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Ordinance adding Chapter 13.06 ("Utility Pavement Cut Fee") to Title 13 ("Public Improvements") of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to establish a recovery fee for utility cuts in City streets.
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WHEREAS, the City of South San Francisco is responsible for maintaining 140 centerline miles of street pavements. The City currently has an average pavement condition index score of 76. In 2023 the City sought professional consulting services to assist in evaluating the impacts of utility cuts and heavy construction vehicles on the City's street network; and
WHEREAS, existing pavements frequently need to be cut in order to access and service utility infrastructure and their underground equipment; and
WHEREAS, this type of excavation in paved streets degrades and shortens the life of the surface of the streets, and this degradation increases the frequency and cost to the public of necessary resurfacing, maintenance, and repair; and
WHEREAS, the City's funding sources will not be sufficient to prevent some of the City's streets from deteriorating due to the impacts of utility cuts; and
WHEREAS, the Utility Pavement Cut Fee adopted herein is considered a fee pursuant to Article XIII C section 1(e) of the California Constitution, which excludes such fees from the definition of "tax;" and
WHEREAS, this Ordinance does not conflict with provisions of State law, including but not limited to, Public Utilities Code sections 7901 and 12808 related to interstate telecommunications franchises because the fees hereunder are not charged for the same right granted by State law, but instead are charged to recover costs of mitigating the degradation that the excavation causes to City pavement and the increased cost to the City in reconstructing a street that has been patched following an excavation; and
WHEREAS, this Ordinance is in conformance with Section 253(C) of the Federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996 which expressly recognizes the authority of local govern...
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