FAIRLAWN — At its Aug. 17 regular meeting, Fairlawn City Council approved an addition to the city code that will require any application for a utility work permit in a city right-of-way to include a safety plan.
The application for a permit must now include “a safety plan that addresses to the satisfaction of the director of public service the risks involved in the specific work for which a right-of-way permit is being sought.”
Director of Public Service Ernie Staten said most outside utility companies applying to perform work in a right-of-way already include a safety plan, but it’s something he wanted to see codified, especially in light of an explosion recently in Twinsburg Township apparently caused by work to install fiberoptic cable in a residential area…