Chapter 12.12 EXCAVATIONS, FILLS AND OBSTRUCTIONS

The provisions of this chapter apply only to permits for the making of encroachments, including excavations, fills or obstructions, for the purpose of installing utilities including, but not limited to: sanitary sewer, storm drainage, domestic and irrigation water, oil and natural gas, electrical power, telephone, and television signals: both main and lateral lines. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.301)

12.12.020 Permit – Required.

No person or the contractor of any person excepting the contractor of this City for highway construction, improvement or repair, shall make or cause to be made any encroachment including an excavation, fill or obstruction in, over, along, or across or through any highway without first obtaining from the Director of Public Services a permit to do so. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.302)

12.12.030 Permit – Application.

Application for a permit required by this chapter shall be made in accordance with Chapter 12.04 PMC. The application shall specify in detail:

A. The location, dimensions, purpose, extent and nature of the excavation, fill or obstruction;

B. The time during which it is estimated that such excavation or obstruction will exist. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.303)

12.12.040 Applicant responsible for removing obstructions.

Every application shall contain a statement, signed by the applicant, that as to any encroachment not placed in a right-of-way belonging to the applicant which is prior in time and/or right-of-way to the City’s right-of-way, if any tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel, pole, anchor, or overhead line placed in the excavation or obstruction for which a permit is issued interferes with the subsequent improvement, grading or realignment of the highway by the City then the applicant and his successors or assigns will at his own expense remove such tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel, pole, anchor, or overhead line, or relocate at a location designated by the Director of Public Services. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.304)

12.12.050 Proof of right to use highways.

The Director of Public Services may require each applicant for a permit to file with him proof of the applicant’s right to use a highway for the purposes set forth in the application. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.305)

12.12.060 Location changes required by Director of Public Services.

The Director of Public Services may require such changes in the location of the proposed excavations, fills or obstructions as may be necessary to prevent undue interference with the use of the highway for other lawful purposes provided the changes required will not unreasonably interfere with the applicant’s rights of such use. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.306)

12.12.070 Permit fee.

Every person, unless exempted by law, applying for a permit required by this chapter shall at the time of making application for the permit pay an issuance fee in an amount that shall be established by City Council resolution from time to time. (Ord. 683 § 47, 2008; Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.307)

12.12.080 Permits subject to use of highways by others.

Every permit for an excavation in or under the surface of any highway shall be granted subject to the right of the City or of any other person entitled thereto, to use that part of such highway for any purpose for which such highway may lawfully be used. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.308)

12.12.090 Permits nontransferable.

Permits issued under this chapter are nontransferable. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.309)

12.12.100 Commencement of work – Cancellation of permits.

The Director of Public Services may cancel a permit unless the work therein permitted is commenced within 60 days of the issuance thereof and thereafter, in the opinion of the Director of Public Services, is diligently prosecuted to completion. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.310)

12.12.110 Advance permit not required of certain parties.

No permit shall be required in advance of performing work of the persons, firms or agencies listed in PMC 12.04.160 or of any public utility company subject to regulation by the Public Utilities Commission of the State or of any distributor of public water supply for excavations required for service connections to existing pipelines or conduits maintained in highways or for excavations reasonably necessary for the location of trouble in such pipelines or conduits or the making of necessary repairs but not replacements thereto. In such event, however, a report of the excavation in such form as may be required by the Director of Public Services shall be filed with the Director of Public Services within five days after the excavation is made and all provisions of this title for the protection of the public and governing repairs to the highway shall apply to the same extent as where applications and permits are required. There shall be paid with each such report the same fees and deposits as would otherwise be required for a permit. In all other cases each applicant for an excavation permit shall file with the Director of Public Services as a condition to the granting of the permit, such plats, maps and descriptions of the work to be done as may be reasonably required by the Director of Public Services for the purpose of maintaining full and complete records of the structures within the highways, and for establishing responsibility for the protection of the public and repairing the property damaged. The advance exemption from obtaining a permit granted by this section shall not apply to the contractor of the persons, firms or agencies so exempted. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.311)

12.12.120 Poles and overhead lines – Exemptions from permit requirements.

Any person who is subject to the rules and regulations of the Public Utilities Commission of the State shall not be required to obtain a permit to install, maintain, replace, repair or relocate any telephone or electric pole, anchor, or overhead lines; provided, however, that any person exempted by this section from obtaining a permit shall be deemed to be a “permittee” under a blanket permit while performing any work referred to in this section and shall comply with all regulations and requirements of this title imposed on a permittee or otherwise imposed on such person; and, provided further, that no such person shall be deemed exempted by this section unless such person has on file with the Director of Public Services a signed and unrevoked statement of the sort required by PMC 12.04.040 and of the sort required by PMC 12.12.040. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.312)

12.12.130 Emergency excavations.

Nothing in this chapter prohibits any person from maintaining by virtue of any law, ordinance or permit, any pipe or conduit in any highway, or from making such excavation as may be necessary for the preservation of life or property when such necessity arises during such hours as the offices of the City are closed, if the person making such excavation obtains a permit therefor within one day after the offices of the Director of Public Services are first opened subsequent to the making of such excavation. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.313)

12.12.140 Special deposit – Exemptions.

A. Except as provided in this section, each applicant for a permit in addition to payment of the issuance fee shall deposit with the Director of Public Services a sum of money in no event less than $10.00, which is twice the estimated cost to the nearest $5.00 of repairing the surface of the highway which may be damaged or destroyed by the proposed excavation or obstruction. The cost shall be estimated by multiplying the number of square feet of surface which may be damaged as shown by the application and plat, and the number of inches of thickness, plus one inch, by such sum as the City Council by order determines to most adequately represent the actual cost. Such order shall in no event specify the sum greater than $0.25. The City Council may change and revise such order from time to time. In the absence of any such order the amount shall be $0.10. In all cases the cost shall be presumed to be not less than $1.00.

B. An exemption from the provisions of this section shall be granted to an applicant for a permit in the case of a contract secured by a faithful performance bond, which contract is awarded by this City; provided, however, the applicant shall furnish a written certification by the Director of Public Services of the satisfactory restoration of the highway as a condition precedent to the acceptance of the work under such contract by this City or such a sanitation district.

C. Where the deposit as calculated above in this section will exceed $3,000, an exemption from the provisions of this section shall be granted for the excess above $3,000 to an applicant for a permit in the case of a contract secured by a public agency which is exempt from payment of fees or deposits as provided by PMC 12.04.060 or by a public utility company authorized to occupy a City roadway under terms of a franchise granted by the City or under the terms of a franchise issued by the State; provided, however, that the public agency or public utility company for whom the work is to be performed shall submit to the Director of Public Services a written guarantee of restoration of the highway to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Services and a guarantee of payment of all costs for which the agency or the company or their contractor may become liable to the City; and, provided further, that the public agency or public utility company for whom the work is to be performed shall submit to the Director of Public Services evidence satisfactory to the Director of Public Services that the applicant shall be required to furnish a written certification by the Director of Public Services of the satisfactory restoration of the highway as a condition precedent to the acceptance of the work by the public agency or public utility company. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.314)

12.12.150 General deposit in lieu of special deposit.

In lieu of making the special deposit required by PMC 12.12.140, the applicant may make and maintain with the Director of Public Works a general deposit in an amount estimated by the Director of Public Works to be sufficient to pay for the cost of permit issuance fees and expected repairs occasioned by future excavations or obstructions. The general deposit shall be established by City Council resolution from time to time and shall be held and used for the same purposes as said special deposit. While a general deposit is maintained in an amount sufficient to cover the amount of deposit required for the making of any excavation or obstruction sought to be made, the applicant need not make any special deposit. (Ord. 683 § 48, 2008; Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.315)

12.12.160 Additional deposit.

If, in the opinion of the Director of Public Services, any special or general deposit is not sufficient for the proper protection of the public interest in the highways in which it is proposed to excavate or on which it is proposed to place obstructions, the Director of Public Services may require an additional deposit in such amount as he determines will be sufficient to protect such public interest. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.316)

12.12.170 Deductions from deposit.

The City shall deduct from any deposit made or maintained by the permittee:

A. The permit issuance fee if that has not otherwise been paid;

B. The cost to the City of refilling any excavation or removing any obstruction;

C. The cost to the City, calculated pursuant to PMC 12.12.140, of resurfacing the highway;

D. The cost of any inspection by the Director of Public Services. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.317)

12.12.180 Refund or deficiency payment.

After making the required deductions, the City shall refund to the applicant any amount still remaining in the special deposit in the manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust moneys. If any deposit made is less than sufficient to pay all fees and costs to be deducted, the permittee shall, upon demand, pay to the Director of Public Services an amount equal to the deficiency. If the permittee fails or refuses to pay such deficiency upon demand, the City may recover the same by action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Until such deficiency is paid in full a permit shall not be issued to such permittee. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.318)

12.12.190 Billing in lieu of deductions.

If a person makes and maintains with the Director of Public Services a general deposit the deductions provided for in this chapter need not be made. In lieu of such deductions, the Director of Public Services may bill such person for the amount owed by him to the City under the provisions of this chapter. If such amount is not paid within 15 days of the transmission of such bill, the Director of Public Services may deduct such amount from the general deposit, and PMC 12.12.170 and 12.12.180 shall apply. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.319)

12.12.200 Work must conform to permit.

Every permittee who makes or causes to be made any excavation, or constructs, puts upon, maintains, or leaves any obstruction or impediment to travel, or piles or places any material in or upon any highway, or installs or maintains or causes to be installed or maintained any tank, pipe, conduit, duct, or tunnel in or upon, or under the surface of any highway, at any location other than that described in the application, as amended, if amended, by the Director of Public Services, and shown in the plat filed with such application, or in any way contrary to the terms of the permit, is guilty of an infraction. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.320)

12.12.210 Protective measures required.

In any permit issued by him the Director of Public Services may specify what lights, barriers, warning signs or other measures designed to protect the traveling public must be erected by the permittee. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.321)

12.12.220 Warning lights.

A. If the permit does not specify what lights, barriers, warning signs or other measures must be erected by the permittee, the permittee shall place and maintain warning lights at each end of such excavation or obstruction and at distances of not more than 50 feet along such excavation or obstruction from sunset of each day to sunrise of the next day, until such excavation is entirely refilled and resurfaced or such obstruction is removed and every said person shall place and maintain barriers not less than three feet high at each end of any such excavation or obstruction at all times until such excavation is entirely refilled or such obstruction is removed.

B. The upper portion of each of these barriers shall consist of a substantial sign approximately one foot high and four feet wide and on each side thereof bearing a sign complying with one of the following requirements:

1. In letters not less than three inches and neither yellow nor black, bearing the name of the permittee, on a background of alternate three-inch black and yellow stripes; the stripes shall be at an angle between 45 and 60 degrees from the horizontal;

2. In letters not less than six inches high, bearing the word “excavation”;

3. In conformity with the regulations adopted by the State Division of Highways pursuant to Section 465.7 of the Vehicle Code. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.322)

12.12.230 Refilling excavations required.

Immediately upon completion of the work necessitating the excavation or obstruction permitted by any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, the permittee shall promptly and in a workmanlike manner refill the excavation or remove the obstruction. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.323)

12.12.240 Restoration of highway.

A permittee shall refill any excavation in the manner which the Director of Public Services determines is most effective to accomplish thorough consolidation and enable the highway to be restored to a condition equivalent to that in which it was prior to the excavation. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.324)

12.12.250 Restoration by Director of Public Services.

If any permittee fails or refuses to refill any excavation which he has made, or remove any obstruction which he has placed in any highway, the Director of Public Services may so do and charge the cost thereof to the permittee. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.325)

12.12.260 Notification of completed refilling.

Upon completion of the refilling of the excavation the permittee shall so notify the Director of Public Services, in writing, on a form prescribed by the Director of Public Services. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.326)

12.12.270 Resurfacing highway.

Upon completion of the refilling of the excavation, the Director of Public Services, at his option, may require the permittee to resurface that portion of the highway surface damaged by the permittee’s excavation or obstruction, or the Director of Public Services may elect to do such resurfacing himself. Where the pavement or surface has been removed, the permittee shall replace it to a thickness one inch greater than that of the surrounding pavement or surface, and, in no event, to a thickness less than two inches. Where a treated or modified subgrade or surface has been removed or destroyed, the permittee shall replace it to a thickness of not less than that of the surrounding or adjacent subgrade or surface, unless the Director of Public Services orders that the repair of such treated or modified subgrade or surface shall be made by an oil and rock mixture, in which case the thickness shall not be less than one-half the thickness of the treated or modified surface or subgrade. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.327)

12.12.280 Charge for resurfacing.

If, after the refilling of an excavation the permittee fails or refuses to resurface that portion of the surface of the highway damaged by him, or if the Director of Public Services elects to do such resurfacing, the Director of Public Services may do such resurfacing. The cost of such resurfacing shall be charged against the permittee, except in those instances where the permittee’s excavation is within an area of pavement to be immediately reconstructed by the City, and the resurfacing of the excavation is an integral part of the general City improvement. The cost shall be computed as provided in PMC 12.12.140. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.328)

12.12.290 Charge for subsequent repairs.

If at any time subsequent to the first repair of a surface of a highway damaged or destroyed by any excavation or obstruction in such highway, it becomes necessary again to repair such surface due to settlement or any other cause directly attributable to such excavation or obstruction, the permittee shall pay to the Director of Public Services the cost of such additional repairs. If the permittee fails or refuses to pay such additional costs upon demand, the City may recover such additional costs by an action against such permittee in any court of competent jurisdiction. Until such costs are paid the Director of Public Services shall not issue any permits to such permittee. (Ord. 29 § 1, 1981; CC § 71.329)