NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
INTRODUCTORY LOCAL LAW No. 12 of 2024
TOWN OF CHESTER
A LOCAL LAW REQUIRING UTILITY COMPANIES TO REMOVE INACTIVE,
BROKEN OR REPLACED UTILITY POLES WITHIN THE TOWN

Please take notice that the Town Board of the Town of Chester will hold a public hearing on
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 6:45PM in the Town Hall Meeting Room, 1786 Kings Highway,
Chester, NY. Said public hearing is to hear comments on the above captioned proposed local law.
Be it enacted by the Town of Chester in the County of Orange, as follows:

Section 1: TITLE
The Town Board hereby finds and determines that public utility companies place poles on Town of Chester highways, streets, roads and rights-of-way to facilitate the delivery of electric, telephone, cable television, and other telecommunications services to the residents of the Town of Chester.

The Town Board finds and determines that public safety can be compromised when utility lines and equipment remain affixed to utility poles that are weathered or otherwise damaged for unreasonable periods of time. When a new pole is installed, a utility’s delay in removing lines and equipment from the old pole also delays the removal of the pole itself, which causes a proliferation of aesthetically unpleasant double poles along highways, streets, roads, and rights-of-way, as well as obstructing the paths of pedestrians and increase the potential for safety hazards to motorists.

The Town Board finds and determines that the interest of the public is best served by cooperation and timely communication between public utilities and the Town Board.
In enacting this chapter, the Town Board deems this chapter to be an exercise of the police power of the Town of Chester for the preservation and protection of public safety and is enacted pursuant to the authority contained in the Highway Law, Town Law, and Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York.

Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to require utilities that use Town highways, streets, roads and rights-of-way to promptly remove their plants, cables, lines, equipment, and terminals from old and damaged poles and to further require the prompt removal of double poles once all plants, cables, lines, equipment, and terminals have been removed.

A copy of the proposed local law is on file in the Town Clerk’s Office and is available for inspection during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8 am to 5 pm).

Any person interested in the proposed local law may appear in person or by agent. All written
communications should be addressed to the Board at the above address.

BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD
TOWN OF CHESTER
LINDA A. ZAPPALA
TOWN CLERK
DATED: DECEMBER 12, 2024

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