This article shall be known as the "street trench cut fee ordinance."
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
Applicant
shall mean any owner who has submitted an application for a permit to excavate.
City street
shall mean any public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, lane, drive, way, place, court, shared-use path, or trail, which has been accepted, or is hereafter accepted, by the city council into the city road system pursuant to Section 941 of the California Streets and Highways Code.
Department
shall mean the public works engineering and transportation department of the City of Davis.
Director
shall mean the city staff person occupying the department head position, who is assigned by the city manager to enforce the provisions of this article.
Excavation
shall mean any cutting of streets and removing material in order to repair or replace underground facilities.
Facility or facilities
shall mean any and all cables, cabinets, ducts, conduits, converters, equipment, drains, handholds, manholes, pipes, pipelines, splice boxes, surface location markers, tunnels, utilities, vaults, wells, and other appurtenances or tangible things that are located or are proposed to be located in the public right-of-way.
Owner
shall mean any person, including any agency, department, or subdivision of the city, who owns any facility or facilities that are or are proposed to be installed or maintained in the public right-of-way.
Permit or permit to excavate
shall mean a permit to perform an excavation as it has been approved or may be amended or renewed by the department, pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.03.010.
Person
shall mean any natural person, corporation, partnership, or any governmental agency, department, or subdivision of the city, the State of California, or the United States of America.
Public right-of-way
shall mean the paved area across, along, beneath, in, on, over, under, upon, and within the city streets, as they now exist or will exist and which are or will be under the permitting jurisdiction of the public works department.
Resurfacing
shall mean any repaving, overlay, seal or reconstruction which constructs a new pavement surface of greater than one inch thickness over the entire width of the street, excluding crack seals, not including class one to class three slurry seals, cape seals, and chip seals.
Trench influence area
shall mean an area three feet adjacent to the trench excavation.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
At the time any permit is issued, improvement plan approved, or work performed that causes an excavation of a paved city street, the applicant shall pay a trench restoration fee, in addition to any fees required for an encroachment permit, other permits, or other administrative fees charged by the city. The fee shall be in the amount set forth on a trench cut fee schedule established by resolution of the city council. A trench restoration fee shall not be required for the following excavations:
(a) 
For work performed on a city street that the city has scheduled for resurfacing within the next six months;
(b) 
For potholing to verify utility depth or location unless the area of all potholes covers ten percent or more of a pavement management area—five thousand eight hundred square feet for arterials or two thousand five hundred square feet for collectors or residentials;
(c) 
For work that includes resurfacing of all or a significant portion of the city street where the excavation is made; provided, that the director approves the resurfacing;
(d) 
For work performed for purposes of a utility relocation required by the city to accommodate a proper governmental use of a city street;
(e) 
For owners possessing a valid pavement life performance warranty agreement with the city as set forth in Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.080 except within the moratorium period as set forth in Section 35.07.060;
(f) 
For trenchless excavations greater than three feet in depth of cover over the utility facility not requiring a significant surface incision greater than industry bore pit standards may be excluded at the discretion of the director.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
All monies paid to the city pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.030 shall be deposited in a special fund or funds and shall be expended only for the resurfacing, maintenance, administration, and protection of city streets.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
No fee or requirement authorized or imposed pursuant to this article shall be construed to affect or alter any obligation of public and private utilities with facilities installed in any city street to relocate the facilities at no cost to the city in the event that relocation is required by the city to accommodate a proper governmental use of the city street.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
No person who has violated any provision of this article shall be issued an excavation permit, nor shall any contractor or agent apply for or be issued an excavation permit on such person's behalf, until the outstanding violation is corrected or a plan for correction is approved by the director. The foregoing requirement is in addition to any penalty or remedy for violation that may be imposed or sought by the city at law or equity.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
The city shall perform periodic pavement condition surveys of all city streets and determine the pavement condition index (PCI) rating for each street. A PCI rating shall be assigned to discrete blocks of a street and the fees calculated for each block. The PCI report shall be published from time to time and made available for public review at the permit counter.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
In lieu of paying a trench restoration fee pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.030, an owner who has a valid franchise agreement with the city or is statutorily exempt from franchise requirements may provide a written pavement life performance warranty agreement in a form acceptable to the city. The warranty shall provide that in the event that subsurface material or pavement over or within the trench influence area becomes depressed, broken, or otherwise fails at any time after the excavation has been completed until such time as the street surface is completely resurfaced with a structural overlay, the owner who performed the trench cut shall repair or restore such condition pursuant to the procedure set forth in Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.090. Pavement life warranty agreements are not transferable or assignable.
In the event that an owner who has a valid franchise agreement with the city or is statutorily exempt from franchise requirements fails or refuses to provide a written pavement life performance warranty, such owner shall pay the trench restoration fee set forth in Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.030.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
(a) 
Upon written notice from the director, an owner must immediately inspect depressed or broken pavement to ascertain the cause of the failure and must make repairs to the installation or backfill and have the pavement restored in the manner and within the time period specified by the director if the subsurface material or pavement over or within the trench influence area becomes depressed or broken within the following time periods:
(1) 
Where the owner has paid a trench restoration fee pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.030, at any time within one year after excavation has been completed and accepted and before resurfacing of the city street.
(2) 
Where the owner has provided a pavement life performance warranty pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.080, at any time prior to such time as the street surface is completely resurfaced with a structural overlay.
(b) 
An owner will not be charged a trench restoration fee pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.030. for repair work performed pursuant to this section. Additional inspection permit fees may be imposed as appropriate.
(c) 
If an owner does not repair depressed or broken pavement upon written notice from the director in the manner and time period specified by the director, the director may cause the repair work to be completed by the city. The director must provide the owner notice that the city will complete the repair work no less than twenty-four hours before commencement of the work. The cost of the city's repair work, including inspection costs and administrative overhead incurred by the city, will be assessed against the owner.
(d) 
Where the city performs repair work pursuant to this section, the owner will remain responsible for any future repairs of any portion of pavement repaired by the city pursuant to this section for the following time periods:
(1) 
Where the owner has paid a trench restoration fee pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.030, at any time within one year from the date of repair.
(2) 
Where the owner has provided a life performance warranty pursuant to Section 35.08.080, at any time prior to such time as the street surface is completely resurfaced with a structural overlay.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
In the case of field changes, excavation performed pursuant to a blanket permit to identify issues in utility conduits and pipes, or excavation performed under emergency circumstances, the owner must report the excavation to the permit counter and pay the fees required by this article within ten business days of commencement of the work. Failure to report the excavation and pay the required fees shall be considered a permit violation pursuant to Davis Municipal Code Section 35.08.060.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)
A person directly and adversely affected by a decision made by the director pursuant to the provisions of this article may appeal the director's decision by filing a written notice of appeal no later than ten business days after receiving notice of the director's decision. The appeal will be conducted in the manner described in Section 33.03.520 of the Davis Municipal Code.
(Ord. 2640 § 3, 2023)