11-9-2: PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:
A. The purpose of this chapter is to provide principles and procedures for the coordination of construction excavation within any public rights-of-way within the town, and to protect the integrity of the town's rights-of-way and street system.
B. Public and private uses of rights-of-way for location of utilities employed in the provision of public services should, in the interests of the general welfare, be accommodated; however, the town must insure that the primary purpose of the rights-of- way, namely, the safe and efficient passage of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, is maintained to the greatest extent possible. In addition, the value of other public and private installations, facilities, and properties should be protected, competing uses must be reconciled, and the public safety preserved. The use of the town's rights-of-way corridors for the location of facilities is secondary to these public objectives. This chapter is intended to assist in striking a balance between the public need for efficient, safe transportation routes and the use of rights-of- way for location of facilities by public and private entities. It thus has several objectives:
1. To ensure that the public health, safety, and welfare is maintained and that public inconvenience is minimized.
2. To facilitate work within the rights-of-way through the standardization of regulations.
3. To conserve and fairly apportion the limited physical capacity of the public rights-of-way held in public trust by the town.
4. To promote cooperation among the applicants and permittees (as defined in this chapter) and the town in the occupation of the public rights-of-way, and work therein, in order to: a) eliminate duplication that is wasteful, unnecessary or unsightly; b) lower the permittee's and the town's costs of providing services to the public, and c) minimize the number of excavations that occur in the town's rights-of-way. (Ord. 9, Series 2018)