No culinary water service, electric service, sewer service, sewer treatment service, garbage collecting service, yard light service, or other utility service for which payment of a fee to the city is required shall be furnished to any house, tenement, apartment, building, place, premises, or lot, unless an application for such utility service shall be made in writing and signed by the owner of legal record or his duly authorized agent. [Code 2000 § 4-2-1].