[Ord. No. 123, §1; Ord. No. 197, §1]
No person shall make or cause to be made any excavation in any
public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way or easement,
without first obtaining a permit from the city street commissioner
or plumbing inspector. Such permit will only be granted when in the
opinion of the officers the excavation requested is necessary, and
each separate and distinct excavation shall require a separate permit.
Application for excavation permits shall be made in writing
and before the permit is issued, the applicant shall furnish proof
of adequate insurance and protection to the city against all claims
for damages arising from the prosecution of the work; deposit with
the city, a sum adequate to repay the city for its cost of backfilling
and repaving, as set out below and shall pay to the city, to be turned
into the city treasury, a fee of one dollar to cover the cost of the
permit and a fee of six dollars to cover the cost of the inspection
of the proposed excavation by the city.
[Ord. No. 123, §2; Ord. No. 197, §2]
In the making of excavations in any street, highway or public
place, the excavated materials from the trenches shall be placed where
they will cause the least possible inconvenience to the public. The
width of excavation shall be no greater than is necessary for doing
the work and sheathing and bracing shall be used as necessary, to
keep the sides of the trench vertical and to prevent caving. Adequate
provision for proper drainage of the areas surrounding the work shall
be maintained at all times.
Excavations made in or under street, walk or driveway pavements
are to be backfilled with granular material thoroughly tamped into
place as hereinafter specified and the pavement surface restored to
its original condition. In such locations excavated materials are
to be removed from the site of the work as the excavation is made
and no such material allowed to accumulate on the site.
Substitution may be made for granular backfill only with specific
approval of the city street commissioner or plumbing inspector in
each instance.
Approved granular backfill material shall be composed of a mixture
of crushed stone or gravel and sand, free from clay lumps and trash
and conforming to the following sieve analysis:
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Passing 1" screen
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100%
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Passing ¼" screen
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35 to 65%
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Passing #50 screen
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Not more than 20%
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Total clay and silt
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Not more than 10%
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Other materials may be used only when they have approval.
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Granular backfill is to be placed in horizontal layers not greater
than six inches thick before compaction and shall be thoroughly compacted
by mechanically operated tamping. During placement and compaction
care must be taken to avoid undue segregation of coarse and fine particles.
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Excavations in parkways, outside of the paved area of streets
or walks may be backfilled with earth and all grassed areas returned
to their original condition. Earth backfill is to be placed and compacted
in the same manner as described for granular fills or thoroughly jetted
to obtain maximum settlement and shall be maintained by the person
making the excavation until the area has been stabilized in the original
condition. As soon as the excavation has been backfilled, all excess
excavated materials shall be removed from the area and disposed of.
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The actual work of placing and compacting granular backfill
and repaving excavated area in paved streets and walks is to be performed
by the person making the excavation.
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[Ord. No. 197, §3]
(a)
No person shall receive any permit to excavate in or under any public
place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way, easement or
any other public thoroughfare until he shall have first deposited
with the city collector a sum of money calculated as follows:
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For placing backfill.
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Improved surfaces
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$3.00 per square foot with a $25.00 minimum
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Unimproved surfaces
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$2.00 per square foot with a $15.00 minimum
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For restoring surface.
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Concrete
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$1.25 per square foot
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Asphaltic concrete
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$1.00 per square foot
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Bituminous macadam
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$0.75 per square foot
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Macadam
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$0.50 per square foot
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Unimproved surfaces
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$0.00 per square foot
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If the length of an excavation exceeds the width of the street
on which such excavations are made, the person requesting permission
to make the excavation shall, before receiving a permit, deposit with
the city collector five hundred dollars for each such excavation.
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The total deposit shall be an amount equal to the sum of the
amount calculated for placing backfill plus the amount calculated
for restoring the surface in accordance with the above schedule. A
separate deposit shall be required for each separate and distinct
excavation.
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(b)
The deposit so made shall be held by the city to assure the satisfactory
placing of the backfill and restoration of the surface in accordance
with the provisions of this article. If the person making such excavation
shall delay or refuse, after due notice from the street commissioner,
to place the backfill in an excavation or restore the surface of the
public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way, easement
or any other public thoroughfare in which the excavation was made
as required under this article, it shall be the duty of the street
commissioner to place the backfill or restore the surface, or both,
and the expense of the placing or restoring or both shall be defrayed
out of the deposit made as required by this article. The balance of
the deposit, if any, after all lawful charges against it have been
made, shall be returned to the person who made the deposit.
(c)
Any person having occasion to make frequent excavations in or under
the public places, streets, highways, walkways, alleys, right-of-ways,
easements or any other public thoroughfare in the city, may in lieu
of the deposits required in the preceding paragraphs, deposit with
the city collector one hundred dollars to assure the proper placing
of backfill and restoration of the surface of excavations made by
him or it where such excavations shall not exceed the width of the
public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way, easement
or other public thoroughfare in which such excavations are made. The
deposit shall be subject to all the conditions of the preceding paragraphs.
[Ord. No. 123, §3]
All excavations shall be made in such manner as not to inconvenience
or interfere with the public use or travel upon the streets, avenues,
alleys, sidewalks or other public places when possible. When such
use is unavoidably obstructed, the person making such excavation shall
exercise all reasonable dispatch in prosecuting the work so that the
public use will not be obstructed beyond a reasonable time. In cases
where excavations are made entirely across a public highway, and adequate
detour for traffic is not available, a substantial driveway shall
be maintained across such excavation until such excavation is refilled.
Detours may not be established except on special permit from the city
street commissioner and then only after notice to the fire department
and police department. All sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, gutters,
streets, avenues, alleys or public places disturbed, interfered with
or injured in making any excavation, shall be restored, replaced and
repaired to as good condition as they were before such excavation
was made.
[Ord. No. 123, §4]
Every person who shall cause to be made any excavation in or
adjoining any public street, alley, highway or public place, shall
provide, erect and maintain at all times along the line of work all
such barricades, signs, lights and warning signals as may be necessary
to protect the public from the hazards arising from the operation
and shall indemnify and save harmless the city, its officers and employees
from any suits, actions or claims of any character brought because
of any injuries or damages received or sustained by any person or
property on account of the work or on account of or in consequence
of any neglect in safeguarding the work.
[Ord. No. 197, §6]
No excavation permit shall be issued to any person unless the
person is bonded with the county department of plumbing inspection
or has furnished a bond approved by the Mayor of the City.
