This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Encroachment
Law." The provisions of this chapter shall operate as a supplement
to all applicable State Code sections concerning encroachments on
City streets and highways. In the event of conflicting provisions,
the most restrictive shall prevail.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Unless the provisions or the context otherwise requires, the
following general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions
shall govern the construction this chapter:
(a)
This
chapter shall not apply to any officer or employee of the City in
the discharge of his official duties. Work performed by any person
under a contract with, or at the request of, the City shall be exempt
from the fee and bond requirements of this chapter.
(b)
Whenever
a power is granted to, or a duty is imposed upon, a public officer,
the power may be exercised or the duty may be performed by a deputy
of the officer or by a person authorized pursuant to law or ordinance
by the officer, unless this chapter expressly provides otherwise.
(c)
Whenever
reference is made to any portion of this chapter or any other ordinance
or statute, such reference shall apply to all amendments and additions
now or hereafter made.
(d)
"Actual cost"
"Applicant"
"Base course"
"City"
"Director"
"Driveway"
"Encroachment"
"Encroachment work"
"Inquiry identification number"
"Native soil"
"Pavement"
"Permittee"
"Person,"
"Public"
"Right-of-way"
"Section"
"Special vehicle"
(1)
(2)
"Street" and "highway"
"Vehicle Code"
Definitions.
shall mean the amount determined by applying the provisions
of the encroachment fee resolution as adopted by the Council.
shall mean any person who proposes to encroach upon a right-of-way
and has applied for a permit for the proposed encroachment pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter.
shall mean that portion of the highway structural section
located between the pavement and native soil.
shall mean the City of Ojai.
shall mean the Director of Public Works of the City.
shall mean that portion of the road right-of-way between
the property line and curb, or between the property line and the pavement
if no curb exists, where vehicles enter or leave the highway onto
adjacent property.
shall mean and include any obstruction, tower, pole, pole
line, pipe, fence, wire, cable, conduit, stand or building, or any
structure or object of any kind or character not particularly mentioned
in this subsection which is placed on, in, along, under, over or across
a highway. This subsection shall not apply to the temporary use of
a highway for the ordinary maintenance of any existing authorized
or permitted encroachment, nor the suspension or stringing on existing
pole lines of additional cables, wires, transmission lines, conduits,
or service connections solely for telephone or electric power purposes.
shall mean the work of constructing, placing or installing
an encroachment in a right-of-way.
shall mean the number which is provided by Underground Service
Alert (USA) to every person who requests underground location. (Reference
Government Code Section 4216.2)
shall mean compacted native material.
shall mean the surfaced portion of the highway structural
section which is composed of various size aggregates mixed with Portland
cement and/or asphaltic compounds.
shall mean any person who proposes to encroach upon a right-of-way
and has been issued a permit for the proposed encroachment by the
Director pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
as used in this chapter, includes any individual, firm, partnership,
joint venture, association, corporation, estate, trust, the State
of California, incorporated cities, all public districts and other
political subdivisions of the State of California, except the City,
and any group or combination acting as a unit.
shall mean any person as defined in this chapter, other than
the Department of Public Works of the City, and shall include the
United States and the State.
shall mean any land or interest therein which, by deed, conveyance,
agreement, dedication, usage, or other process of law, has been reserved
for or dedicated to the City for the use of the general public for
public road purposes.
shall mean a section of this chapter, unless some other ordinance,
division, or statute is expressly cited.
shall mean a vehicle or combination of vehicles, as described
in the Vehicle Code of the State, which:
Whether laden or unladen, is required by the Vehicle Code to
have a special permit to be on any highway; or
Is so laden that it is required to have such special permit.
shall include all or part of, or any right in, a City highway
or other public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, lane, driveway,
place, court, trail, or other public right-of-way or easement, or
purported public street or highway, and rights connected therewith,
including, but not limited to, restrictions of access or abutters'
rights, sloping easements, or other incidents to a street or highway,
whether or not such entire area is actually used for highway purposes.
shall mean the Vehicle Code of the State in effect at the
time of the issuance of a permit.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Every person, except as otherwise provided in this chapter,
shall obtain a permit from the Director before he:
(a)
Makes,
or causes to be made, any excavation or encroachment in any street,
highway or right-of-way;
(b)
Places,
changes, or renews an encroachment; provided, however, an owner, lessee,
or person in control of property under active agricultural use and
immediately abutting the right-of-way, without obtaining a permit,
may use the untraveled portion of the right-of-way abutting such property
for the growing and maintenance of agricultural crops and the control
of weeds so long as such use does not interfere with vehicular or
pedestrian traffic or drainage of the right-of-way. Encroachments
for which permits are not required shall be subject to removal under
the procedure and penalties provided in Sections 1481 through 1485
of the Streets and Highways Code of the State;
(c)
Places,
constructs, or repairs any curb, gutter, sidewalk, driveway, pavement,
base course, retaining wall, storm drain, culvert, pipe, conduit,
cable, or other work of similar nature in, over, along, across or
through any street or highway;
(d)
Constructs,
reconstructs, repairs, or maintains any overhead structure or other
appurtenance facility;
(e)
Places
or leaves any impediment to travel upon any street, highway or right-of-way;
(f)
Erects
or maintains any post, sign, newspaper rack, banner, pole, fence,
guard rail, wall, loading platform, or any other structure on, over,
under, or within a right-of-way;
(g)
Plants
or removes any tree, shrub, or growing thing within a right-of-way
(except those plants exempted in Article 5 of this chapter);
(h)
Uses
a right-of-way or other City property for commercial motion or still
picture photography;
(i)
Uses
the right-of-way in any manner for purposes of seismological exploration;
(j)
Conducts
land surveying operations or makes traffic counts in such a way that
it is necessary to excavate within a right-of-way or in any way interfere
with the normal flow of traffic on a public highway or right-of-way;
(k)
Causes
or permits water (other than water from natural sources) to flow onto
or upon any public street, road or right-of-way wherein such water
is contained within the improved section by curbs or berms;
(l)
Moves or causes to be moved on, over, along, or across any public right-of-way any load or vehicle requiring a special permit pursuant to the provisions of the Vehicle Code (Article 6 of Division 15);
(m)
Performs
any construction, alteration, or repair of any building or structure,
so that it becomes necessary to temporarily obstruct a portion of
the sidewalk, street or right-of-way, shall be required to obtain
approval from the Director, and if approved, shall obtain an encroachment
permit, subject to all conditions as set forth in this chapter;
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
(a)
Application
for a permit required by this chapter shall be made on a form prescribed
by the Director. The application shall be signed by the applicant,
and by the contractor if the proposed work is to be done by a contractor,
and shall include the following information:
(1)
The name and address of the applicant;
(2)
The name and address of the contractor if the proposed work is to
be done by a contractor;
(3)
The location, purpose, extent and nature of the proposed work;
(4)
The period of time when the proposed work will be performed;
(5)
The materials to be used in performing the work;
(6)
Subsurface excavation requires "inquiry identification number" (USA)
be supplied prior to commencement of any work;
(7)
The name, address and policy number of the applicant/contractor's
insurance carrier;
(8)
Such other information, including plats, plans and specifications,
as the Director may require.
(b)
Application: Reference to chapter. The application for a
permit shall refer to, and incorporate by reference, all of the provisions
of this chapter.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Each applicant for a permit shall agree to hold the City and
its officers, agents and employees harmless from any and all causes
of action, penalties, liabilities or loss resulting from claims or
court actions arising out of any accidents, loss or damage to persons
or property occurring as a result of any work performed pursuant to
the permit.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Before a permit is issued, the applicant, or the contractor
who is to perform the work, shall secure, at his or her own expense,
a policy of broad form comprehensive general, liability insurance.
If the work to be performed involves any excavation, the policy shall
include an endorsement that affords coverage for explosion, collapse
and underground hazards. The policy shall name the City and its officers,
employees and agents as co-insureds and shall protect them from claims
for personal injury, death or property damage suffered by third persons
and arising out of the work authorized by the permit and the manner
of its installation or construction. The insurance shall be in effect
on the date that the work is commenced and shall expire no sooner
than one year after the date on which the work is completed. Insurance
cancellation clause shall read, "The issuing company shall mail a
30 day written notice of cancellation to the certificate holder named."
A certificate of the insurance shall be filed with the Public Works
Department.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
If the work to be performed under a permit will involve an excavation more than six inches in depth in a street, the applicant or contractor shall furnish liability insurance coverage required in Section 7-1.106 in an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) per occurrence, two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) aggregate. For all other permits, the applicant shall furnish such liability insurance coverage in an amount not less than that recommended by the most current version of the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (CJPIA) Contractual Risk Transfer Manual for the type and kind of activity for which a permit is required. If an applicant or a contractor maintains with the City a certificate of continuous insurance coverage, such applicant or contractor shall change the insurance coverage to be in compliance with the requirements of this section on or before the renewal date of the policy. The City Council may, by resolution, increase, decrease, or waive the insurance limits set forth herein in those cases in which the City Council determines that special circumstances justify such an increase, decrease or waiver.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990, as amended by § 1, Ord. 852, eff. April 24, 2015)
(a)
Before
a permit is granted by the Director which authorizes excavation, trenching
or removal of the surface of a street, a bond shall be filed with
the Director in a form approved by the Director, by the applicant,
or by contractor who will do the work. The bond shall be a surety
bond and shall be issued by a corporation duly and legally licensed
to transact business in the State of California. The bond shall guarantee
the performance of the work authorized by the permit in accordance
with all of the provisions of the application, the permit and this
chapter and shall indemnify the City against faulty or improper workmanship
or materials that may be discovered during the performance of the
work and for the term of one year after the completion of the work.
If an applicant, or the contractor performing the work, intends to
perform more than one project requiring a permit under this chapter,
the bond may be written so as to apply to more than one permit and
it shall indemnify the City against faulty or improper workmanship
or materials that may be discovered during the period of one year
after the completion of the work authorized by each permit.
(b)
Bond limits. The Director is hereby authorized to establish
the amount of bond to be posted based upon his or her estimate of
the maximum cost or damages which the City might incur in connection
with the work authorized by the permit or permits; provided, however,
that the Director shall not fix an amount more than $15,000.
(c)
Bonds: Exemptions. Public agencies which apply for a permit
are not required to furnish the aforementioned bond. However, this
exemption shall not relieve the public agency or utility company of
faulty or improper workmanship or materials guarantee.
(d)
The
City Council may increase, decrease, or waive the bond limits set
forth above in those cases in which the City Council determines that
special circumstances justify such an increase, decrease or waiver,
by resolution of the City Council.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director may make such changes or additions in any application
for a permit as in his or her opinion are necessary for the protection
of the highways, for the prevention of undue interference with traffic,
for the safety of persons using such highways, as to the route over
which to move any overheight, overwidth, overlength or overweight
load, as to the location, depth, dimensions, character, and number
of excavations, as to encroachments made or placed, and as to other
permits issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
When required by the Director, the applicant shall attach to,
or enclose with, the application two copies of a map, plat, sketch,
diagram, or similar exhibit which plainly shows any and all information
necessary to locate, delineate, illustrate, or identify the proposed
encroachment.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director may establish additional requirements for the work
to be done under the permit, including equipment to be used, type
of backfill compaction, paving traffic regulations, hours of work,
flaggers, lights, inspections, and other similar requirements. He
or she also may require whatever advance notice he or she deems proper
for requests for inspection. The Director may add such requirements
and conditions in writing, or as attachments to the permit, or both,
and they shall be an integral part thereof.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
By accepting the permit, the permittee agrees to be bound by
all the terms and conditions set forth in the permit and in this chapter.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Each permit shall specify the time the permit shall become null
and void, and the permit shall become null and void on the date so
specified, unless the Director extends the time. The Director may
extend the time if, in his or her opinion, the work for which the
permit was issued was delayed in completion because of inclement weather,
strikes, an act of God, or other causes not within the control of
the permittee.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Before commencing any encroachment work authorized by any permit,
the permittee shall notify the City of the time of commencing the
work and provide the name, address, telephone number, and license
number of the contractor, if any, who will perform the work.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Blanket permits, renewable annually, may be issued to any city,
municipal utility district, municipal water district, or public utility,
subject to compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter.
The issuance of a blanket permit shall not relieve the permittee from
making such reports of activity under the blanket permit as may be
required by the Director and for paying for inspection repairs and
other costs incurred by the City due to the permittee's activity.
Blanket excavation permits shall be limited to utility trenches not
exceeding two feet in width and sixty-feet (60) feet in length, dug
at a right angle to the center line of the road, or an excavation
not exceeding 30 square feet in area. No road may be closed when using
the maximum length option. Two-way traffic shall be maintained at
all times.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director may require the permittee to make proper arrangements
for, and bear the cost of, the relocation of any structure, publicly
owned facility, tree, or shrub where such relocation is made necessary
by the proposed work for which a permit is issued. The Director may
elect to do the necessary relocation at the permittee's expense.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
If any City improvement to the right-of-way necessitates the
relocation of an encroachment, the permittee shall relocate or remove
the encroachment at his sole expense (except as provided by the State
statute). When relocation is required, the Director shall give the
permittee a written demand specifying that the encroachment shall
be relocated within the right-of-way to a satisfactory location provided
by the Director and a reasonable time within which the encroachment
shall be relocated or removed. If the permittee fails to comply with
such instructions, the City may relocate the encroachment at the expense
of the permittee. In determining what is a reasonable time under this
section, the Director shall take into consideration the nature of
the encroachment, the urgency of the need for its removal, the cost
of its removal, the difficulty of its removal, the value of the impact
property to the owner, and other facts peculiar to the particular
situation. The provisions of this section shall apply to all permittees,
including public agencies and public utilities having authority to
occupy City rights-of-way pursuant to a franchise or an express provision
of State statute.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Permits issued pursuant to the authority of this chapter shall
be nontransferable.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director may require that evidence be submitted with the
application to satisfy him or her that the proposed overhead structure
or encroachment will not, insofar as he can foresee, create a hazard
of any kind.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
All obligations, responsibilities, and other requirements of
the permittee as described in this chapter shall be binding on subsequent
owners of the encroachment.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
All persons, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, shall
pay an issuance fee and all other costs and charges as established
for the work described in this chapter.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Issuance fees and charges for repairs, inspections, or engineering
collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited
in the respective funds from which the corresponding disbursements
were made.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director may grant a permit without an issuance fee if he
finds that the work to be done has been requested by the City in connection
with proposed public works.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
If the Council determines that the waiver of any part of the
fees is necessary to promote the safety and public welfare, the Council,
in specific instances, may waive all fees and deposits.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The schedule of fees or charges will be those recommended by
the Director and adopted by resolution of the Council from time to
time. Where work for which a permit is required by this chapter is
started or proceeded with prior to obtaining such permit, the specified
fees shall be doubled, but the payment of such double fee shall not
relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements of this
chapter in the execution of the work, nor from any other penalty prescribed
in this chapter.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The permittee shall be liable for, and shall pay for, the City's
costs related to the permit, including, but not restricted to, the
following:
(a)
The
permit issuance fee, if it has not otherwise been paid;
(b)
Engineering,
which includes design, inspection, surveys, and tests;
(c)
The
cost of any inspection, transportation, or test made;
(d)
The
cost of repairing or restoring the highways, and all appurtenant facilities,
to the same or equal condition they were in before being cut or damaged
as a result of the permittee's activities;
(e)
The
cost of furnishing and/or maintaining any lights, barricades or warning
devices;
(f)
The
cost of the alteration, removal, replacement, and/or repair to traffic
signals and devices, the removal of temporary and/or permanent traffic
stripes, and any other expense for traffic control;
(g)
The
cost of removing or remedying any hazardous condition;
(h)
The
cost of tree trimming removal;
(i)
The
cost of tree replacement;
(j)
Any
other cost to the City caused by the permittee's activities.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Whenever, in the provisions of this chapter, any costs to be
charged to any permittee, and no other method for the calculation
of such costs is specified, such costs shall be the actual costs,
including overhead and depreciation, in accordance with current practices
in charging for work performed for the public and as defined in the
encroachment fee resolution as adopted by the Council.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director may issue a permit without any inspection fee or
deposit for work which will be inspected by a qualified governmental
agency which will furnish evidence to the effect that the work will
be inspected and will comply with minimum standards required by the
City.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
If an applicant receives a permit pursuant to the provisions of Section 7-1.128 of this article, and the governmental agency fails to make the inspection or fails to file the evidence as required, the City may inspect the work, the permittee shall pay the actual cost of such inspection to the City.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Unless exempted from this requirement by law or by the Director,
each applicant, before obtaining a permit, shall deposit with the
City one of the following: (1) encroachment bond; (2) cash deposit;
(3) certified check; (4) cashier's check in a sum equal to the probable
cost of all the work to be performed under the permit, or (5) letter
of credit. However, the City may waive such deposit when the City
finds that the applicant is financially responsible for such costs
by reason of past performance or otherwise.
All cash deposits posted pursuant to this section shall be deposited
in a special fund maintained by the City Treasurer. All deposits shall
be liable for all costs and liabilities incurred and sustained by
the City on account of any work performed pursuant to this chapter
by the applicant or by the City. No deposit or any part thereof shall
be released or exonerated until the Director has certified to City
Treasurer that the work has been performed to the satisfaction of
the Director, and that all costs and liabilities incurred by the City
have been paid or fully secured.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
Sixty days after the satisfactory completion of authorized work
and the fulfillment of all conditions of the permit, the Director
will release the deposit upon an application of the permittee.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The Director shall bill the permittee or deduct from the deposit
made or maintained by the permittee all fees and costs chargeable
pursuant to this chapter.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
An issuance fee may be refunded when a permit has been issued
as the result of an error not made by the permittee.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
The fee deposited for driveway inspections or any other unit
fee established may be refunded if such fee was erroneously collected
or if the work was not constructed by the permittee, and no inspection
requests were made.
(§§ 2 and 6, Ord. 673, eff. June 8, 1990)
