Note: Prior ordinance history: Ord. 165.
The following terms as used in this chapter shall, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, have the respective meanings herein set forth:
"City"
means the City of Lake Forest, California.
"Director"
means the Director of Public Works/City Engineer, or his or her designee.
"Highway"
means any public highway, public street, public way or public place in the City which has been acquired by the City by purchase, dedication or condemnation proceedings.
"Person"
includes any individual, firm, copartnership, joint adventure, association, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, this State, any County and all departments and bureaus thereof, excepting the Public Works Department of this City.
"Public agency"
means and includes the United States or any department or agency thereof, the State of California or any department or agency thereof, County, municipal corporation or public district.
"Public utility"
means those electrical, gas, telephone, and water corporations as defined in California Public Utilities Code ("PUC") Sections 218, 222, 234, and 241, respectively, that are public utilities as defined in PUC Section 216 and cable television corporations as defined in PUC Section 216.4.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
No person shall permanently or temporarily encroach upon, block, or otherwise interfere with the intended use of a highway, or dig up, pile up, remove or break the earth, soil, stone, pavement or other surface of, or otherwise 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, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel, sign or any other installation of any nature, across, upon, in or under any highway unless he or she shall have first obtained an encroachment permit to do so.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
Applications for permits required by this chapter shall be filed with the Director upon printed forms to be prescribed and supplied by the City, and shall be filed at least two working days before the work is proposed to be done. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall include the following minimum standard provisions:
1. 
The name and address of the applicant;
2. 
The location, purpose, extent and nature of the proposed excavation, fill or obstruction;
3. 
The time during which it is estimated that the excavation, fill or obstruction will exist;
4. 
That the applicant agrees to indemnify, defend and save the City, its authorized agents, officers, representatives and employees harmless from and against any and all penalties, liabilities or annoyances or loss resulting from claims or court action and arising out of any accident, loss or damage to persons or property happening or occurring as a proximate result of any work undertaken under the permit granted pursuant to the application;
5. 
That the applicant agrees that if 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 which shall at any time in the future interfere with the use, repair, improvement, widening or change of grade of the highway, the applicant or his/her successors or assigns, within 10 days after the receipt of a written notice from the Director to do so, will at his or her own expense either remove such tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or other installation, or, subject to the approval of the Director, relocate them to a site which may be designated by the Director;
6. 
That the applicant agrees to pay all cost of resurfacing or repairing the surface of the highway which may be damaged or destroyed in connection with the work authorized by the permit;
7. 
Any additional information which the Director may deem necessary for the proper disposition of the application.
B. 
The application shall be accompanied by a plan signed by a registered engineer, traffic engineer, or landscape architect showing the location, dimension, nature of the proposed excavation, obstruction or fill, and any other detail which the Director may require.
C. 
If the applicant is other than the owner of the underlying fee, each such applicant for a permit shall submit to the Director satisfactory proof of the applicant's right to use the highway for the purposes set forth in the application.
D. 
The Director may require such changes in the application respecting the location, dimensions, character or number of the proposed excavations, fills or obstructions as in his or her 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.
E. 
No encroachment permit shall be approved for any purpose whatsoever unless the applicant provides proof of insurance coverage for bodily injury and property damage in a form and in an amount acceptable to the Director. In fixing the form and amount of such insurance requirement, the Director shall take into consideration the nature and extent of the proposed encroachment. The Director may waive the requirements of this subsection if he or she determines that the proposed encroachment will not constitute any significant possibility of City liability.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
An applicant for an encroachment permit shall pay fees for processing, engineering and inspection as established by resolution of the City Council.
B. 
Unless the Director shall have authorized the applicant to perform the resurfacing or repair of the surface of any highway which may be removed or damaged by the proposed excavation, fill or obstruction, each applicant shall, in addition to the issuance fee, deposit with the Director the estimated cost of resurfacing or repairing the surface of the highway which may be damaged or destroyed. The estimated cost shall be as set forth in an engineer's estimate approved by the Director. The City Council may from time to time change and revise the method of determining the estimated cost.
C. 
In cases where the applicant is granted authority to make the repairs required under this chapter, the Director may, in order to ensure the completion of said repairs in a satisfactory manner, require the applicant to furnish a surety bond. Such bond shall be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the State of California and shall be in an amount equal to twice the estimated cost of performing the work authorized; provided, however, that the minimum amount of said bond shall not be less than $1,000, nor shall the term of said bond be less than one year. The condition of said bond shall be that the applicant will perform the work authorized by any permit issued pursuant to this chapter in a good and workmanlike manner and to the satisfaction of the Director.
D. 
In lieu of making the deposit required by subsection B of this section, the applicant may make and maintain with the Director a general deposit in an amount estimated by the Director to be reasonably sufficient to pay for the cost of permit issuance fees, inspection fees, and expected repairs occasioned by future excavations or obstructions.
E. 
Whenever in this chapter any costs are to be charged to any applicant or 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 or employee, plus the cost of overhead, not to exceed 15% of the total cost.
F. 
If any public agency files with the City Engineer a written guarantee of payment of all costs for which they may become liable to the City hereunder, then no deposit for costs as specified in subsection B of this section shall be required from such agencies. No permit issuance fee shall be required of any public utility or any public agency entitled to exemption therefrom pursuant to Section 6103 of the Government Code of the State of California.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
If the applicant for a permit hereunder complies in all respects with this chapter 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 chapter, the Director shall approve the application and issue the permit. The City is under no obligation to approve an application that is not in the best interest of the City or of public safety.
B. 
The permit shall be subject to the following conditions which shall be stated thereon:
1. 
The permit must be kept at the site of the work and be shown on demand to any authorized representative of the City of Lake Forest or any law enforcement officer.
2. 
The permit shall authorize work to be performed only as to such portion of the highway over which the City of Lake Forest has jurisdiction and only that portion of the highway specified in the permit.
3. 
All work shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and of all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the City and any other public agency and to the satisfaction of the Director.
4. 
The permit shall be nontransferable.
5. 
The Director 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, 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.
6. 
The Director may, either at the time of the issuance of the permit or at any time thereafter until the completion of the work, prescribe such additional conditions as he or she 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. 249 § 14, 2013)
A permittee 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 as approved by the Director, or contrary to the terms of the permit or of any provision of this chapter.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
Immediately upon completion of the work authorized by any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, the permittee shall promptly and in a workmanlike manner refill the excavation or remove the obstruction to the satisfaction of the Director.
If any permittee fails or refuses to refill any excavation which he or she has made or remove any obstruction which he or she has placed on any highway, the Director may do so and the permittee shall promptly reimburse the City for the costs thereof.
B. 
The following standards and regulations shall apply to resurfacing, repaving, and tunneling or boring operations:
1. 
Resurfacing After Refilling and Compacting. After completion of the refilling and compacting of the backfill material in the excavation as specified in Section 14.08.110 and the removal of the obstruction, 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 elsewhere herein, to the satisfaction of the Director, or the Director may elect to have this work performed by City forces or contractors, in which case the permittee shall promptly reimburse the City for the costs thereof.
2. 
Permanent Repaving. 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 asphaltic concrete or three inches of asphaltic concrete 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 except that road-mixed surfacing may be repaired with three inches of asphaltic concrete in lieu of the standard repair. Asphaltic concrete shall consist of mineral aggregate and liquid asphalt grade SC-6, or grade 200-300 penetration paving asphalt. If asphaltic concrete or 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.
C. 
Boring. Excavation of pavement or surfacing on an arterial highway (as shown on the Circulation Element of the City's General Plan) and determined by the Director as having been improved with asphaltic concrete or Portland cement concrete pavement, will be permitted only when physical conditions make boring impossible. All boring 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 and conduit shall be filled with grout or sand.
D. 
Replacing Entire Driving Lane. If the surfacing or pavement within the driving lanes of an arterial highway (as shown on the Circulation Element of the City's General Plan) and determined by the Director as having been improved with asphaltic concrete 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 100 feet in length.
All materials and construction operations shall conform to the applicable provisions of the City of Lake Forest Standard Specifications, as set forth in Section 14.05.010.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
If, after the refilling of an excavation the permittee fails or refuses to resurface or repair that portion of the surface of the highway damaged by him or her, or if the Director has elected to do such resurfacing or repairing, the Director shall do so and the permittee shall be charged with the cost thereof computed by the Director as provided in one of the methods in Section 14.08.040 of this chapter, whichever in the judgment of the Director will most fairly compensate the City for the expenses incurred by it.
B. 
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 City the cost of such additional repairs made by the Director. The cost shall be computed by the Director as provided in one of the methods in Section 14.08.040 of this chapter, whichever in the judgment of the Director will most fairly compensate the City for the expenses incurred by it.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
Trenching for installation across any intersecting roadway open to traffic shall be progressive. Not more than 1/2 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, unless specifically allowed by the City Engineer.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
The shallowest portion of any pipeline or other facility shall be installed not less than 30 inches below the roadway surface unless otherwise authorized in writing by the Director.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
General Compaction Requirements. All backfill replaced in excavations within the road right-of-way shall be compacted until the relative compaction within six feet of the top surface is not less than 90% 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.
B. 
Compaction of Clayey Soils.
1. 
Clayey materials shall be defined as a soil containing more than 30% 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 2% of optimum moisture content.
2. 
In lieu of backfilling with clayey material, the permittee at his or her option may elect to furnish sandy or granular material, less than 30% of which will pass a No. 200 mesh screen in which case compaction may be obtained as specified under general compaction requirements.
C. 
Finishing and Cleanup.
1. 
After the work has been completed, all debris and excess material from excavation and backfill operations shall be removed from the right-of-way and the roadway left in a neat and orderly condition.
2. 
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.
3. 
All approaches to private driveways and intersecting highways and streets shall be kept open to traffic at all times.
4. 
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.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
A. 
The City shall deduct from any deposit made or maintained by the permittee:
1. 
Issuance Fee. The permit issuance fee if it has not otherwise been paid.
2. 
Refilling and Obstruction Removal Costs. The cost to the City of refilling any excavation or removing any obstruction.
3. 
Resurfacing and Repair Costs. The cost to the City of resurfacing or repairing the highway calculated pursuant to the provisions of Section 14.08.040 of this chapter.
4. 
Additional Repair Costs. The cost to the City of any additional repairs as provided in Section 14.08.080 of this chapter.
5. 
Inspection Costs. The cost of any inspection by the Director made necessary by the failure of the permittee to comply with any provision of this chapter or the terms or conditions of the permit. The inspection fees provided for in Section 14.08.040 shall be presumed to be the actual cost of inspection and a refund thereof shall not be made to any applicant.
6. 
Engineering and Inspection Costs. No engineering fees will be charged by the City for services rendered pursuant to this chapter. Inspection costs, however, will be paid for by the applicant as provided for in Section 14.08.040 and subsection (A)(5) of this section.
7. 
Refunds. After making the deductions specified above, the City shall, unless the deductions are made from a general deposit submitted pursuant to Section 14.08.040(D), refund any balance to the permittee in the same manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust moneys. The balance remaining in a general deposit account shall be retained by the Director and applied to the issuance fees and costs in connection with any future excavations, fills or obstructions pursuant to a permit issued hereunder unless a written demand for the balance be 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 moneys.
B. 
If any deposit is insufficient to pay all fees and costs herein provided, the permittee shall, upon demand, pay to the Director an amount equal to the deficiency.
C. 
If a permittee, upon demand, fails to pay any deficiency as provided in subsection B of this section or shall fail to pay any other costs due to the City hereunder 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 hereunder shall not thereafter be issued to such permittee.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
Nothing in this chapter prohibits any person 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 are first opened subsequent to the making of such excavation.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)
As directed by the Director, all traffic control devices and procedures, including, but not limited to, street closures, related material, and equipment, shall conform to the requirements of the most recently published Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) California Supplement.
(Ord. 249 § 14, 2013)