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Arvada delays Forged Fiber master license, approves small encroachment trellis permit
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Summary
Council continued consideration of a master license agreement with Forged Fiber 37 LLC until April 21 to allow more research on Dig-Once policy and right-of-way stewardship; the council approved a separate consent resolution for a revocable encroachment to install a trellis on West 67th Avenue.
The Arvada City Council on Feb. 17 voted to continue consideration of a proposed master license agreement with Forged Fiber 37 LLC, giving staff roughly 60 days to research Dig-Once alignment and neighboring cities’ franchise approaches.
Claudia Fawn, the city engineer, summarized the master license agreement: "This license agreement will allow utility access to the public right of way and establish the specific terms and conditions for forged fiber's deployment," she said, adding staff recommends council approval but that further policy work could improve alignment with Arvada’s Dig-Once practices.
Councilmember Pfeiffer moved to continue the item at least 60 days so staff could examine franchise terms, Dig-Once coordination and how the city can steward its right-of-way as an asset. The motion to continue to the April 21 business meeting passed 5-0.
Separately, the council approved by consent resolution (R26-010) a revocable encroachment license allowing a trellis in the West 67th Avenue right-of-way for a private property owner (Gurmurthy Ravashankar); that consent item also passed 5-0.
Why it matters: The master license would permit a private provider to deploy competitive fiber in the public right-of-way. Council asked staff to return with recommended policy language that better aligns franchise practice, Dig-Once guidelines and protections for the city’s public-asset interests before authorizing a long-term agreement.
Next steps: Staff will research Dig-Once alignment, franchise terms used by peer cities and the parcel ownership questions raised by council and will return to the council at or before the April 21 business meeting with findings and recommendations.
Ending: The Forged Fiber item remains on the council’s future agenda; the encroachment license was approved and staff will record and implement the trellis permit.
