RFP: Public Right of Way Cost and Fee Analysis

Location:	New York
Posted:	Feb 13, 2025
Due:	Apr 11, 2025
Agency:	City of Rochester
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	B - Special Studies and Analyses - Not R&D
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

The City of Rochester is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to provide an analysis of the costs related to the maintenance and management of the City of Rochester public right-of-way (“PROW”).

Click here to download the RFP document

Attachment A: Telecommunications Code of the City of Rochester (“Code”), Chapter 106

Attachment B: Rules and Regulations for Work in the Right-of-Way

Attachment C: Permit Fees for work within the City Public Right-of-Way

Attachment D: PSA Template

RFP Schedule and Delivery Information

Date of Advertisement	February 13, 2025
Deadline for Questions	12:00 PM March 7, 2025
Proposals Due	12:00 PM April 11, 2025

Questions, requests for clarification, proposal submissions, and status requests must be submitted via email to Louie Tobias.

Louie J. Tobias
City of Rochester
Office of the Commissioner DES
Director of Telecommunications and Special Projects
Louie.Tobias@CityofRochester.gov

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City of Rochester

Request for Proposals

Public Right of Way (PROW) Cost and Fee Analysis

Proposals to be received by 12:00 PM

(April 11, 2025)

Submit Proposals To:

City of Rochester

Department of Environmental Services: Office of the Commissioner

Room 300B

30 Church Street

Rochester, NY 14614

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

The City of Rochester is seeking proposals (“Proposals”) from qualified Consultants (“Consultant(s)”) to

provide an analysis of the costs related to the maintenance and management of the City of Rochester

public right-of-way (“PROW”) the (“Project”).

BACKGROUND

The City of Rochester New York is a mid-sized city of approximately 210,000 located on the southern

shore of Lake Ontario in western New York. With a substantial presence of telecommunications facilities

in its right-of-way, it was the City’s longtime plan to adopt a telecommunications code to regulate those

facilities. The process was accelerated after a sudden influx of small cell antenna applications in 2015

and 2016. In February 2019 the City Council of the City of Rochester adopted a new Telecommunications

Code, Chapter 106 of the Code of the City of Rochester (“Telecom Code”) (Attachment A). The goal of

the Telecom Code is to: 1) establish standardized procedures and requirements for telecommunications

facilities installation to expedite approvals, ensure the safety of the right-of-way and protect against

negative aesthetic impacts, (2) obtain reasonable compensation for use of the right-of-way, (3)

encourage telecommunications infrastructure deployment and (4) ensure compliance with federal

telecommunications laws and regulations.

Shortly before the Code’s adoption, in September 2018, the FCC adopted its Declaratory Ruling, Third

Report and Order, Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment by removing Barriers to Infrastructure

Investment, known as the “Barriers Order”. Although the Telecom Code was in final form when the

“Barriers Order” was issued, the City delayed adoption for several months and made a number of

changes to the Code in an effort to make it more consistent with the “Barriers Order”.

Subsequent to adoption of the Telecom Code, and pursuant to its terms, a number of

telecommunications providers entered into Master License Agreements with the City which authorized

the providers to install their telecommunications facilities in the PROW, established procedures and

requirements regarding installation, maintenance and removal of those facilities in order to protect the

PROW and established fees for the use of the PROW by those providers.

Approximately six months after adoption of the Telecom Code, a lawsuit was brought against the City

alleging that the Telecom Code violated sections 253 and 332 of the Federal Telecommunications Act of

1934, as interpreted by the FCC in the “Barriers Order”, as the fees imposed by Article IV, the Fees and

Compensation section of the Telecom Code are not a reasonable approximation of the objectively

reasonable costs of maintaining the PROW. In July 2024, the Court rendered a decision finding that the

City had not established that its fees were a reasonable approximation of objectively reasonable costs

related to telecommunications facilities in the right of way that held that the City’s fees as established in

the Telecom Code are invalid and enjoined the City from imposing the fees.

There are over 500 centerline miles of PROW within the City of Rochester, which includes street

pavement, curbing, sidewalks and other public spaces. Residents, businesses and visitors depend on this

right-of-way for safe and efficient travel throughout the City. The City also owns more than 28,000

street poles in the PROW, used for street lighting and other purposes, some of which have been used by

telecommunications providers for the installation of small cell antennas. The City is responsible for the

ongoing maintenance and management of this right-of-way and the facilities located in the PROW. This

maintenance and management responsibility includes regular inspections and follow-up enforcement to

identify pavement and other deficiencies resulting from utility work in the PROW

The PROW not only allows the movement of people throughout the city, but also acts as a corridor for

utilities and services. Public and private utility and telecommunications facilities are installed throughout

these corridors below the surface, at grade, and overhead. The existence of so many facilities requires

constant coordination and oversight by the City to ensure that the facilities are maintained properly and

that they do not interfere with or cause damage to each other or to City infrastructure and projects. In

order to offset the costs of such coordination and oversight, the City imposed the telecommunications

fees that have now been held invalid. Although the City may charge a minimal fee for small cell

antennas attached to City poles in the amount of $270, the “presumptively reasonable safe haven”

amount authorized by the FCC in the “Barriers Order”, the FCC has not established any safe haven

amount that can be charged for underground conduit or aerial facilities in the PROW.

The City seeks to establish a revised fee schedule for Article IV of the Telecom Code for small cell

antenna pole attachments and all other telecommunications facilities in the PROW, that are a

reasonable approximation of the objectively reasonable costs of maintaining the PROW, in accordance

with best practices for establishing government fees and charges. The revised fee schedule must

specifically address whether an amount higher than $270 can be charged for small cell antenna pole

attachments and what amount can be charged for other telecommunications facilities in the PROW. The

Project’s goal is to undertake a review of all PROW costs in terms of staff hours, materials, equipment,

services and impacts to infrastructure, and to provide clear and transparent guidance for the City to

adopt a new PROW fee structure that is in compliance with federal law, specifically the Barriers Order.

In addition, the City seeks a comprehensive review of its other PROW permit fees, to ensure that these

fees are commensurate with the City’s costs of maintaining its PROW and are in accordance with best

practices for establishing government fees and charges. Work within the PROW is under the jurisdiction

of the City Engineer and is primarily governed by Chapter 104, Streets and Street Encroachments, of the

City Code (“Chapter 104”). The City Engineer has the authority to issue permits, regulate certain PROW

activities, and establish policies and standards for all work in the PROW, all which are found in the

“Rules and Regulations for Work in the Right-of-Way” (Attachment B). The stated purpose of these

Rules and Regulations is to: protect and preserve the PROW, one of the City’s most valuable assets,

protect the health and safety of drivers, pedestrians, citizens and visitors using the PROW, ensure that

permittees minimize disruptions to the public, businesses, and the City, and ensure that permittees

properly and sufficiently restore the work area of their project once the work is complete.

The requirements for permit fees are established in Chapter 104, and the current permit fees are set

forth in the document entitled “Permit Fees for Work within the City Public Right-of-Way”, dated

4/4/2019 (Attachment C). Additional fees, costs and requirements are described in Chapter 104.

TIMELINE

Activity

RFP Release

Deadline for Questions

Response for Questions Submitted

Proposals Due

Consultant Selection and Award

Notification

City Council Approval of Agreement

with Consultant

Agreement Start Date

Time

4:00 PM

12:00 PM

5:00 PM

12:00 p.m.

4:00 PM

7:00 PM

9:00 AM

Date

February 13, 2025

March 7, 2025

March 21, 2025

April 11, 2025

May 15 , 2025

June 17, 2025

July 19, 2025

The dates shown above may be subject to change within the City of Rochester’s sole discretion and

upon written notification as set forth herein.

COMMUNICATIONS

All communications by parties who have indicated an intent to submit or have submitted a Proposal in

response to this RFP (“Respondents”), including any questions or requests for clarifications, submission of

the Proposal, requests for status updates about the Proposal selection process and any other inquiries

whatsoever concerning this RFP shall be sent, by email only, to the following City staff person (“City

Contact”):

Louie J. Tobias

City of Rochester

Office of the Commissioner DES

Director of Telecommunications and Special Projects

Louie.Tobias@CityofRochester.gov

No contact is permitted with any other City staff member with regard to this RFP during the RFP process

unless specifically authorized in writing. Prohibited contact may be grounds for disqualification.

To ensure that all Respondents have a clear understanding of the scope and requirements of this RFP, the

City will respond to all timely questions submitted via e-mail to the City Contact by the question deadline

stated above. Questions and the responding answers will be sent via e-mail to all Respondents who have

provided an e-mail address to the City Contact and will be posted on the City’s web page for this RFP. The

City’s failure to timely respond or provide responses to any questions shall not delay or invalidate the

City’s right to make a decision to award an agreement pursuant to this RFP.

The City will make every reasonable effort to keep Respondents informed about the RFP process.

Notifications about Timeline date changes, amendments to the RFP and other information about the

RFP will be sent by e-mail to Respondents who have provided an e-mail address to the City Contact and

will be posted on the City’s website for this RFP. The City’s failure to provide such information shall not

delay or invalidate the City’s right to make a decision to award an agreement pursuant to this RFP.

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

In order to provide the City with an opportunity to discuss the RFP and Respondents with an opportunity

to ask questions and clarify the RFP, a pre-proposal conference may be held on a date and time

determined by the City. There is no requirement to attend the pre-proposal conference and no

obligation by the City to provide information from the conference to parties who fail to attend.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The City is seeking the services of a Consultant to perform a comprehensive cost study of all city costs

related to the maintenance and management of the City of Rochester public right-of-way and to

recommend a new fee structure for Article IV of the Telecom Code that is in compliance with federal

law, specifically the Barriers Order, and a revised permit fee structure for all other facilities in the PROW

that fairly represents the City’s costs in maintaining the PROW and the issuance of permits relating to

accessing it. Respondents shall develop their approach and propose a detailed scope of work that lays

out their recommended tasks, along with data, methods, timeline, costs and deliverables associated

with each identified task. Respondents shall identify the information and other actions required from

the City to ensure that the Project is completed timely, efficiently and at the lowest cost to the City. The

Proposal shall address each of the requested services, using the same identifying language, including any

paragraph or section numbers or letters as used in the RFP. The Proposal shall provide the requested

information or describe how the requested services will be provided:

1. Describe Respondent’s understanding of the Project and Respondent’s proposed process and

approach for undertaking the Project. Explain in detail how Respondent proposes to learn about

City personnel and operations with responsibilities, direct or indirect, related to the management

and maintenance of the PROW.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

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RFP: Public Right of Way Cost and Fee Analysis

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See also