Chapter 16 — STREETS AND SIDEWALKS

* For state law as to authority of city relative to streets, sidewalks and other public places, see Gov. C., § 40401. As to requiring prisoners to labor on public works, see § 1-8 of this Code. As to special gas tax street improvement fund, see §§ 8-3, 8-4. As to motor vehicles and traffic, see ch. 11. As to obstructing streets, sidewalks, etc., see § 12-5. As to design standards and requirements for streets in new subdivisions, see §§ 17-24 to 17-28. As to trees and shrubs on public properties, see ch. 19. As to wrecked, junked and abandoned vehicles, see ch. 21.

The base of levels or elevations referred to in the elevations or levels as marked on any maps or charts designating street grades in the city, is that adopted for the U.S. Geological Survey in the county and is a level plane 60,375 feet below a certain metal plate in the foundation stone of the front wall of the County Court House, in the city, marked on the face "U.S. Geological Survey, California, elevation above sea level 60 B. M. Datum," and all of the figures, lines and marks on such maps and charts written or made thereon indicating the respective height or levels of the streets or gutters shown on such maps or charts, shall and to refer to the above datum of levels, and the respective levels or heights thus marked by lines and figures on such maps and charts shall be and are hereby established as the respective official height, levels and respective grade and gradients of such streets and gutters and portions and parts thereof above such datum plane.

(Ord. No. 39, § 2.)

For purposes of this chapter words and phrases shall have meanings as follows:

Encroach or Encroachment. "Encroach" or "encroachment" means going over, above, upon, or under any city street, property or right-of-way in such a manner as to disturb, prevent, obstruct, alter, or interfere with its normal use or purpose, and shall further mean any change made over, above, upon, or under any city street, property or right-of-way which changes in any manner the then-existing physical condition of the environment of said street, property or right-of-way.

Owner. "Owner" shall include without limitation the recorded owner(s) of real property.

Permittee. "Permittee" means any individual, person, firm, corporation, partnership or public agency and their agents and employees, which has been issued a permit.

Public Agency. "Public agency" means any city, county, public corporation or public district established through due process of law.

Public Utility. "Public utility" means any private corporation authorized by law to establish or maintain any works or facilities for service to the public.

Public Works Administrator. "Public works administrator" means the City of Colusa director of public works, or his duly delegated representative authorized to act in his absence. The term shall have the same meaning as "street superintendent" as used in the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California, defined in Section 5011 of said State Code.

Sidewalk Area. "Sidewalk area" shall mean the area between a private property line and the street line, which area may include the sidewalk itself, a planting strip, parking strip and any curbing, bulkheads, retaining walls or other works for the protection of any sidewalk, planting strip or parking strip.

Street Line. "Street line" shall mean the outer physical boundary of the street, where the paving surface meets the concrete gutter or curb.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2; Ord. No. 413, § 1.)

This chapter shall not prevent any person from maintaining or repairing any facility which lawfully encroaches, in instances when the delaying of such work would jeopardize the health or safety of life or property. Any person required to perform emergency work must immediately notify the city public works department or police department and must obtain an encroachment permit on the following normal working day. When an emergency exists, the director of public works shall have full power to order the work performed at the expense of the permittee or owner of the encroachment facilities.

(Ord. 350, § 2.)

(a)

A permit issued by the city director of public works is required for any encroachment by any person except officers and employees of the city acting in the discharge of their official duties and except any person, firm or corporation acting pursuant to a contract with the city to perform specific work in the city streets and rights-of-way.

(b)

The director of public works shall prescribe and provide a form of application for use by the applicant which application shall show all information and details which the director may deem necessary to establish the exact location, nature, dimensions, duration and purpose of the proposed encroachment.

(c)

The director may require maps, sketches, diagrams or other exhibits sufficient to clearly describe the proposed encroachment and its relation to existing facilities and property lines.

(d)

The director may require that the permittee notify and/or obtain approval of adjacent or nearby property owners who may be affected by the proposed encroachment.

(e)

The permittee must abide by all local, state and federal laws and regulations which in any manner affect the permit and the city assumes no responsibility or liability for the failure of the permittee to abide by such laws or regulations.

(f)

The permittee shall provide, erect and maintain, at permittee's expense, all safety devices as required for the proposed encroachment and assumes full responsibility and liability for safety.

(g)

The permittee must perform his work in a manner which will least disturb the normal flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and will provide for normal traffic flows unless otherwise approved by the director of public works. Before approval for any significant change to normal traffic flows the permittee must notify all affected agencies including the city police, California Highway Patrol, fire and school departments.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2; Ord. No. 413, § 2.)

(a)

Pursuant to Section 5610 of the State Streets and Highways Code, the owners of lots or portions of lots fronting on any portion of a public street or place when that street or place is improved or if and when the area between the property line of the adjacent property and the street line is maintained as a park or parking strip, shall maintain any sidewalk in such condition that the sidewalk will not endanger persons or property and maintain it in a condition which will not interfere with the public convenience in the use of those works or areas save and except as to those conditions created or maintained in, upon, along, or in connection with such sidewalk by any person other than the owner, under and by virtue of any permit or right granted to him by law or by the city, and such persons shall be under a like duty in relation thereto.

(b)

The process of notifying property owners of repairs and levying costs, including but limited to, hearings by city council, execution of work, and collection of costs, shall be as provided in Section 5611 et seq. of the California Streets and Highways Code.

(c)

The city will be one hundred percent responsible for the cost of sidewalk maintenance to the extent that sidewalks may be damaged by parkway trees or the activity of city construction projects.

(Ord. No. 413, § 3.)

No person shall remove from any street, alley or public place within the city any earth or gravel, or remove or displace any earth or gravel from any embankment or levee erected for the protection of the town from floods.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

(a)

Whenever any street or alley in the city is laid out as a public highway, any fences, buildings, parts of buildings or obstructions are placed therein, it shall be the duty of the director of public works, within one day after the date of the order of the city council requiring the same, to proceed to open such street or alley in the following manner:

(1)

Written notice by the director of public works shall first be given to the owner, person or agent maintaining any obstruction in such street or alley, to commence the removal of such obstruction within five days from date of service of the notice, and thereafter diligently to prosecute such removal to completion.

(2)

A copy of such notice shall be delivered personally to the person or agent maintaining or controlling such obstruction, if known and he resides within the city and can be found therein; and if he is unknown or resides outside the city or cannot be found therein, such notice shall be posted in some conspicuous place on such obstruction. The delivery or posting of such written notice shall in all cases be deemed a service upon all owners or persons maintaining such obstruction, and such service shall be deemed complete from the date of such delivery or posting.

(3)

If the obstruction is not removed, or commenced to be removed and diligently prosecuted, after the expiration of five days from the service or posting of the notice, the director of public works shall proceed

to remove such obstruction forthwith, at the expense of the owner or person whose duty it is to remove the same. For this purpose, the director of public works may employ such assistance as may be necessary, and when such materials as may constitute such obstruction are removed, the director of public works shall deposit them at the nearest convenient place that he can obtain where they shall remain at the expense and risk of the owner.

(b)

Expenses incurred by the director of public works in removing any obstruction shall be presented and audited as other claims and paid out of the city treasury; and the city council shall immediately commence and prosecute against the party whose duty it was to remove such obstructions, and who failed to do so, an action to obtain reimbursement for the amounts so expended.

(c)

If the obstruction is denied and the owner, occupant or person controlling the matter or thing charged with being an obstruction refuses either to remove or permit the director of public works to remove the same, or at any time commences action or proceedings against the director of public works for or on account of any act done by him under the provisions of this section, the director of public works shall immediately notify the city council of such refusal, action or proceeding, and the city council shall commence in the proper court an action to abate such obstruction as a nuisance, and if necessary to provide for the defense of the director of public works for such action or proceeding. The costs of such defense as well as any damages or costs against the director of public works in any action or proceeding, shall be paid out of the city treasury, unless the cause of such recovery is the wilful misconduct of the director.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

(a)

No person owning, controlling or operating any motor vehicle, or any machine or apparatus carrying or distributing or using electricity, gasoline or any product of petroleum for its motive power, shall drain oil from the crankcase or gearcase, or from any other part of such machine, upon any public street.

(b)

Every motor vehicle or machine or apparatus using electricity, gasoline or any product of petroleum for its motive power, or which may carry or distribute the same, shall have attached thereto a suitable device for the purpose of preventing deposits from leaks or drippings being made upon the pavement of public streets.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

The director of public works or his subordinates are authorized to make such inspections as he may deem necessary in connection with this chapter and may charge a fee to permittee for such inspection which fee will be based on the actual cost to the city.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

The director of public works may require that all or portions of the work be done by city forces using city equipment and materials. In such case, the actual costs, including a twenty percent overhead charge of such labor, equipment and materials, may be charged to the applicant or the permittee.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

The director of public works may require the applicant to place on deposit with the city cash or performance bonds in the amount of estimated charges for inspection, as described in section 16-12, and for work to be done by city forces as described in section 16-13, and may further require that the amount of such cash deposit or bond be adjusted during the progress of the work. The director of public works shall determine within thirty days after completion of the work the total amounts due and the cash deposit or performance bond shall be security for payment of said sums. Any excess of cash deposited in accordance herewith over the actual cost of the work shall be returned to the permittee.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

The permittee shall be legally responsible and liable for all personal injury or property damage which may arise out of work performed under a permit authorized and issued under this chapter or which may arise out of failure on the part of the permittee to perform his obligations under the permit and this chapter. In the event any claim of such liability is made against the city, or any employee thereof, permittee shall defend, indemnify and hold them and each of them harmless from such claim without cost to the city or any office or employee thereof.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

Public agencies or public utilities may be granted blanket permits for a period of not to exceed one year upon such terms and conditions as the director of public works may deem advisable.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

In the event the director of public works determines that an encroachment which is completed in accordance with the permit granted hereunder, is detrimental to or hinders the efficient functioning of a city road or right-of-way as it exists or as it may be altered or changed in the future, the existing encroachment shall be altered or changed as required by the director of public works and the costs of such alteration or change shall be borne by the permittee or the then owner of the encroachment.

The director of public works shall give notice of the required alteration or change of the encroachment to the permittee or then owner of the encroachment that such work is required and in the event such work is not accomplished by the permittee or owner within a reasonable time after such notice is given, the director of public works may cause such work to be done and the actual cost thereof shall be a charge against the permittee or owner.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause or phrase of the ordinance codified in this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this chapter and the board of supervisors declares that this chapter and each section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause and phrase thereof would have been adopted irrespective of the fact that one or more or such sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)

Any individual, person, firm, partnership, or corporation, or agent or employee thereof, who violates the provisions of this chapter or does not act in conformance with the requirements of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Such person, firm, or corporation shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of this section is committed, continued or permitted by such person, firm or corporation and shall be punishable as herein provided.

(Ord. No. 350, § 2.)