§ 32-23. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Abandoned facilities means those facilities owned by the ROW-user that are not in use and will not be utilized by the owner in the future.

Affiliate means any person controlling, controlled by or under the common control of a service provider.

Applicant means any person requesting permission to occupy, lease or operate facilities using the right-of-way, or to excavate the right-of-way.

Construct means to construct, install, erect, build, affix or otherwise place any fixed structure or object, in, on, under, through or above the right-of-way.

Day means calendar day unless otherwise specified.

Disrupt means to place an object, materials, or debris in the right-of-way or to interfere with the right-of-way so as to obstruct or hinder free and open passage over any part of the right-of-way, including landscape maintenance and excluding ordinary vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

Emergency means a condition that poses a clear and immediate danger to life or health, or of a significant loss of property.

Excavate means to cut, dig, excavate, tunnel, bore, grade or otherwise alter the surface or subsurface material or earth in the right-of-way.

Excavation fee means the fee charged by the unified government for each street or pavement cut which is intended to recover the costs associated with construction and repair activities of the ROW-user and its contractors and subcontractors.

Facility or facilities means lines, pipes, irrigation systems, wires, cables, conduit facilities, ducts, poles, towers, manholes, vaults, pedestals, boxes, appliances, antennas, transmitters, gates, meters, splice pits, wells, drains, sewer lines, appurtenances, wireless communications facilities or other equipment, pipes, drains, sewer lines, irrigation systems, or other structures in the right-of-way.

FCC means the Federal Communications Commission.

Kansas One Call means the statewide notification system established pursuant to the Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act, K.S.A. 66-1801 et seq.

KCC means the Kansas Corporation Commission.

MUTCD means the latest edition of the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

Pavement means the weatherproofing and load distributing surface coverings of the portions of the right-of-way intended for vehicular or pedestrian use, including Portland cement concrete pavement, asphalt concrete pavement, asphalt treated road surfaces, any aggregate base material, and brick.

Permit and inspection fee means the fee charged by the unified government to recover its cost incurred for right-of-way management, including, but not limited to, costs associated with registering applicants; issuing, processing, and verifying right-of-way permit applications, inspecting job sites and restoration of improvements, determining the adequacy of right-of-way restoration, revoking right-of-way permits, and other costs the unified government may incur in managing the provisions of this article.

Permittee means any person to whom a right-of-way permit is issued to excavate, disrupt, obstruct, or otherwise work in the right-of-way.

Person means any natural or corporate person, business association or business entity including, but not limited to, a partnership, a sole proprietorship, a political subdivision, a public or private agency of any kind, a utility, a successor or assign of any of the foregoing, or any other legal entity.

Public improvement means any project undertaken by the unified government for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or repair of any public infrastructure, and including, without limitation, streets, alleys, bridges, bikeways, parkways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, sewers, drainage facilities, traffic control devices, signs, streetlights, parks, public facilities, public buildings or public lands.

Public lands means any real property of the unified government that is not a right-of-way.

Repair means the construction work necessary to restore the right-of-way to its previous configuration and use.

Repair and restoration costs means those costs associated with repairing and restoring the public right-of-way because of damage caused by the ROW-user, its contractors, or subcontractors.

Restoration means the process by which an excavated right-of-way and surrounding area, including pavement and sub-base, is returned to the same condition, or better, that existed before the commencement of the work.

Right-of-way means the area on, below, or above the present and future streets, alleys, roads, highways, boulevards, bridges, bikeways, parkways, sidewalks, or other land dedicated or acquired as public right-of-way.

Right-of-way permit means the authorization to excavate, disrupt, or obstruct for the construction, installation, repair or maintenance of any type of facility or for the performance of work within the right-of-way.

Routine service operation means a work activity that makes no material change to the facilities and does not disrupt traffic.

ROW-user means a person, its successors and assigns, that uses the right-of-way for purposes of work, excavation, provision of services, or to install, construct, maintain, or repair facilities thereon, including, but not limited to, landowners and service providers. A ROW-user shall not include ordinary vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or the unified government.

Service means a commodity provided to a person by means of a distribution, transmission, or collection system that is comprised of facilities located or to be located in the right-of-way, including, but not limited to, gas, telephone, cable television, internet services, open video systems, alarm systems, steam, electric, water, telegraph, data transmission, petroleum pipelines, or sewer systems.

Service provider means any person owning, possessing, or having an interest in facilities used for providing a service for or without a fee. The term "service provider" also includes any person owning, possessing, or having an interest in facilities that are used by, may be used by, or are intended for use by another person in whole or in part to provide a service for or without a fee, regardless of whether the actual facility owner provides any service as defined herein.

Street means the pavement and subgrade of a residential, collector, arterial, or limited access roadway including curb and gutter.

Technical provisions and standard drawings means the latest technical standards adopted by the unified government engineer and available from the public works department.

Wireless communications facility means an antenna installation, associated coaxial cable and associated base station equipment used by a wireless service provider to provide wireless service to customers. If a wireless communication facility is located on a communication tower, the communication tower and wireless communication facility are collectively the wireless communication facility. For purposes of this Code, "wireless communications facilities" shall include all facilities and structures that fall within the definition of "wireless facility" and "wireless support structure" found in Kansas Statutes, Senate Sub. for HB 2131.

(Code 1988, § 32-23; Ord. No. O-104-00, § 3, 11-16-2000; Ord. No. O-16-03, § 3, 5-1-2003; Ord. No. O-64-16 , § 1, 10-27-2016)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.