Source: https://www.ecode360.com/8274014
Timestamp: 2020-06-04 11:28:03
Document Index: 603683370

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 119', '§ 119', 'Art. 17', '§ 22', '§ 119', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 119', '§ 22', '§ 119', 'Art. 11', '§ 22', '§ 119', '§ 119', '§ 119', 'Art. 11', '§ 119', '§ 119', '§ 119', '§ 119', '§ 119', '§ 119']

Town of Chelmsford, MA Poles and Wires
§ 119-2 Prohibiting installation of new poles and overhead wires.
§ 119-3 Removal of existing poles and overhead wires.
Chapter 119 Poles and Wires
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Annual Town Meeting of the Town of Chelmsford 4-26-1999 by Art. 17. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For purposes of this chapter, the definitions of "person," poles and overhead wires and associated overhead structures" and "utility" shall be the same definitions as those set forth in MGL c. 166, § 22A.
No utility shall install or construct, except by way of replacement or upgrading of existing facilities, any poles and overhead wires and associated overhead structures upon, along or across any public way within the parts of the town listed in §§ 119-2B and 119-3A of this chapter. Any poles and overhead wires and associated overhead structures upon, along overhead wires and associated overhead structures installed or constructed in violation of this chapter shall be immediately removed by the utility responsible therefor.
This chapter applies to the following parts of town:
Any public way approved by the Planning Board after the effective date of this chapter unless waived by the Planning Board pursuant to the Subdivision Rules and Regulations.[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 202, Subdivision of Land.
Any way in which the wires and utility facilities are underground as of the effective date of this chapter.
Any person who installs or constructs any poles and overhead wires and associated overhead structures which are in violation of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000 for each consecutive fifteen-day period during which the failure continues.
This chapter implements MGL c. 166, § 22C and shall be construed in a manner consistent with the definitions in MGL c. 166, § 22A.
Any utility presently owning or operating poles or overhead wires and associated overhead structures within the Town of Chelmsford shall remove said poles or overhead wires and associated overhead structures. Said removal shall occur in the area known as Chelmsford Center extending from Larcom Square through the Center, around the Common and north to the intersection of Chelmsford and Fletcher Streets as shown on a plan on file with the Town Clerk entitled "Chelmsford Center Utility Depression Area," dated March 15, 1999.
Any utility that fails to remove any poles or overhead wires and associated overhead structures required to be removed pursuant to § 119-3A of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not less than $ 1,000 and not more than $5,000 for each fifteen-day period during which such failure continues; provided, however, that no utility shall have been deemed to have violated this chapter, provided that:
If replacement facilities for poles or overhead wires and associated overhead structures required to be removed will be needed in order for a utility to continue its service, the utility shall, within 60 days of the effective date of this chapter, petition the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Chelmsford, pursuant to MGL c. 166, § 22, for permission to install, erect or construct under the public ways of the Town of Chelmsford replacement facilities for such poles or overhead wires and associated structures; and
The utility shall file with the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Chelmsford a plan (which shall be consistent with § 119-3A of this chapter) for removal of poles or overhead wires and associated overhead structures and, if needed, for their replacement with underground facilities. The removal described on the plan may be implemented in phases, as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Selectmen. In determining if the plan shall be implemented in phases, the Board of Selectmen shall consider the following factors, among other relevant factors: the total cost of completing the work under the plan; the amount of funds collected by the utility from its customers in the Town of Chelmsford in relation to the total cost of completing the work under the plan; and the progress the utility is making towards completing the work under the plan. Any phasing of the implementation of the plan shall not constitute an amendment of the plan. In determining whether to undertake the removal shown on the plan in phases, the Board of Selectmen shall consult with the utility. The decision regarding phasing shall be in the sole discretion of the Board of Selectmen; and
[Amended 10-20-2008 ATM by Art. 11]
In each calendar year beginning with the calendar year next following the effective date of this chapter and until all such poles or overhead wires and associated overhead structures shall have been removed, any utility shall, in carrying out its plan, allocate and expend for the direct cost of demolition and construction (over and above the reasonable value of salvage) an amount which shall not be less than 2% of its gross revenues derived during the next preceding calendar year from its customers in the Town of Chelmsford; and
The utility shall, on or before the last day of March in each year, file with the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Chelmsford a statement signed under the penalties of perjury, by its Treasurer, setting forth in detail the amounts spent by the utility during the immediately preceding calendar year in carrying out its plan; the purposes for which such expenditures were made; the gross revenues derived from its customers in the Town of Chelmsford during the immediately preceding calendar year; provided, however, that no utility which enters a cooperative agreement under MGL c. 166, § 22 shall be deemed to have violated this chapter during the term such payments are to be made, so long as said utility shall not be in default of said cooperative agreement.
Commencing with the calendar year beginning January 1, 2009, the funds collected by the utility from its customers in the Town of Chelmsford shall be placed by the utility in a separate interest-bearing account. The interest accrued on such funds shall remain with the account and shall be available for and used by the utility in furtherance of the completion of the plan described in § 119-3A and § 119-3B(2). All funds collected by utility as a surcharge prior to January 1, 2009, shall be transferred as of January 1, 2009, to the interest-bearing account. Commencing with the statement due for the calendar year 2008, the utility shall include in its statement under § 119-3B(4) the following information regarding the interest for the preceding calendar year: the number of customers in the Town of Chelmsford from whom the funds are collected; the name and address of the financial institution or other entity where the interest-bearing account is located; the amount of interest accrued to the account during the immediately preceding calendar year for which the statement is being provided.
[Added 10-20-2008 ATM by Art. 11]
The statement required under § 119-3B(4) shall not qualify as "setting forth in detail" the required information unless the statement includes the following information:
The number of customers in the Town of Chelmsford from whom the surcharge has been collected during the immediately preceding calendar year;
The amount of the surcharge collected from the customers in the Town of Chelmsford during the immediately preceding calendar year;
The amount of the interest accrued on the surcharge collected from the customers in the Town of Chelmsford during the immediately preceding calendar year;
The address of the financial institution or other entity where the interest-bearing account is located;
The amount of the interest accrued to the account during the immediately preceding calendar year for which the statement is being provided;
The specific purpose and amount for each cost incurred or disbursement made over $100 regarding implementation of the plan;
The name, street mailing address and electronic mail address, if available, of each vendor or other entity to whom a payment over $100 was made regarding implementation of the plan; and
The amount of funds remaining in the interest-bearing account as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.
The Board of Selectmen may temporarily or permanently suspend the amount collected from the utility's customers in the Town of Chelmsford under § 119-3B(3) above, upon the following:
The Board of Selectmen gives notice of and holds a public hearing regarding consideration of such suspension.
The notice of the public hearing is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town and posted on a Town bulletin board and on the Town's website at least 14 days before the date of the hearing.
The notice of public hearing is sent by return receipt requested mail at least 14 days before the date of the hearing to the utility for which the suspension is being considered.
After hearing, the Board of Selectmen finds that:
The utility has collected sufficient funds from the customers in the Town of Chelmsford to carry out the plan described in § 119-3A and § 119-3B(2); or
The utility has collected sufficient funds from its customers in the Town of Chelmsford to fund the phase of the plan described in § 119-3A and § 119-3B(2).