[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Board of
the Township of Grosse Ile 4-28-2003 by Ord. No. 03-05. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The purposes of this chapter are to regulate
access to and ongoing use of public rights-of-way by telecommunications
providers for their telecommunications facilities while protecting
the public health, safety, and welfare and exercising reasonable control
of the public rights-of-way in compliance with the Metropolitan Extension
Telecommunications Rights-of-Way Oversight Act (Act No. 48 of the
Public Acts of 2002) ("Act") and other applicable law, and to ensure
that the Township qualifies for distributions under the Act by modifying
the fees charged to providers and complying with the Act.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed in
such a manner as to conflict with the Act or other applicable law.
A.
ACT
PERMIT
TOWNSHIP
TOWNSHIP BOARD
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
The terms used in this chapter shall have the following
meanings:
The Metropolitan Extension Telecommunications Rights-of-Way
Oversight Act (Act No. 48 of the Public Acts of 2002), as amended
from time to time.
A nonexclusive permit issued pursuant to the Act and this
chapter to a telecommunications provider to use the public rights-of-way
in the Township for its telecommunications facilities.
The Township of Grosse Ile, Michigan.
The Township Board of the Township of Grosse Ile or its designee.
This section does not authorize delegation of any decision or function
that is required by law to be made by the Township Board.
The Township Engineer or his or her designee.
B.
AUTHORITY
MPSC
PERSON
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES OR FACILITIES
TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER, PROVIDER and TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES
All other terms used in this chapter shall have the
same meanings as defined or as provided in the Act, including, without
limitation, the following:
The Metropolitan Extension Telecommunications Rights-of-Way
Oversight Authority created pursuant to Section 3 of the Act.
The Michigan Public Service Commission in the Department
of Consumer and Industry Services, and shall have the same meaning
as the term "Commission" in the Act.
An individual, corporation, partnership, association, governmental
entity, or any other legal entity.
The area on, below, or above a public roadway, highway, street,
alley, easement or waterway. "Public right-of-way" does not include
a federal, state, or private right-of-way.
The equipment or personal property, such as copper and fiber
cables, lines, wires, switches, conduits, pipes, and sheaths, which
are used to or can generate, receive, transmit, carry, amplify, or
provide telecommunications services or signals. "Telecommunications
facilities or facilities" do not include antennas, supporting structures
for antennas, equipment shelters or houses, and any ancillary equipment
and miscellaneous hardware used to provide federally licensed commercial
mobile service as defined in Section 332(d) of part I of title III
of the Communications Act of 1934, Chapter 652, 48 Stat. 1064, 47
U.S.C. § 332 and further defined as commercial mobile radio
service in 47 CFR 20.3, and service provided by any wireless, two-way
communication device.
Those terms as defined in Section 102 of the Michigan Telecommunications
Act, 1991 PA 179, MCLA § 484.2102. Telecommunications provider
does not include a person or an affiliate of that person when providing
a federally licensed commercial mobile radio service as defined in
Section 332(d) of part I of the Communications Act of 1934, Chapter
652, 48 Stat. 1064, 47 U.S.C. § 332 and further defined
as commercial mobile radio service in 47 CFR 20.3, or service provided
by any wireless, two-way communication device. For the purpose of
the Act and this chapter only, a "provider" also includes all of the
following:
A.
Permit required. Except as otherwise provided in the
Act, a telecommunications provider using or seeking to use public
rights-of-way in the Township for its telecommunications facilities
shall apply for and obtain a permit pursuant to this chapter.
B.
Application. Telecommunications providers shall apply
for a permit on an application form approved by the MPSC in accordance
with Section 6(1) of the Act. A telecommunications provider shall
file one copy of the application with the Township Clerk. Upon receipt,
the Township Clerk shall provide one copy to the Township Engineer
when a review is necessary. Applications shall be complete and include
all information required by the Act, including, without limitation,
a route map showing the location of the provider's existing and proposed
facilities in accordance with Section 6(5) of the Act.
C.
Confidential information. If a telecommunications
provider claims that any portion of the route maps submitted by it
as part of its application contain trade secret, proprietary, or confidential
information, which is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act,
1976 PA 442, MCLA §§ 15.231 to 15.246, pursuant to
Section 6(5) of the Act, the telecommunications provider shall prominently
so indicate on the face of each map.
D.
Application fee. Except as otherwise provided by the
Act, the application shall be accompanied by a one-time nonrefundable
application fee in the amount of $500.
E.
Additional information. The Township Engineer may
request an applicant to submit such additional information which the
Township deems reasonably necessary or relevant. The applicant shall
comply with all such requests in compliance with reasonable deadlines
for such additional information established by the Township Engineer.
If the Township and the applicant cannot agree on the requirement
of additional information requested by the Township, the Township
or the applicant shall notify the MPSC as provided in Section 6(2)
of the Act.
F.
Previously issued permits. Pursuant to Section 5(1)
of the Act, authorizations or permits previously issued by the Township
under Section 251 of the Michigan Telecommunications Act, 1991 PA
179, MCLA § 484.2251, and authorizations or permits issued
by the Township to telecommunications providers prior to the 1995
enactment of Section 251 of the Michigan Telecommunications Act but
after 1985 shall satisfy the permit requirement of this chapter.
G.
Existing provider. Pursuant to Section 5(3) of the Act, within 180 days from November 1, 2002, the effective date of the Act, a telecommunications provider with facilities located in a public right-of-way in the Township as of such date, that has not previously obtained authorization or a permit under Section 251 of the Michigan Telecommunications Act, 1991 PA 179, MCLA § 484.2251, shall submit to the Township an application for a permit in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. Pursuant to Section 5(3) of the Act, a telecommunications provider submitting an application under this subsection is not required to pay the application fee of $500 required under Subsection D above. A provider under this subsection shall be given up to an additional 180 days to submit the permit application if allowed by the Authority, as provided in Section 5(4) of the Act.
A.
Approval or denial. The authority to approve or deny an application for a permit is hereby delegated to the Township Engineer or other appropriate official as determined by the Township Manager. Pursuant to Section 15(3) of the Act, the Township shall approve or deny an application for a permit within 45 days from the date a telecommunications provider files an application for a permit under § 247-4B of this chapter for access to a public right-of-way within the Township. Pursuant to Section 6(6) of the Act, the Township shall notify the MPSC when the Township has granted or denied a permit, including information regarding the date on which the application was filed and the date on which the permit was granted or denied. The Township shall not unreasonably deny an application for a permit.
B.
Form of permit. If an application for permit is approved,
the Township shall issue the permit in the form approved by the MPSC,
with or without additional or different permit terms, in accordance
with Sections 6(1), 6(2) and 15 of the Act.
C.
Conditions. Pursuant to Section 15(4) of the Act,
the Township may impose conditions on the issuance of a permit, which
conditions shall be limited to the telecommunications provider's access
and usage of the public right-of-way.
D.
Bond requirement. Pursuant to Section 15(3) of the Act, and without limitation on Subsection C above, the Township may require that a bond be posted by the telecommunications provider as a condition of the permit. If a bond is required, it shall not exceed the reasonable cost to ensure that the public right-of-way is returned to its original condition during and after the telecommunications provider's access and use.
Pursuant to Section 4(3) of the Act, obtaining
a permit or paying the fees required under the Act or under this chapter
does not give a telecommunications provider a right to use conduit
or utility poles.
Pursuant to Section 6(7) of the Act, a telecommunications
provider shall, within 90 days after the substantial completion of
construction of new telecommunications facilities in the Township,
submit route maps showing the location of the telecommunications facilities
to both the MPSC and to the Township. The route maps should be in
paper format unless and until the MPSC determines otherwise, in accordance
with Section 6(8) of the Act.
Pursuant to Section 15(5) of the Act, a telecommunications
provider undertaking an excavation or construction or installing telecommunications
facilities within a public right-of-way or temporarily obstructing
a public right-of-way in the Township, as authorized by a permit,
shall promptly repair all damage done to the street surface and all
installations under, over, below, or within the public right-of-way
and shall promptly restore the public right-of-way to its preexisting
condition.
In addition to the nonrefundable application fee paid to the Township set forth in § 247-4D above, a telecommunications provider with telecommunications facilities in the Township's public rights-of-way shall pay an annual maintenance fee to the Authority pursuant to Section 8 of the Act.
A.
In compliance with the requirements of Section 13(1)
of the Act, the Township hereby modifies, to the extent necessary,
any fees charged to telecommunications providers after November 1,
2002, the effective date of the Act, relating to access and usage
of the public rights-of-way, to an amount not exceeding the amounts
of fees and charges required under the Act, which shall be paid to
the Authority. In compliance with the requirements of Section 13(4)
of the Act, the Township also hereby approves modification of the
fees of providers with telecommunications facilities in public rights-of-way
within the Township's boundaries, so that those providers pay only
those fees required under Section 8 of the Act. The Township shall
provide each telecommunications provider affected by the fee with
a copy of this chapter, in compliance with the requirement of Section
13(4) of the Act. To the extent any fees are charged telecommunications
providers in excess of the amounts permitted under the Act, or which
are otherwise inconsistent with the Act, such imposition is hereby
declared to be contrary to the Township's policy and intent, and upon
application by a provider or discovery by the Township, shall be promptly
refunded as having been charged in error.
Pursuant to Section 10(4) of the Act, all amounts
received by the Township from the Authority shall be used by the Township
solely for rights-of-way-related purposes. In conformance with that
requirement, all funds received by the Township from the Authority
shall be deposited into the Major Street Fund and/or the Local Street
Fund maintained by the Township under Act No. 51 of the Public Acts
of 1951.
Pursuant to Section 10(5) of the Act, the Township
Engineer shall file an annual report with the Authority on the use
and disposition of funds annually distributed by the Authority.
Pursuant to Section 13(6) of the Act, the Township
shall not hold a cable television operator in default or seek any
remedy for its failure to satisfy an obligation, if any, to pay after
November 1, 2002, the effective date of the Act, a franchise fee or
similar fee on that portion of gross revenues from charges the cable
operator received for cable modem services provided through broadband
internet transport access services.
Pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Act, except
as expressly provided herein with respect to fees, this chapter shall
not affect any existing rights that a telecommunications provider
or the Township may have under a permit issued by the Township or
under a contract between the Township and a telecommunications provider
related to the use of the public rights-of-way.
The Township hereby declares that its policy
and intent in adopting this chapter is to fully comply with the requirements
of the Act, and the provisions hereof should be construed in such
a manner as to achieve that purpose. The Township shall comply in
all respects with the requirements of the Act, including, but not
limited to, the following.
A.
Exempting certain route maps from the Freedom of Information Act, 1976 PA 442, MCLA §§ 15.231 to 15.246, as provided in § 247-4C of this chapter;
B.
Allowing certain previously issued permits to satisfy the permit requirements hereof, in accordance with § 247-4F of this chapter;
C.
Allowing existing providers additional time in which to submit an application for a permit, and excusing such providers from the application fee of $500, in accordance with § 247-4G of this chapter;
D.
Approving or denying an application for a permit within 45 days from the date a telecommunications provider files an application for a permit for access to and usage of a public right-of-way within the Township, in accordance with § 247-5A of this chapter;
E.
Notifying the MPSC when the Township has granted or denied a permit, in accordance with § 247-5A of this chapter;
F.
Not unreasonably denying an application for a permit, in accordance with § 247-5A of this chapter;
G.
Issuing a permit in the form approved by the MPSC, with or without additional or different permit terms, as provided in § 247-5B of this chapter;
H.
Limiting the conditions imposed on the issuance of a permit to the telecommunications provider's access and usage of the public right-of-way, in accordance with § 247-5C of this chapter;
I.
Not requiring a bond of a telecommunications provider which exceeds the reasonable cost to ensure that the public right-of-way is returned to its original condition during and after the telecommunications provider's access and use, in accordance with § 247-5D of this chapter;
Pursuant to Section 15(2) of the Act, this chapter
shall not limit the Township's right to review and approve a telecommunications
provider's access to and ongoing use of a public right-of-way or limit
the Township's authority to ensure and protect the health, safety,
and welfare of the public.
[Added 5-12-2003 by Ord. No. 03-05A]
Any police or ordinance officer or other designee
of the Township Manager is hereby authorized to issue municipal civil
infraction citations (directing alleged violators to appear in court)
or municipal civil infraction violation notices (directing alleged
violators to appear at the municipal chapter violations bureau) for
violations under this chapter as provided by the Township Code.
[Added 5-12-2003 by Ord. No. 03-05A]
A person who violates any provision of this chapter or the terms or conditions of permit is responsible for a municipal civil infraction, and shall be subject to a fine of $500 and court costs for each violation. Nothing in this § 247-18 shall be construed to limit the remedies available to the Township in the event of a violation by a person of this chapter or a permit issued by the Township.
