1964-049 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY
OF DENTON, TEXAS, REGULATING THE INSTALLATION, USE, AND
M~INTENANCE OF UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS, WIRING AND
APPARATUS ON ANY PREMISE~ STREET, ALLEY OR ROADWAY WITHIN
THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, OR ANY
SECTION OUTSIDE OF THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF
DENTON, TEXAS, BEING SERVED BY THE DENTON MUNICIPAL
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, PROVIDING FOR AN ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR
OF UNDERGROUND UTILITIES, PROVIDING FOR EXEMPTION,
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS HEREOF, PROVIDING
A SAVINGS CLAUSE, REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES, AND
DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I. That the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Denton, Texas, is hereby amended by adding new Part VI,
Articles 17 28 through 17 37 in Chapter Seventeen of said Code
which shall hereafter read as follows
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Part VI - Underground Utilities
Article 17 28 - Inspector
(a) Requirements and Appointment There is hereby created
the office of Electrical Inspector of Underground Utilities of
the Clty of Denton wathln whach may be Assastant Electrical
Inspectors
1 ) Requirements The Inspector and has assastants shall
be competant persons of good moral character, each shall
have adequate experaence an the electracal field, with
emphasls on underground hagh and low tensaon lnstallataons,
each shall have adequate knowledge of current and approved
methods and practices relatang to electracal znstallataons,
splaclng and terminations of cables, and be currently up to
date on the latest edatlons of the National Electric Code
2 ) Appoantment The Inspector of Underground ut~lat~es
shall be a member of the Utllztaes Department
(b) Dutaes of the Electracal Inspector The Inspector
shall anspect all installations, alterataons and repaars of
electrical work an consumer ~nstallatlons as hereinafter set
out He shall be allowed twenty-four (24) hours, Saturdays,
Sundays, and Holidays recognazed by the Caty of Denton exclude~,
to make such inspection For an approved anstallataon, he shall
attach a green tag or card, for a dasapproved installation, he
shall attach a red tag or card and immediately notafy the Master
Elec%rlcaan (Electrical Contractor) performang work on saad
premalses, an writing and by telephone, spec~fyang the exact
defacaency exastang and shall allow a reasonable t~me~ as deter-
maned by the Inspector, to correct sa~d deflcaency It shall be
a violation of this Ordinance to remove, deface, damage or
mutilate any tag or card which the Inspector has attached to
an installation If this corrective action is not begun Immed-
iately or the deficiency is not corrected within the prescribed
time, the Inspector shall notify the owner or his agent by letter
and copy of previous notice to the Electrical Contractor and
shall, ~f he believes public welfare endangered, in writing
order the electrical supply to the premises discontinued When
in the performance of his duties and as may be necessary for
the performance of h~s duties, the Inspector shall have the
right to enter any consumer's premises at all reasonable hours
for the purpose of making tests or ~nspectlons of the electrical
wiring, appliances, or apparatus contained herein When on
duty, the Inspector shall have adequate identification with
photograph, furnished by the City of Denton, to indicate his
position The Inspector shall keep, or cause to be kept, a
written record of all permits, l~censes and inspections which
are required under this Ordinance He also shall keep a written
record of all condemnations and disconnects of electrical in-
stallations resulting from condemnations The Inspector shall
stop the installation, alteration, operations, or repair of
any electrlcalwork on or in any consumer's premises, when in
the Inspector's opinion, the work is being done in a reckless,
careless, or unsafe manner or in a manner which violates the
provisions of th~s Ordinance
Upon determining that particular work should stop, the
Inspector shall pust a notice to that effect on the consumer's
premises and notify permit holder in writing and by telephone
Thereafter no person shall proceed w~th the installation until
the Inspector has cancelled the stop-work notice in writing
and by telephone
The Inspectors shall not have any monetary interests ~n
any Electrical Contracting company nor shall they do any
electrical work for any private party or any company at any
t~me while he is in the employment of the City of Denton
(c) Llablllty The Inspectors shall not be liable for damage
arising by reason of duties performed under the provisions of
th~s Ordinance
(d) Authority The Inspectors shall be endowed with all the
police powers necessary for the proper enforcement of this
Ordinance and shall be responsible for its strict enforcement
The Inspectors shall not deviate from the minimum standards or
rules and regulations contained herein
Article 17 29 - General Requirements
(a) National Electric Code In the installation and
maintenance of electrical wiring systems and apparatus, the
current edition of the National Electrical Code shall be the
minimum requirements permitted within the scope of this Ordinance,
and shall rule where the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Denton is s~lent
(b) Underwr~tmrs Laboratories, Inc Ail mater~al and
apparatus used ~n electrical ~nstallat~ons shall have the
approval of the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc and bear the
underwriters label
(c) Scope The scope of th~s ordinance ~s to cover the
electrical ~nstallat~on from the point of attachment at the
entrance of the h~gh tension cable from the Municipal Fac~l~tles
through fusing, switching, transformation and cable servlce
through, to, and ~nclud~ng the ma~n entrance sw~tch attached
to the consuming unit
Article 17 30 - Installations
(a) No company, lnd~v~dual, f~rm or co~poratlon, shall
permit p~eces of w~re to be left on the surface of buildings,
· n streets, alleys, or roadways, or dead ends to dangle from
poles or buildings or ~n any manner leave old or new wire ~n a
condition that ls dangerous to l~fe or property
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to ~nterfere in
any manner w~th any electric w~r~ng being ~nstalled on any
premise or an any bulld~ng durlng construction
In inspecting the electrlcal w~r~ng of any building or
premlse, the Inspector shall leave a tag or not~ce attached to
service entrance sw~tch Th~s not~ce shall state clearly
whethgr the w~r~ng is approved or ~s to be kept open for further
~nspect~on and no person shall conceal any w~rlng until they have
been ~nformed that such w~r~ng has been approved by the Inspector
The general contractor or owner shall be held responsible for
any v~olat~on of th~s Sectlon and shall be subject to the pen-
alt~es provided here~n
Article 17 31 - H~gh Voltage Installations
(a) H~gh voltage ~nstallat~ons for underground servlces
in subdlv~s~ons shall consist of a dual feeder servlce capable
of being energized from e~ther end and capable of being sect~on-
al~zed and ~nsulated at each transformer location
(b) The ma~n d~str~but~on point of each end of the dual
feeder shall be protected hy l~ne class arresters, fused d~scon-
nects, and approved pothead cable terminations
(c) The cable or cables shall have a metal condu~t protec-
tion at all points where mechanical damage Ks l~kely to occur
The cable or cables shall be protected underground in a con-
t~nous P V.C condu~t system of adequate s~ze connecting the
metal condu~t system and terminating ~n the h~gh voltage cable
chamber of the pad mounted transformer
(d) Ail condu~t systems shall be buraed at a m~namum
depth of forth-two (42) anches below fanashed grade After
excavation the first slx (6) anches of refall earth shall be of
selected materaal free of stones and sharp ob3ects The remaander
of the refill may be of the excavated materaals
(e) Conduit bends shall not be less than ten tames the
daameter of the conduat
(f) Termanataons wlthan the hagh voltage chamber of the
transformer may be either stress cones or an approved cable
termanatlon
(g) Termanataons mmt~eath~ed locataons may be only of
an approved cable termanatlon
(h) All underground hagh voltage conduat shall contaan a
bare soft drawn or medaum hard drawn copper cable of the same
physacal saze of the current carryang cables
(a) Underground hagh voltage cables shall be of the
shaelded and grounded 15 KV approved type and the shaeld and
grounds shall be securely fastened to the ground network system
(3) Sazlng of underground high voltage cables shall be
done by the Caty Electracal Enganeer but an no case shall be
smaller than a % 2 AWG saze
Artacle 17 32 - Low Voltage Installations
(a) Low voltage underground services shall be encased an
P.V C. conduit oraglnatang in the low voltage transformer cable
chamber and termanatang at the resldentaal maan entrance swatch
wathout benefat of underground splices
(b) Service shall consast only of sangle phase, three
wire, 120/240 volt connectaons Resadentaal three phase
service shall not be installed
(c) Low voltage conductors shall consast of a manamum
% 2 AWG size ansulated copper conductor suatable for underground
servace The neutral conductor shall be of equal saze
.(d) Condu~t fall shall not exceed forty (4~) percent
(e) The P.V C conduat shall have a transataon to ragad
steel conduat at ats underground contact poant on the dwellang
and ~ermanatlng an the Meter Enclosure, thence to the Resldentaal
Ma~n ,Switch, to provide suatable mechanacal protectaon The
metal conduit shall be suatably grounded by means of a locknut
and ground bushang
(f) Ail conduat systems shall be buraed at manamum depth
of forty-tWO (42) anches below fanashed grade After excavataon
the farst slx (6) anches of reflll earth shall be of selected
materaal free of stones and sharp objects The remaander of the
refill may be of the excavated materaals
Article 17 33 - Transformer Installation
(a) Ail transformers utilized in underground residential
service shall be of the pad mount type, complete with a high
and low tension cable chamber The high tension chamber shall
contain visible disconnection means, a sectlonallzlng switch
for selection of alternate feeders and a ne-load tap changing
capability The low voltage chamber shall contain bus facilities
for connecting slx (6) 120/240 volt service cables, complete
with metering facilities The transformer spade connections
shall each contain slx (6) lugs with a cable range of % 4 to
% 2/0 AWG
(b) High and low voltage chambers shall be separated by
a metal partition having rigid hinged doors
(c) The transformer shall be placed on a concrete slab
installed after underground cables have been installed The
slab shall pro]eot a minimum slx (6) inches on all sides of the
transformer and shall be slx (6) inches thick Slabs in unstable
soil shall be pinned by four (4) piers ten (10) inches in diameter
and thirty slx (36) inches deep
Article 17 34 - Residential Main Switches
(a) Low voltage underground cable shall be terminated
at the dwelling in the Meter Enclosure and thence in an exterior
service main service switch of not less than 100 ampere capacity
(b) Low voltage service shall be only 120/240 volt, three
wire, single phase connections
(c) Pressure lugs shall be provided on both the main and
load sides of the switches for cable connections Lugs shall
be of a % 4 to % 2/0 AWG Range
(d) Temporary or "saw services" shall be made available
only after installation of the underground system Such services
will be made at a point three (3) feet from any transformer
location The developer and/or contractor shall be responsible
for setting a temporary service metering pole, and for extending
secondaries to his site of work (Drawing of a service metering
pole is on file in the office of the Director of utilities)
Article 17 35 - Underground Street Lighting
(a) Underground service to street lighting standards shall
be encased in P V C. conduit and shall have a minimum % 8 AWG
size The conduit fill shall not exceed 40% and shall consist
of two insulated and one bare conductor of equal size
(b) Control shall be by means of a photo electric cell
for ~ndlvldual lamps and a fused and arrested controller for
multlple groups of lamp standards
(c) Ail condu~t systems shall be bur~ed at a depth of
forty-two anches (42") The f~rst slx (6) znches of refill
earth shall be of selected materials free of stones and sharp
objects The remainder of the refall may be of excavated materials
If the P V C. condu~t as not protected by entrance w~th~n the
lamp standard at shall have a transition to r~gad steel conduat
at ~ts underground contact poant and shall termanate an a Type F
conduat fattang or other suatable approved means at ~ts connec-
tion point ~n order to provade suatable mechanical protection
The metal conduat shall be suitably grounded by means of a
ground bushang
(d) Decorative type laghtang wall not be permatted wlthan
res~dentaal areas Mercury vapor l~ghtlng as a prerogative
reserved exclusavely for the Caty Council's approval and
des~gnataon of locataon
(e) Street Laght~ng standards shall be of the transformer
or anchor base type wath a mounting height of twenty-n~ne feet
and eaght ~nches (29' 8"), the laghtang bracket shall be a
manamum of eaght feet (8' 0") ~n length and capable of support-
ang a seventy-five (75) pomnd maximum lumlnaare weight. Llghtang
standards, brackets and transformer bases shall be of eather
galvanized steel or corrosaon free alumanum Acceptable types
of equipment are Kerragan Model 602K-25-10, Hapco Catalog
9 1T32A30W10, Unaon Metal Monotuve Catalog ~G-250-D2, or an
evaluated equal
(f) Lumanaare Components shall be of the suburbanaare
type w~th an IES Type III refractor of eather boros~llcate or
an approved optical assembly plastic mater~al Acceptable
types of equipment are Lane Materaal Industries ~L06B6 or
L034B1, for use wath a 300 watt mogul base ~ncandescent multiple
socket or 250 watt mercury vapor f~xture of an approved type
(g) The C~ty of Denton shall share in the ~nstallataon
cost, ~n the amount of sacty dollars ($60 00) per llghtang
standard, anstalled an the ~nataal underground ~nstallataon as
anstalled by the Developer The C~ty of Denton shall share in
the anstallataon cost, an the amount of forty-five dollars
($45 00) per laght~ng standard, anstalled after completion of
the an~taal underground anstallataon as anstalled by the
Developer The required number and locataon of street lights
shall be determaned by the Caty of Denton In the event that
a hlgher level of laghtang ~s required (a e for ~ntersect~ons
or h~gh density traffac areas) the Caty of Denton wall bear the
addat~onal cost ancurred ~n the requared larger f~xture and
ballast over and above the standard 250 Watt Mercury Vapor f~xture
Artacle 17 36 - Procedure
(a) When the developer of an approved subd~v~slon to the
C~ty of Denton desires to explore the poss~bal~ty of prov~dang
Underground Resdaentaal Dastrabutaon of electric power an h~s
development, he shall make formal application to the Director
of utilities of the C~ty of Denton Upon payment of the
application fee of $50 00 accompanied by one sepia plat of the
complete approved sub-d~v~slon and one sepia copy of any sub-
section of the sub-d~v~s~on, which ~t ~s proposed w~ll be
developed f~rst, the Director of utilities w~ll cause to
have made a firm estimate of the cost ~ the C~ty of Denton of
furnishing conventional overhead electric service to the area
platted Th~s estimate w~ll be based on the ultimate load per
residential unlt and for the sub-d~vlslon or sub-section as a
whole, as determined by the D~rector of Utilities Th~s deter-
mlnat~on shall be made after consideration of lot size and cost.
deed restrictions as to resldent~al unit slze and cost. and
pro3ected electrical load growth for the community as a whole
As soon as th~s estimate of conventional costs ~s complete ~t
shall be made available to the developer
(b) At the t~me the developer makes application for URD
he shall be furnished by the D~rector of utilities four cop~es
of the C~ty of Denton's basic plans and speclflcat~ons for
~nstallat~on of Underground Res~dentlal Distribution. along
w~th four statements of P~l~cy regarding URD
(c) The developer shall be free to obtain proposals for
the ~nstallat~on of URD ~n h~s development from any approved
(by the Director of utilities) electrlcal contractors, and
w~ll furnish each such b~dder a copy of the URD Specifications
and policy statements, plus whatever number of cop~es of the
plat the bidder may require, as soon as he has made formal
appll¢at~on to the C~ty of Denton
(d) When all proposals by contractors have been received.
the Developer shall confer w~th the Director of Utilities before
determining which proposal he dec,res to accept, s~ncy any
proposal for URD installation shall be acceptable to the D~rector
of Utilities before any contract may be let After a contract
has been awarded and actual work has begun the developer shall
be responsible for prosecutlng the work to rapld completion in
accordance w~th all C~ty of Denton specifications and policies
and under the required ~nspect~ons and Municipal supervision
(e) Upon completion of the URD ~nstallat~on. the developer
shall ask for a f~nal ~nspectaon from the Director of utilities.
who shall satasfy h~mself that the ~nstallat~on as an accordance
w~th all utility Department requarements, and ~n accordance w~th
plans and specifications, before presenting to the City Manager
has recommendation that the ~nstallat~on be accepted by the
City of Denton Upon favorable action by the C~ty Council on
the ~rector's recommendation, the C~ty Manager shall notify the
D~re~tor of F~nance to make payment to the Developer of that
port,on of h~s costs which would have been expended had the
C~ty of Denton ~nstalled electric service ~n the conventional
overhead manner
Article 17 37 - Penalty
Any person, assoclataon of persons, farm or corporataon
vaolat~ng any provas~on of Part VI of this Chapter for which
a penalty ~s not otherwise provaded shall be faned upon con-
vaet~on not less than Twenty-f~ve Dollars ($25 00) nor more than
Two Hundred Dollars ($200 00), and each day any such v~olat~on
contanues shall oonstatute a separate offense
SECTION II That all ordanances or parts of or~anances in
force when the provisions of thas ordanance become effective
which are ~nconsastent or ~n ccafl~ct w~th the terms or provis-
ions contaaned ~n th~s ordinance are hereby repealed to the
extent of any such conflict
SECTION III. That af any sectlon, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause, phrase or word ~n th~s Ordinance, or application
thereof to any person or carcumstances as held invalid by any
court of oompetent jurisdiction, such holdang shall not affect
the valldlty of the remaanang portaons of thls Ordanance, and
the C~ty Council of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, hereby declares
at would have enacted such remaanang portions despate any
such ~nvaladlty
SECTION IV That th~s Ordinance shall become effective
fourteen (14) days from the date of ars passage, and the Caty
Secretary as hereby darected to cause the captaon of thls
Ordinance to be publlshed twice an the Denton Record Chronicle
wathln ten (10) days of the date of ~ts passage
PASSED AND APPROVED th~s ~day of ~~---, A D 1964
Warren Wh~tson, Jr , Mayor
Caty of Denton, Texas
ATTEST ~
B oo~/ks~ty Seer eta ry
Caty of Denton, Texas
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
}y Q Barton, C~ty Attorney
of Denton, Texas