New Hope Telephone Co. v. City of Concordia

Citations

• 81 Kan. 514
• 106 P. 35
• 1910 Kan. LEXIS 383

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Telephone Companies — Use of Streets and Highways — Regulation by Cities. Under existing statutes the right to build a telephone line in and over streets and highways is directly granted by the state, and the mayor and council of a city are powerless to prevent such use. The council has the authority to provide by ordinance reasonable rules regulating the use of the streets and alleys for that purpose by defining where and in what manner a telephone company shall erect and maintain its fixtures. »</p> <p>2. - Request for Ordinance Prescribing Regulations■ — ■ Rights of Company in Case of Refusal. It is the duty of a telephone company contemplating the exercise of the right granted by the state to ask the mayor and council to prescribe reasonable regulations of the exercise of the right before placing any of their poles and structures on the streets and other public grounds of the city; but if the mayor and council refuse to prescribe such regulations upon application the company may build its lines upon the streets and alleys in such a manner as shall not incommode the public in the use of the streets and alleys so occupied, and the city authorities' are not at liberty to treat the structures so erected as a nuisance.</p>