CCP 07-29-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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,- .. . 'I I Policy adopted by Right of Way Issues Task Force, June 6,1996 .. RIGHT-OF-WAY ISSUES Use of Public Rifthts-of-Wav I J. The responsibility for managing and protecting public rights-ol-way must remain I with cities and other units of government entrusted with protecting the health, safety and convenience of the community. I 2. Construction and safety standards are of paramount interest to cities, and consistent with respective industries' desire for uniformity, should be developed by the municipal I engineering community for adoption by cities to ensure effective right-of-way management. 3. Cities and other governmental units responsible for the protection and management I of public rights-ol-way should be authorized to require reasonable compensation which reflects the policy andfiscal objectives of their community. 4. The courts should remain the primary forum for resolution of allegations that communities . have exercised their authority in an unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious manner. Backs;round - Demand for all types of uses of rights-of-way, both surface and sub-surface, is increasing . exponentially, forcing consideration by cities of how best to allocate this very limited resource. Because public rights-of-way have been acquired at public expense through local property tax sources or other local action, cities have traditionally had the fundamental responsibility and I attendant liability for facilitating the safety and convenience of all right-of-way users. Right-of- way management responsibilities are complex, numerous and site specific, as are the particular I interests of cities in establishing a value for private use of public space in local rights-of-way. These factors underscore the fact that rational and expeditious decisions can only be made at the local level. I Cities support existing federal non-discrimination requirements that local administration not impose unreasonable delays or burdens on access, entry or other reasonable use of the right-of- way. Cities should be authorized, as provided in federal law, to require telecommunications . providers to meet local requirements for public, educational and government access to their networks as well as financial and technical support for such access. The federal government has been auctioning the limited number of public radio frequencies, . which effectively illustrates the value of that asset to competitive service providers in an unregulated marketplace. Unlike other businesses which pay for the use of public rights-of-way, telephone companies currently pay property taxes only on a fraction of their facilities located in I public rights-of-way and nothing for the value of the right to use them. .... - .....-- . _n_