§ 15-26. City access to and easement over consumer property.

As a condition to initially providing and continuing to provide utility service to a consumer, and by accepting utility service from the city, the consumer grants to the city, its authorized agents and employees, without cost to the city, access to the consumer's property during all reasonable hours and an easement on, over, under, through and across the consumer's property for the purpose of reading meters or, installing, operating, maintaining, repairing, altering, relocating, enhancing, removing or replacing the city's utility property utilized, directly or indirectly, to provide utility service to the consumer, or for any other purpose related to the provision of utility services to the consumer. In the event of an emergency, access shall be granted at any time. If the consumer fails to provide the required access, obstructs the city's utilization of the easement granted, or otherwise impacts the city's ability to provide utility service to the consumer, the city may discontinue utility service to the consumer or the city may relocate the city's property at the consumer's expense. The city shall exercise the property rights granted by the consumer in this section in a reasonable manner in accordance with utility industry standards so as not to unnecessarily interfere with the consumer's use of its property. In the event the city determines it necessary to relocate the consumer's meter or service connection to the city's utility facilities, the consumer shall be responsible, at the consumer's cost, to re-connect the consumer's facilities to the city's relocated meter or service connection.

(Code 1972, § 24-12; Ord. No. 242-04-A, § 1, 9-13-04; Ord. No. 242-07-A, § 1, 9-11-07)