ARTICLE IV. EXCAVATIONS
DIVISION 1. GENERALLY
102-156 Opening newly paved streets restricted.
(a) No person shall make or permit or cause to be made any excavation or opening in or under any pavement for any purpose within a period of two years from and after the time of construction of any such paving or resurfacing.
(b) The engineer may, on account of an emergency affecting public health or public safety and public welfare, and which could not have been foreseen, suspend the operation of this two-year rule. In such cases, upon the granting of an excavation permit, such work may be performed within the two-year period. The mere failure or neglect of the applicant or any other person to do or have the work done before the two-year period or the inconvenience, by reason of such failure or neglect, to property along the particular street or in the particular public place described in the application shall not be considered to be an emergency.
(c) The two-year period provided in this section shall begin at the time of the completion and final acceptance by the city of any construction, paving, resurfacing or repaving.
(Code 1985, § 23-10)
102-157 Notice of improvements.
(a) Before any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place shall be paved, resurfaced, repaved, widened or otherwise improved, notice of such improvement shall be furnished to all public service corporations and similar persons concerned.
(b) Prior to any excavation or treatment of existing surfaces by the city, state or their contractor, such corporation or other persons shall lay therein all wires, pipes, poles, cables, conduits and the like which may be deemed necessary or contemplated by the utility during the life of the improvement. On the recommendation of the mayor, the council may, by resolution, set a reasonable time limit prior to which all work on all such wires, pipes, poles, cables, conduits and the like in the street, alley, sidewalk or other public places to be improved must be completed. Any person who, without the written consent of the engineer, continues to do such work after the expiration of the time set shall be subject to the penalties provided in this Code.
(c) Failure of the city to give or receive notice to or from specific persons shall not affect the other provisions of this article and shall not be deemed to create an emergency within the meaning of section 102-156
(Code 1985, § 23-11)
102-158 Barricading and lighting of excavations.
(a) Any person making or causing to be made an excavation or opening in any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place, or within five feet of the line of any street or public place, shall, between sunset and sunrise on every night that the excavation or opening remains open or danger exists therefrom, keep the excavation or opening fenced or barricaded and properly lighted so as to warn all persons of such excavation or opening and all obstructions.
(b) No unauthorized person shall remove or interfere in any way with any lantern or other danger signal or any barriers required under this section.
(Code 1985, § 23-12)
102-159 Enforcement of article.
City police officers, on observing or being informed of the opening of or excavation in any street, may require the person making such opening or excavation to exhibit the permit therefor. If no permit has been given or if the exhibition thereof shall be refused, the officer shall, without delay, enforce the provisions of the article.
(Code 1985, § 23-14)
102-160—102-170 Reserved.
DIVISION 2. PERMIT
102-171 Required; exception for emergency.
(a) Unless acting under a contract with the city, no person, other than a duly authorized city official or city employee in the course of his employment, shall make, cause or permit to be made any excavation or opening in or under the surface or pavement of any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place within the limits of the city without first having obtained and having in force an excavation permit.
(b) In case of an emergency arising out of office hours, at night, Sundays or legal holidays, when an immediate excavation may be necessary for the protection of public or private property, the emergency shall be reported to the police department. The police department shall grant permission to make the necessary excavation upon the express condition that an application be made on or before noon of the next following business day.
(Code 1985, § 23-1)
102-172 Application; contents.
(a) Except as provided in section 102-173, any person desiring to procure a specific excavation permit shall file with the engineer, at least 24 hours before the time proposed to begin excavation work, a written application upon a blank form prepared and provided by the city. The application shall state:
(1) The name and business or residence address of the applicant;
(2) The name of the street, alley, sidewalk or public place in or under which it is desired to make the excavation or opening, and the kind of pavement or sidewalk thereon;
(3) The purpose, size and location, as near as can be determined, of the proposed excavation or opening;
(4) The name, address, lot and subdivision of the person for whose benefit the work is to be done; and
(5) The time during which it is desired such opening is to be permitted.
(b) When required by the city engineer, the application for an excavation permit shall be accompanied by a plat, pencil tracing or sketch showing the location, character and dimensions of the proposed excavation or opening for the installation of new work, or the location and character of the alterations involving the location of pipes, poles, conduits, wires or other conductors.
(Code 1985, § 23-2)
102-173 Public utilities; annual permit; weekly reports.
(a) Any public utility operating in the state under the jurisdiction and control of the state public service commission, upon written application on a form provided by the city, and upon filing an annual bond and the payment of an annual fee, shall be granted a permit under the provisions of this division for the installation, maintenance or repair of any public utility installations in the public street, good for a period of one year from the date thereof.
(b) Every public utility performing any construction work under this division, at the end of each week, or whenever required by the engineer, on a form provided by the city, shall file a written report showing all construction work performed by it within the city during such week under the provisions of the permit.
(c) The annual permit provided for in this section shall not authorize any opening in any concrete, asphalt, brick or other pavement without the specific permission of the engineer in each case.
(Code 1985, § 23-3)
102-174 Certificate of insurance required; coverage; notice of cancellation.
Every person before obtaining a permit under this division shall file a certificate of insurance which shall certify that he is insured against negligence, including his failure to maintain barricades and lights at all street openings made by such applicant. The policy of insurance shall be in an amount of at least $25,000.00. The certificate of insurance shall provide a ten-day cancellation notice to the city before the insurance can be cancelled.
(Code 1985, § 23-4)
102-175 Deposit required; use of funds; surplus; public utilities.
(a) Before an excavation permit shall be issued, the city engineer shall require of the applicant a deposit of such sum of money as shall be deemed by the engineer sufficient to cover and pay all the expenses for furnishing such material, doing the work, making inspection and taking such means as shall be required to properly restore and secure against settlement of the street and sidewalk, pavement, curb, and gutter necessary to be replaced in consequence of making such excavation, opening or disturbance.
(b) The sum of money so collected and deposited shall be paid into the city treasury by the engineer and used solely for the purpose of paying for the repairing and replacing of any such pavement or surface broken into or disturbed for any of the purposes mentioned in this article.
(c) After completion of the work to the satisfaction of the engineer, he shall certify to the director of finance the cost of the work and the amount of any surplus remaining from the amount deposited in such case. Such surplus shall be returned to the proper claimant.
(d) If for any reason the amount of deposit required under this section shall be insufficient to cover the cost of the repair work, or if any damage shall have been done not contemplated in the original estimate that shall have caused increased expenditure, the amounts of such deficiency or damage shall be certified to the director of finance who shall collect the deficiency from the person to whom the permit was issued. No further permits shall be granted to such person or any other person on his behalf until the amount of such deficiency or damage shall have been paid.
(e) Any public utility to which a yearly or specific excavation permit has been issued, in lieu of making the deposit required under this section, may deposit with the engineer a purchase order upon such company in favor of the city, for the payment by such company to the city, when determined, of all costs and expenses provided in this section.
(Code 1985, § 23-5)
102-176 Fees; exceptions.
(a) The city council shall, from time to time, by resolution, determine and establish the amount of the following fees:
(1) A fee for each permit issued under this division; and
(2) An annual fee for a yearly permit issued under this division, which fee shall be payable in advance.
(b) This section shall not apply where inconsistent with the permit fee provisions of the ordinances regulating sewers and drains, plumbing and sidewalks.
(Code 1985, § 23-6)
102-177 Issuance; contents; numbering.
(a) The city engineer, upon the filing of the application and bond and the payment of a permit fee and the required deposit under this division, may, in his discretion, issue an excavation permit. The permit shall state:
(1) The name and address of the applicant;
(2) The location, nature, purpose and extent of the excavation or opening;
(3) The kind or kinds of pavement to be disturbed;
(4) The amount of the deposit paid by the applicant; and
(5) The dates of issuance and expiration of the permit.
(b) All excavation permits shall be consecutively numbered, and shall be made in triplicate, one copy to be given to the applicant, one copy to be delivered to the superintendent of operations and one copy to remain on file in the office of the engineer.
(Code 1985, § 23-7)
102-178 Display of permit.
The excavation permit required under this division shall at all times be in the possession of a competent person actually on the work site. Such permit shall be shown upon demand to a police officer or properly authorized officer or employee of the department of public works and service.
(Code 1985, § 23-8)
102-179 Records.
The city engineer shall prepare and keep a record of excavation permits issued, numbered in the order in which they were issued; name and address of person to whom issued; location, nature, purpose and extent of excavation or opening; time in which street is to be restored; permit fee and amount of deposit paid; and such other items as shall enable anyone to obtain a complete history of each permit from its issuance to its termination. The copies of the permits kept by the engineer, properly bound, may be used as a basis for such record.
(Code 1985, § 23-9)
102-180 Failure to comply with article; costs of repair.
In case any person to whom a permit has been granted shall fail to comply with the terms of this article, the excavation permit shall become null and void, and any and all expense which may be incurred by the city in refilling the excavation or restoring the street or sidewalk to its proper condition shall be borne by the permittee. In case the person to whom a permit is granted shall fail to leave the street or sidewalk in as good condition as it was previous to any work being done under the permit, any and all expense which may be incurred by the city in restoring the street to its proper condition shall be borne by the permittee.
(Code 1985, § 23-13)
102-181—102-190 Reserved.
DIVISION 3. WORK REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURE
102-191 Conformity to division.
All work under a permit issued in accordance with this article shall be under the supervision of the city engineer and in conformity with the requirements of this division.
(Code 1985, § 23-15)
102-192 Time restrictions.
All work shall be started within 48 hours after the receipt of the excavation permit and shall be pursued diligently and continuously until the work is completed. When, in consequence of the weather, any process of law or any other unexpected obstacle, the work shall be stopped for so long a time that public travel shall be unreasonably obstructed, the excavation or opening shall be refilled and repaved as if the work contemplated in the permit were actually completed.
(Code 1985, § 23-16)
102-193 Size of excavation; permission required to enlarge.
In no case shall any person open or remove a greater area of surface or make an opening at any other location than that specified in the original or supplementary application for an excavation permit. At the time of actually doing the work, if it shall be necessary to open or remove a greater area of surface than originally applied for, the applicant shall first notify and procure the consent of the city engineer to do so upon the express condition that he shall and will before noon of the following business day file a supplementary application for the making of an additional excavation.
(Code 1985, § 23-17)
102-194 Obstructing travel; interference with fire apparatus and mail.
(a) All work under an excavation permit shall be performed in such a way as to cause a minimum of inconvenience and restriction to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. No dirt or other materials shall be placed on sidewalks. Not more than one-half of the width of the street shall be opened at one time. The other half of the street shall remain untouched for the accommodation of traffic until the first half is restored for safe use.
(b) All work under an excavation permit shall be prosecuted so as not to interfere with any access to fire houses, fire hydrants and United States mailboxes.
(Code 1985, § 23-18)
102-195 Snow and ice removal.
The permittee under this article must remove within 24 hours all snow and ice that may fall or form upon the street within five feet upon either side of the excavation opening and keep such space free from snow and ice until the opening is properly refilled.
(Code 1985, § 23-19)
102-196 Notification prior to excavating.
The person to whom an excavation permit is granted shall give notice in writing to any entity, private or public, whose pipes, poles, mains or conduits are laid in the street about to be disturbed by such excavation, at least 24 hours before commencing work on the excavation, and, where applicable, shall comply with the notice provisions of state law.
(Code 1985, § 23-20)
State law reference—Required notice provisions, MCL 460.701 et seq., MSA 22.190(1)—(18).
102-197 Protecting pipes during excavation; failure to comply.
(a) Any person possessing an excavation permit shall, at his expense, sustain, secure and protect the pipes, poles, mains or conduits of any other person from injury and replace and pack the earth wherever such earth shall be removed, loosened or disturbed under or around them, so that they shall be well and substantially supported.
(b) If any person shall fail to sustain, secure or protect any pipes, poles, mains or conduits from injury or to replace and pack the earth under or around the pipes, poles, mains or conduits, then such work may be done by the entity to whom the pipes, poles, mains or conduits belong and the cost thereof and all damages sustained by such entity shall be paid by the permittee. In default thereof, such entity may maintain an action against him therefor.
(Code 1985, § 23-21)
102-198 Manner of excavating; bracing; undercuts prohibited.
(a) Paving materials and earth or gravel removed during excavation work must be kept separate. Such materials capable of being reused shall be preserved.
(b) The width of the excavation or opening shall be no greater than is necessary for doing the work.
(c) Sheeting and bracing shall be used when the excavation or opening is five feet or more in depth. At the discretion of the city engineer, sheeting and bracing may be cut off one foot below the surface pavement and left in place when the opening is refilled.
(d) The street, alley, sidewalk or other public place must be opened in a manner which shall cause the least inconvenience to the public and allow the uninterrupted passage of water along the gutter.
(e) Excavations shall be made by open cut method. No tunneling shall be done except as authorized by the engineer and then only under such conditions as he may impose. No excavation shall be undercut or have a greater width at the bottom than at the top. In case of slips or slides of the sides of the excavation, the excavation shall be trimmed to solid earth and the top surface cut back to the limit of the same before any backfilling is commenced.
(Code 1985, § 23-22)
102-199 Refilling excavations; temporary resurfacing.
(a) All openings shall be refilled and temporarily resurfaced on or before the time fixed in the excavation permit. Written notice shall be given to the city engineer when the work is completed. Such temporary resurfacing shall be maintained by the person to whom the permit is issued until the city or person designated shall permanently resurface such opening.
(b) Refilling shall be done in thin layers not exceeding six inches in height, firmly rammed until the excavation is filled or to a proper line of placing the paving thereon. All refilling shall be done with sand, gravel, or, if approved by the engineer, other materials of equivalent compaction qualities. Puddling or water tamping shall be done only by permission of the engineer.
(c) Whenever rock is excavated, not more than one-third of the total excavation shall be refilled with the broken stone, which must be in pieces not exceeding six inches in their largest dimensions, and mingled with clean earth and sand, and restored in such manner as to ensure the thorough and compact filling of all spaces.
(d) All void space in a tunnel excavation shall be backfilled with thoroughly rammed concrete as specified by the engineer.
(Code 1985, § 23-23)
102-200 Restoration of street surfaces.
(a) In all unimproved streets, the surface of the refilled excavation or opening shall be finished in a workmanlike manner and shall in every respect be equal in quality, character and materials to the street surface existing previous to making the excavation.
(b) In all improved streets, the crown of the surface must conform to the adjacent street surface until sufficient time has elapsed to warrant the restoration permanently of the paved surface. All such restoration of paving surfaces shall be made in accordance with city specifications and may be done by the city under contract or by its own forces and the cost thereof charged to the permittee.
(Code 1985, § 23-24)
102-201 Restoration of pavement.
(a) In the replacement or restoration of the permanent pavement, the city shall have the right and authority to remove the old concrete for an area extending at least one foot in all directions beyond the edge of the original cut, and replace it with new reinforced concrete, not less than six inches thick, but equal in thickness to that of the adjacent pavement, made in accordance with the latest city specifications for a permanent foundation. The new wearing surface shall extend at least six inches beyond the joint in the foundation of the pavement and shall be laid with the same care and in the same manner as the original pavement.
(b) If any part of a slab of sidewalk is cracked or damaged in any way, the entire slab shall be replaced.
(Code 1985, § 23-25)