A decision made in 1999 led to a fiber to the home system for Brentwood, California in 2015. Or at least the beginnings of one. Sonic.net is building an FTTH network using conduit installed by developers and deeded over to the City as they built new homes over the past 16 years, the result of an advanced technology systems ordinance that the Brentwood City Council added to its land development code in 1999…
The developer shall design, install, test, and dedicate to the City two advanced technology system conduits, size to be determined, within the public right of way. The developer shall install, in one of the conduits, a fiber optic system designed to serve the subject development for use by the City of Brentwood or one of its licensed franchisee…The second conduit shall remain empty and shall be reserved to serve the subject development for the use of a City licensed franchisee not wishing to utilize the City’s fiber optic system. Both conduits shall be installed to each lot line…
The developer shall design, install, test, and dedicate to the property owner two advanced technology system conduits, size to be determined, to connect the public advanced technology system to the individual home or building. The developer shall install, in one of the conduits, a fiber optic system designed to serve the subject property.
That was back when Brentwood was a sleepy little town surrounded by east Contra Costa County farmland. It boomed over the next few years, and with it came new, fiber ready homes.
I’ve posted the original ordinance, along with the accompanying staff report and council resolution from 9 February 1999, the enacting resolution approved two weeks later, a follow up report from next year, and the most current version of the City’s engineering procedures manual, which contains the referenced specifications. It’s very good work and far thinking: it’s as fresh and original today as it was in 1999.
Much thanks goes to Margaret Wimberly, Brentwood’s City Clerk, who dug the documents out of the archives. Sixteen years is too far back for the City’s online system, so she had to do some old fashioned leg work to find them. It’s an under-appreciated skill these days.
Both pdf and doc versions are now up on the Municipal Broadband Policy Bank page, except for the engineering manual, which is pdf only. I did the Word conversion from the pdf originals, any errors are strictly my own.