For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Highway.
Any public highway, public street, public way or public place in the city, either owned by the city or dedicated to the public for purposes of travel.
Public agency.
The United States or any department or agency thereof, the state or any department or agency thereof and any county, municipal corporation or public district.
(Ord. No. 92, § 1)
No person shall dig up, plow up, remove, break the earth, soil, stone, pavement or other surface of, or otherwise injury any highway, or make or cause to be made any excavation, or construct, place upon, maintain or leave any material or any obstruction or impediment to travel in or upon a highway, or install or maintain or cause to be installed or maintained any tank, pipes, conduit, duct, tunnel or any installation of any nature, across, upon, in or under any highway unless he shall have first obtained a permit.
(Ord. No. 1035, § 1, 10-14-02)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to place or maintain any object, including, but not limited to, fixed or portable basketball equipment, skateboard ramps, hockey nets and all other types of privately owned non-vehicular sporting or recreational equipment on any road, street or public highway, public right-of-way, or public property. It shall not be a violation of this section to place or maintain upon any road, street, public highway, or public right-of-way:
(1) 
Any solid waste or recycling containers or bins authorized by and in accordance with the provisions of this Code;
(2) 
Any object necessary for the work or activity authorized by a duly issued encroachment permit pursuant to the provisions of this Code; or
(3) 
Any object required by police, fire, medical or tow service personnel necessary to providing service within their jurisdiction on a road, street, public highway, or public right-of-way.
(Ord. No. 1035, § 1, 10-14-02)
(a) 
Whenever any prohibited item is found to be in violation of this article, the city shall have the right, but not the obligation, to cause a notice to be conspicuously attached to such item demanding removal from the public right-of-way. Such notice shall specify the date of posting, the closest street address to which the item is located, and a clear, concise description of the item to be removed. The notice shall demand such item be removed from the public right-of-way within 24 hours of the posting time and date.
(b) 
In the event a prohibited item is found in a location creating an immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare, the city may abate and impound the item without delay or prior public notification. Writ-ten public notice of the city's abatement of such item shall be conspicuously posted in the immediate area in which the abatement occurred and on a form approved by the director of public works.
(Ord. No. 1035, § 1, 10-14-02)
(a) 
The city may impound a prohibited item as set forth within this article, that has been installed, used, or maintained in violation of this article and after notice of such violation is given pursuant to section 24-6.3.
(b) 
The city may impound a prohibited item installed, used, or maintained in violation of this article without prior notice whenever such item is found to be in violation of this article, and such item has previously been posted in accordance with section 24-6.3.
(Ord. No. 1035, § 1, 10-14-02)
(a) 
Any prohibited item which has been abated and impounded shall be released to the owner and made available for pickup at the city's corporate yard during normal operating hours, upon receipt of all associated abatement and impound fees, as set by resolution of the city council.
(Ord. No. 1035, § 1, 10-14-02)
(a) 
The city may sell or otherwise dispose of any item that has been impounded pursuant to this article, and retain the proceeds including any monies, on behalf of the city, provided that:
(1) 
Thirty days have elapsed since impoundment and the owner has failed to pay all abatement and impound fees assessed.
(Ord. No. 1035, § 1, 10-14-02)
Nothing in this article shall prohibit any person from making such excavation as may be necessary for the preservation of life or property when 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 works are first opened subsequent to the making of such excavation.
(Ord. No. 92, § 28)
Applications for permits under this article shall be filed not less than 48 hours before the work is proposed to be done.
Such applications shall be filed with the director of public works upon printed forms to be prescribed and supplied by him. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall state the following:
(a) 
The name and address of the applicant.
(b) 
The location, purpose, extent and nature of the proposed excavation, fill or obstruction.
(c) 
The time during which it is estimated that the excavation, fill or obstruction will exist.
(d) 
That the applicant agrees to indemnify, defend and save the city, its authorized agents, officers, representatives and employees, harmless from and against any penalties, liabilities, claims, annoyances, or loss resulting from claims or court action arising out of any accident, loss or damage to persons or property happening or occurring as a result of any actions undertaken, or failed to have been undertaken, pursuant to the permit granted in response to the application; and the applicant shall secure and maintain, during the life of the permit, public liability insurance in amounts deemed reasonable by the director of public works; and the applicant shall supply the city with a certificate evidencing such insurance, in a form approved by the city attorney, prior to the issuance of such permit.
(e) 
That the applicant agrees that in the event that any tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or other installation of any nature or kind placed in the excavation, fill or obstruction for which the permit is issued, at any time in the future interferes with the use, repair, improvement, widening, change of grade or relocation of any public street or highway due to abandonment, vacation or any other cause, of any portion or portions of such street or highway, or interferes with the construction of any subway, viaduct or other underground conduit or structure of any nature, the applicant or his successors or assigns, within 10 days after the receipt of a written notice from the director of public works to do so, will at his own expense either remove such tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or other installation, or, subject to the approval of the director of public works, relocate them to a site which may be designated by the director of public works.
(f) 
Any additional information which the director of public works may deem necessary for the proper disposition of the application.
(Ord. No. 92, §§ 3, 4; Ord. No. 333, § 1; Ord. No. 646, § 1, 7-23-79)
Each application for a permit under this article shall be accompanied by a plat showing the location, dimension, nature of the proposed excavation, obstruction or fill and any other detail which the director of public works may require.
(Ord. No. 92, § 5)
The director of public works may require such changes in the application for a permit under this article respecting the location, dimensions, character or number of the proposed excavations, fills or obstructions as in his opinion may be necessary for the protection of the highway, the prevention of undue interference with traffic or to assure the safety of persons using the highway.
(Ord. No. 92, § 7)
Each application for a permit under this article shall be accompanied by an issuance fee to be established by resolution in accordance with Government Code Section 54994.1. Said fee may be waived by the director of public works if the work to be done under said permit is to repair or replace any portion of city streets or sidewalks that would otherwise need to be repaired or replaced by city and thus will result in a monetary savings to city.
(Ord. No. 92, § 9; Ord. No. 920, § 1, 8-8-94)
(a) 
Unless the director of public works shall have authorized the applicant to perform the resurfacing or repair of the surface of any highway which may be removed in part or damaged by the proposed excavation, fill or obstruction, pursuant to a permit issued under this article, each applicant therefor, in addition to the issuance fee, shall deposit with the director of public works the estimated cost of resurfacing or repairing the surface of the highway which may be damaged or destroyed. The special deposit shall in no event be less than $15. The estimated cost shall be determined by the director of public works by multiplying the number of square feet of surface which may be damaged, as shown by the application, by the sum of forty cents ($0.40) per square foot of surfacing. The city council may from time to time change and revise the method of determining the estimated cost.
The minimum cost of restoration or repair shall be presumed to be not less than $2.
(b) 
In lieu of making the special deposit required by subsection (a) of this section, 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, not to exceed $500.
(c) 
In lieu of the special deposit required by subsection (a) or of making the general deposit as provided for in subsection (b) of this section, the applicant, with the approval of the director of public works, may furnish a surety bond conforming in all respects to the requirements for surety bonds set forth in subsection (d) of this section; except, that the condition of such bond shall be that the applicant will pay to the city, upon demand, all fees, costs or charges incurred by or due to the city under the provisions of this article.
(d) 
In cases where the applicant is granted authority to make the repairs required under this article, the director of public works, in order to insure the completion of such repairs in a satisfactory manner, may require the applicant to furnish a surety bond. Such bond shall be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the state and shall be in an amount equal to twice the estimated cost of performing the work authorized; provided, that the minimum amount of such bond shall not be less than $1,000, nor the minimum period less than one year. The condition of such bond shall be that the applicant will perform the work authorized by any permit issued pursuant to this article in a good and workmanlike manner and to the satisfaction of the director of public works.
(Ord. No. 92, §§ 10, 11)
The city shall deduct the following from any deposit made or maintained by a permittee pursuant to this article:
(a) 
The permit issuance fee if it has not otherwise been paid.
(b) 
The cost of the city of refilling any excavation or removing any obstruction.
(c) 
The cost to the city of resurfacing or repairing the highway calculated pursuant to the provisions of section 24-13 or section 24-32.
(d) 
The cost to the city of any additional repairs as provided in section 24-31.
(e) 
The cost of any inspection by the director of public work's office, or the building and safety department. Such cost shall be computed as shown in section 24-32.
(Ord. No. 92, § 24)
After making the deductions specified in section 24-14, unless the deductions are made from a general deposit, the city shall refund any balance to the applicant in the same manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust money. The balance remaining in the general deposit shall be retained by the director of public works and applied to issuance fees and costs in connection with any future excavations, fills or obstructions pursuant to a permit issued under this article, unless a written demand for the balance is made by the depositor, in which event any balance therein shall be refunded in the same manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust money.
(Ord. No. 92, § 24)
If any deposit under this article is insufficient to pay all fees and costs under this article, the permittee, upon demand, shall pay to the director of public works an amount equal to the deficiency.
If a permittee under this article, upon demand, fails to pay any deficiency as provided in this section or fails to pay any other costs due the city under this article, for which no deposit has been made, the city may recover the same by an action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Until such deficiency or cost is paid in full a permit under this article, shall not thereafter be issued to such permittee.
(Ord. No. 92, §§ 25, 26)
If any public agency files with the director of public works a written guarantee of payment of all costs for which it may become liable to the city under this article, then no deposit for costs shall be required from such public agency. No permit issuance fee under this article shall be required of any public agency entitled to exemption therefrom pursuant to section 6103 of the Government Code of the state.
(Ord. No. 92, § 13)
If the applicant for a permit under this article complies in all respects with this article and with all other applicable laws, rules, regulations or ordinances of the city, or of any other public agency, and pays the fees and deposits required by this article, and said permit is not being issued for purposes of excavation in a street that has been constructed, reconstructed, or resurfaced within the previous 36 months, or the permit for street excavations, for emergency repairs or new development access to underground street utilities, then the director of public works shall approve the application and issue the permit.
Permits applied for under this article for purposes of excavation in a street that has undergone construction, reconstruction or resurfacing within the thirty-six-month period preceding the date of the permit application, shall be considered discretionary and subject to the approval of the city council, unless the applicant complies in all other respects with this article and with all other applicable laws, rules, regulation or ordinances of the city, or of any other public agency, and the permit is for an emergency repair or new development access to underground street utilities, in which case the permit shall be issued by the director of public works.
The city council may authorize said discretionary permits under the following criteria:
(1) 
The applicant can demonstrate that the requested permit for excavation of a street is immediately required for the general health, safety, and welfare of the city, and as such can not be delayed until the permit moratorium has expired; and
(2) 
The applicant requesting the permit can demonstrate that alternatives to excavating the street under the permit moratorium such as alternative routing, or construction methods including boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible.
Notwithstanding any other section under this article said city council approval of said discretionary permit may include special conditions, fees and deposits reasonably required to allow the issuance of said permit.
(Ord. No. 92, § 14; Ord. No. 970, § 1, 8-25-97)
Any permit issued pursuant to this article shall be subject to the following conditions which shall be stated thereon:
(a) 
The permit shall be kept at the site of the work and shall be shown on demand to any authorized representative of the city or any law enforcement officer.
(b) 
The permit shall authorize work to be performed only as to such portion of the highway over which the city has jurisdiction.
(c) 
All work shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of this article and of all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the city, and any other public agency, and to the satisfaction of the director of public works.
(d) 
The permit shall be nontransferable.
(e) 
The director of public works may cancel the permit unless the work authorized therein is commenced within 60 days of the issuance of the permit and thereafter, in the opinion of the director of public works, is diligently prosecuted to completion. Cancellation may be effected by giving written notice thereof by sending the same to the applicant by ordinary mail to the address shown on the application.
(f) 
Either at the time of the issuance of the permit or at any time thereafter until the completion of work, the director of public works may prescribe such additional conditions as he may deem reasonably necessary for the protection of the highway or for the prevention of undue interference with traffic or to assure the safety of persons using the highway.
(Ord. No. 92, § 15)
A permittee under this article shall not make or cause to be made any excavation; or construct, place upon, maintain or leave any obstruction or impediment to travel; or pile or place any material in or upon any highway; or install or maintain or cause to be installed or maintained any tank, pipe, conduit, duct or tunnel in, upon or under the surface of any highway at any location; or in any manner other than that described in the application for such permit as approved by the director of public works, or contrary to the terms of the permit or of any provision of this article.
(Ord. No. 92, § 16)
Excavation of pavement or surfacing on an arterial highway (as shown on the master plan of highways) and determined by the director of public works as having been improved with plant mixed surfacing or Portland cement concrete pavement, will be permitted only when physical conditions make boring or tunneling impossible. All boring and tunneling and placing conduits, casings and pipelines shall be done in such a manner that the existing driving lanes will not be disturbed. If a casing is installed to receive the conduit or pipeline, all voids between the casing conduit shall be filled with grout or sand.
(Ord. No. 92, § 18)
All pipes and conduits laid parallel to the roadway pursuant to work under this article shall be placed at least five feet from the edge of the pavement or graded traveled roadway, unless otherwise authorized in writing by the director of public works. The shallowest portion of any pipeline or other facility shall be installed not less than thirty inches below the roadway surface.
(Ord. No. 92, § 22)
Trenching for installation pursuant to this article across any intersecting roadway open to traffic shall be progressive. Not more than one half of the width of a traveled way shall be disturbed at one time and the remaining width shall be kept open to traffic by bridging or backfilling.
All approaches to private driveways and intersecting highways and streets shall be kept open to traffic at all times.
More than one half of the width of a traveled way shall be disturbed at one time only upon the prior authorization by minute order of the city council.
(Ord. No. 92, §§ 21, 23)
A permittee under this article shall take adequate precautions for the protection of the traveling public. Barricades, red lights and warning signs, together with flagmen where necessary, shall be maintained until the excavation is refilled, the obstruction removed and roadway is safe for the use of the traveling public. The director of public works may specify, as a condition of the issuance of the permit, the safety devices or measures to be used by the permittee, but the failure of the director of public works to so specify the devices or measures to be used shall not relieve the permittee of his obligation under this section.
(Ord. No. 92, § 27)
Immediately upon completion of any work necessitating excavation or obstruction, authorized by any permit issued pursuant to this article, the permittee shall promptly and in a workmanlike manner refill the excavation or remove the obstruction to the satisfaction of the director of public works.
If any permittee fails or refuses to refill any excavation which he has made or remove any obstruction which he has placed on any highway the director of public works may do so and the applicant shall promptly reimburse the city the cost thereof.
(Ord. No. 92, § 17)
All backfill replaced in excavations under this article, within the road right-of-way, shall be compacted until the relative compaction within six feet of the top surface is not less than ninety percent and below six feet is not less than the adjacent undisturbed soil as determined by the relative compaction test specified in section 6, article b-21 of the state standard specifications.
Clayey material shall be defined as a soil containing more than thirty percent of material which will pass a No. 200 mesh screen. Clayey material replaced as backfill may not be ponded or jetted, but shall be compacted as specified under general compaction requirements by any other suitable method providing the material is first conditioned by wetting or drying to within two percent of optimum moisture content.
In lieu of backfilling with clayey material, the permittee at his option may elect to furnish sandy or granular material less than thirty percent of which will pass a No. 200 mesh screen, in which case compaction may be obtained as specified under general compaction requirements.
(Ord. No. 92, § 23)
The director of public works may, either at the time of the issuance of a permit pursuant to this article, or at any time thereafter, elect to do the resurfacing or repair of any highway surface removed or damaged by the proposed excavation or obstruction pursuant to a permit under this article.
(Ord. No. 92, § 8)
After completion of the refilling and compacting of the backfill material in an excavation as specified in section 24-26, and the removal of an obstruction, pursuant to this article, the permittee shall promptly replace, with temporary or permanent patching material, or repair any portion of the highway surface removed or damaged by the excavation, obstruction or construction operations, as specified in this article, to the satisfaction of the director of public works; or the director of public works may at his option elect to do the surfacing or repairing himself.
Where the pavement (except Portland cement concrete pavement) or surface has been removed, the permittee shall replace it with a standard repair consisting of either five inches of plant mixed surfacing or three inches of plant mixed surfacing over six inches untreated rock base; except, that the standard repair shall not be less in total thickness than the adjacent pavement or surfacing and road-mixed surfacing may be repaired with three inches of plant mixed surfacing in lieu of the standard repair. Plant mixed surfacing shall consist of mineral aggregate and liquid asphalt, grade SC-6 or grade 200-300 penetration paving asphalt. If Portland cement concrete pavement is removed, it shall first be sawed at the neat lines of the excavation and subsequently replaced with Portland cement concrete.
If the surfacing or pavement within the driving lanes of an arterial highway (as shown on the master plan of highways) and determined by the director of public works as having been improved with plant mixed surfacing or Portland cement concrete is removed or damaged by parallel construction operations, the existing surfacing or pavement of the width of the driving lane for the length of the damaged surfacing shall be removed and replaced; except, that such a removal and replacement shall in no case be less than one hundred feet in length.
All materials and construction operations shall conform to the applicable provisions of the city standard specifications.
(Ord. No. 92, § 18)
If after the refilling of an excavation a permittee under this article fails or refuses to resurface or repair that portion of the surface of the highway damaged by him, or if the director of public works has elected to do such resurfacing or repairing, the director of public works shall do so and the permittee shall be charged with the cost thereof computed by the director of public works as provided in section 24-13 or section 24-32, whichever, in the judgment of the director of public works, will most fairly compensate the city for the expenses incurred by it.
(Ord. No. 92, § 19)
After any work under this article has been completed, all debris and excess material from the excavation and backfill operations shall be removed from the right-of-way and the roadway left in a neat and orderly condition.
All roadside drainage ditches shall be restored to the original grades and the inlet and outlet ends of all culverts shall be left free and clear.
Excess and nonsurfacing materials which adhere to roadway surfacing as a result of construction operations shall be removed by approved methods to the satisfaction of the director of public works.
(Ord. No. 92, § 23)
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 pursuant to a permit under this article, 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 city the cost of such additional repairs made by the director of public works. The cost shall be computed by the director of public works as provided in section 24-13 or section 24-32, whichever, in the judgment of the director of public works, will most fairly compensate the city for the expenses incurred by it.
(Ord. No. 92, § 20)
Whenever in this article any costs are to be charged to any permittee, and no other method for the calculation thereof is specified, such cost shall be the actual cost, including the proportionate part of the salaries, wages or other compensation of any deputy, employee or consultant, plus the cost of overhead, not to exceed fifteen percent of the total cost.
(Ord. No. 92, § 12)