any time all licenses and no such grant shall be taken to be exclusive or prevent a grant of similar privileges to other companies or individuals.
That space in the conduits laid under the provisions of this article or permission granted thereunder shall be reserved for the purpose of carrying free a wire or wires of any fire alarm or police telegraph system now in use or which may hereafter be adapted by said borough. In no case, however, shall said wire or wires carry high-tension currents except in conduits laid for electric light wires.
The grantee of any permission aforesaid shall maintain its, their or his conduits, ducts, pipes and manholes and any distributing wires and appliances used in connection therewith in good and safe order and condition and shall at all times fully indemnify, protect and save harmless said borough from and against all actions, claims, suits, damages and charges and against all loss and necessary expenditures arising from the construction and maintenance of its or his system in said borough or from its or his neglect or failure to maintain said apparatus in good and safe order and condition, and no such conduits, ducts, pipes or manholes shall be dug up and removed without the consent of the Highway Committee.
Any order or resolution of the Council granting permission as provided in the § 283-9 of this article shall be duly accepted in writing and under seal by the grantee within 15 days after the granting of the same, which acceptance shall be forthwith certified and returned to the Clerk of the Council and such acceptance shall be expressed to be an acceptance also of the provisions of this article, and in default of said acceptance being had and certified such permission shall be null and void.