A. Permit and manage reasonable access to and utilization of the public rights-of-way of the City for utility services purposes and conserve the limited physical capacity, integrity, and longevity of those public rights-of-way held in trust by the City consistent with applicable State and Federal law;

B. Secure fair and reasonable compensation to the City, who have invested substantial public funds to acquire, build, and maintain the public rights-of-way and City-owned structures and improvements therein, from utilities that benefit from use of this public asset;

C. Ensure that all persons owning or operating utility facilities or providing utility services within the City register and comply with the ordinances, rules, policies, and other regulations of the City, as well as with applicable provisions of State and Federal law;

D. Ensure that the City can continue to fairly and responsibly protect the public health, safety, and welfare of its residents;

E. Encourage the provision of high-quality utility services on the widest possible basis to the residents, businesses and visitors within the City’s territorial and jurisdictional boundaries, while allowing the City to be resilient and adaptive to changes in technology;

F. Allow the City to enter into other or additional agreements with person(s), if required by applicable law, and to amend the requirements of this chapter and the City regulations, as new technology is developed and deployed; and

G. Acknowledge State and Federal regulation of the provision of utility services within the City of Bend, including Oregon Public Utility Commission’s (“PUC”) role in ratemaking and allocating exclusive utility service territories for power, water, and other utilities, as applicable, and ensure City’s compliance with applicable provisions of State and Federal law; and

H. Except for the location of facilities in the City’s right-of-way, acknowledge that the engineering standards and specifications applicable to the City’s municipal utility facilities are not applicable to private water utility facilities located within the City of Bend. [Ord. NS-2490, 2024]