Laguna Niguel Municipal Code Art. 3 Excavation, Filling and Obstruction of Highways

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

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 any city, including this city, and all departments and bureaus thereof except the department of public works of the city, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.

Public agency means and includes the United States or any department or agency thereof, the state or any department or agency thereof, or any county, municipal corporation or public district.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-1-18.

A person who digs up, plows up, removes or breaks the earth, soil, stone, pavement or other surface of or otherwise injures any highway or makes or causes to be made any excavation, or constructs, places upon, maintains or leaves any material or any obstruction or impediment to travel in or upon a highway or installs or maintains or causes to be installed or maintained any tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or any other installation of any nature across, upon, in or under any highway, unless he shall have first obtained a permit so to do, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

Applications for permits under this article shall be filed not less than 48 hours before the work is proposed to be done.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

Applications for permits required by this article 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:

(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 and 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 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 successors or assigns, within ten 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 it to a site which may be designated by the director of public works.

(6) Any additional information which the director of public works may deem necessary for the proper disposition of the application.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

The application for a permit under this article shall be accompanied by a plat showing the location, dimension and nature of the proposed excavation, obstruction or fill, and any other details which the director of public works may require.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

If the applicant for a permit under this article is other than the owner of the underlying fee, each such applicant for a permit shall submit to the director of public works satisfactory proof of the applicant's right to use the highway for the purposes set forth in the application.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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 or the prevention of undue interference with traffic, or to ensure the safety of persons using the highway.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

The director of public works may, either at the time of the issuance of a permit 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 issued under this article.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

An applicant for a permit for improvement, construction and repair under this article shall pay fees for processing, engineering and inspection as established by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

(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, each applicant for a permit under this article shall, in addition to the issuance fee, 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 required under this section shall in no event be less than $30.00. 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 $0.60 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 $2.00.

(b) In cases where the applicant is granted authority to make the repairs required under this article, the director of public works may, in order to ensure the completion of the 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 and shall be in an amount equal to twice the estimated cost of performing the work authorized; provided, however, that the minimum amount of the bond shall not be less than $1,000.00, and the minimum period shall not be less than one year. The condition of the 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. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

In lieu of making the special deposit required by section 7-3-47, the applicant for a permit under this article 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, inspection fees and expected repairs occasioned by future excavations or obstructions, but not to exceed $500.00.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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 or employee, plus the cost of overhead, not to exceed 15 percent of the total cost.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

If the United States, this state, any county, this or any other municipal corporation, or any school district or other public body 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 person. No permit issuance fee shall be required of any public agency entitled to exemption therefrom pursuant to Government Code § 6103.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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, the director of public works shall approve the application and issue the permit.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

The permit issued under this article 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 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 has jurisdiction.

(3) 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.

(4) The permit shall be nontransferable.

(5) 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 notice to the applicant by ordinary mail to the address shown on the application.

(6) The director of public works 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 may deem reasonably necessary for the protection of the highway or for the prevention of undue interference with traffic, or to ensure the safety of persons using the highway.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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 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. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

(a) Immediately upon completion of the work necessitating the 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.

(b) 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. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

(a) Resurfacing after refilling and compacting. After completion of the refilling and compacting of the backfill material in the excavation as specified in section 7-3-70 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 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.

(b) 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 plant-mixed surfacing or three inches of plant-mixed surfacing over six inches of 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 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.

(c) Tunneling or boring. 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 of 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 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 100 feet in length.

(e) General standards. All materials and construction operations shall conform to the applicable provisions of the city standard specifications.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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 7-3-47 or section 7-3-49, whichever in the judgment of the director of public works will most fairly compensate the city for the expenses incurred by it.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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 under this article 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 7-3-47 or section 7-3-49, whichever in the judgment of the director of public works will most fairly compensate the city for the expenses incurred by it.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

(a) Trenching for installation 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.

(b) More than one-half of the width of a traveled way shall be disturbed at one time only upon the prior authorization by the city council.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

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 of public works.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

(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 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.

(b) Compaction of clayey soils.

(1) Clayey materials shall be defined as a soil containing more than 30 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.

(2) In lieu of backfilling with clayey material, the permittee, at his option, may elect to furnish sandy or granular material, less than 30 percent 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 of public works.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

(a) The city shall deduct the following from any deposit made or maintained by a permittee under this article:

(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 7-3-47 or section 7-3-49.

(4) Additional repair costs. The cost to the city of any additional repairs, as provided in section 7-3-67.

(5) Inspection costs. The cost of any inspection by the director of public works made necessary by the failure of the permittee to comply with any provision of this article or the terms or conditions of the permit. The inspection fees provided for in section 7-3-41 shall be presumed to be the actual cost of inspection, and a refund thereof shall not be made to any applicant.

(b) No engineering fees will be charged by the city for services rendered pursuant to this article. Inspection costs, however, will be paid for by the applicant as provided for in section 7-3-41 and subsection (a)(5) of this section.

(c) After making the deductions specified in this section, the city shall, unless the deductions are made from a general deposit, refund any balance to the applicant in the same manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust moneys. The balance remaining in a general deposit shall be retained by the director of public works and applied to the 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 moneys.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

If any deposit is insufficient to pay all fees and costs provided in this article, the permittee shall, upon demand, pay to the director of public works an amount equal to the deficiency.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

If a permittee under this article, upon demand, fails to pay any deficiency as provided in section 7-3-77 or fails to pay any other costs due to the city under this article for which no deposit has been made, the city may recover the costs by an action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Until such deficiency or cost is paid in full, a permit shall not thereafter be issued under this article to such permittee.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

Nothing in this article 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 of public works are first opened subsequent to the making of such excavation.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)

A person who violates any provision of this article or of any permit issued under this article is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 90-11, § 6, 3-6-90)