Larkspur Municipal Code Ch. 15.32 Encroachment of City Rights-of-Way

Sections: 15.32.005 Definitions. 15.32.010 Permits Required. 15.32.015 Compliance. 15.32.020 Restoring Streets, Sidewalks, or Improvements. 15.32.025 Public Safety. 15.32.030 Relocation or Removal. 15.32.035 Supervision of Work. 15.32.040 Fees. 15.32.045 Emergency Excavations. 15.32.050 Responsibility for Repairs – Insurance. 15.32.055 Bond Required. 15.32.060 Bond Exceptions. 15.32.065 Utilities Permits, Renewal, Revocation. 15.32.070 Excavation of Newly Paved Streets. 15.32.075 Requirements for Restoration of Excavations in Newly Paved Streets. 15.32.080 Reserved.

The following words, terms and phrases when used in this chapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section and as set forth in Section 1450 of the Streets and Highways Code of the State of California. The term “encroachment” shall mean and include any of the following acts within City of Larkspur rights-of-way:

A. Filling;

B. Excavation;

C. Installing underground utilities;

D. Installing or constructing curbs and gutters;

E. Installing or constructing sidewalks;

F. Installing or constructing driveways;

G. Installing or constructing road approaches;

H. Planting, maintaining or removing trees or shrubs or other landscaping. “Tree” means a woody plant having normally a single, self-supporting trunk, thereof or which will be of a minimum height of ten (10) feet when matured;

I. Installing or constructing fences;

J. Installing or constructing retaining walls;

K. Any full or partial blocking of traveled way;

L. Construction of any items defined as a structure according to the Building Code of the City of Larkspur;

M. Any promotional use. (Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

No person, firm, corporation, public agency, or other entity shall make any encroachment or commence any work within, or upon, any right-of-way, street, or highway of the City of Larkspur without having first obtained an encroachment permit from the Department of Public Works of the City. In cases involving large, semipermanent or unusual encroachment, the Department may require approval of the City Manager, or the City Council, or both, prior to the issuance of the permit. Issuance of an encroachment permit is contingent upon compliance with Larkspur Municipal Code Chapter 9.11. (Ord. 1005 § 6, 2015; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Any act done under authority of a written permit issued pursuant to the provisions of Larkspur Municipal Code Section 15.32.010 shall be done in accordance with the applicable provisions of this chapter and the terms and conditions of the permit. (Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Any permit issued under provisions of this chapter shall provide that the entire expense of replacing street surfacing, sidewalks, curbs and gutters and/or other public improvements to as good a condition as before work started shall be paid by permittee. The permit may also provide conditions for the location and the manner in which the work is to be done as required by the Department of Public Works for protection of rights-of-way and public convenience and safety. (Ord. 1062 § 14, 2022; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Any work required for public safety may be done by the Department of Public Works and full cost of such work recovered from permittee providing that the permittee has been given reasonable notice prior to such work being undertaken by City forces, except in emergency situations. However, all public utilities will be notified of any work, including emergency situations, that is necessary and be given the necessary time to complete the needed work prior to action of the Department of Public Works. (Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Any permit issued shall contain a provision that in the event of future improvement of City rights-of-way necessitating the relocation or removal of such encroachment, the permittee shall relocate or remove said encroachment at their sole expense. In said event, the Public Works Director shall serve on the permittee their written demand specifying the place of relocation or that the encroachment must be removed from the public right-of-way and specifying a reasonable time within which work of relocation or removal must be commenced. The permittee must commence such relocation or removal within the time specified in said demand and thereafter diligently prosecute said work to completion.

All permits other than those issued of the class specified in Larkspur Municipal Code Section 15.32.060 are revocable on five (5) days notice and the encroachment must be removed or relocated as may be specified by the Public Works Director, which time shall not be less than five (5) days unless so provided for in the permit. (Ord. 1069 § 15, 2023; Ord. 1062 § 14, 2022; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

The Public Works Director may, but is not required to, supervise any work done under a permit issued under provisions of this chapter, in which event the permittee shall pay the reasonable cost of said supervision to the City of Larkspur if so designated on the permit. (Ord. 1069 §§ 15, 16, 2023; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

A. Application. All applications shall be on forms provided by the City of Larkspur and shall be subject to fees established by resolution of the City Council.

B. Renewal. The fee for renewal or extension shall be established by resolution of the City Council.

C. Inspection. The Public Works Director, or their designee, may inspect any work done under a permit issued under the provisions of this chapter. The permittee shall pay the reasonable cost of such inspection when so stated on the permit. (Ord. 1069 § 15, 2023; Ord. 1062 § 14, 2022; Ord. 853 § 2 (part), 1993; Ord. 406 § 1, 1971; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Persons or governmental entities may excavate openings in City rights-of-way or make repairs in case of emergency requiring immediate action. In such cases the appropriate representative of the City shall be promptly notified of any such action and such person or governmental entity shall at their own expense renew such City right-of-way in as good condition as before work started, and the City may charge such person a reasonable cost for inspection of said work. The term person shall include natural persons, corporations, partnerships, associations and public entities. (Ord. 1062 § 14, 2022; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

The permittee or their successors in interest shall be responsible for maintenance and repair of any works for which a permit was issued. Should any work constructed under the permit become defective at any time, such defect shall be considered sufficient reason for revocation of the permit and removal of encroachment as provided for in Larkspur Municipal Code Section 15.32.030.

The Public Works Director may require each applicant to file with the City a certificate of insurance to cover liability of the permittee for property damage and/or injuries to persons in connections with the work done under such permit. The minimum limits of the insurance shall be fixed by the Public Works Director in such amounts as deemed necessary by them to cover the costs and hazards of the work to be done under the permit. (Ord. 1069 §§ 15, 17, 2023; Ord. 1062 § 14, 2022; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Before granting a permit under the provisions of this chapter the Public Works Director may require the applicant to file with the City a faithful performance and one (1) year maintenance bond payable to the City in such amount as is deemed necessary to cover such costs for proper compliance by permittee with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 1069 §§ 15, 18, 2023; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Except as otherwise provided in this section, such a bond shall not be required of any city, public agency, political subdivision or public utility which is authorized by law to establish or maintain any works or facilities in, under, or over any public right-of-way nor shall the application of any such governmental unit be denied. Every such applicant is entitled as a matter of right to a permit. The Public Works Director may require of any such applicant a bond in a sum not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) if such applicant has in fact prior to such application failed to comply with the provisions of a previous permit. (Ord. 1069 § 15, 2023; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

Any municipal utility district, municipal water district, metropolitan water district or public utility is entitled to a blanket permit renewable annually for installation of its service connections and for maintenance of its facilities located or installed in city rights-of-way, but the Public Works Director may revoke any such blanket permit if the permittee fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

When any such permit is revoked for proper cause, such district, or utility is entitled to a permit only upon furnishing a bond as provided in Larkspur Municipal Code Section 15.32.050. (Ord. 1069 § 15, 2023; Ord. 338 § 1 (part), 1967)

The City desires to regulate excavations and pavement cutting of newly constructed, reconstructed, paved, surfaced or resurfaced public rights-of-way by establishing the following regulations:

A. Excavations Prohibited. No excavation or pavement cutting shall be permitted in any public rights-of-way for a period of five (5) years from the date of construction, reconstruction, paving, surfacing, resurfacing or sealing (“pavement improvement”) of the public rights-of-way, except as set forth in subsection (A)(1) of this section:

1. Excavation or pavement cutting may be approved by the City Engineer upon a finding by the City
Engineer that such excavation or cutting is allowed due to an emergency or an exception, as set forth below.

a. The City Engineer shall find that a proposed excavation or pavement cutting is allowed due to an
emergency if the proposed excavation is necessary to repair or replace underground facilities in order to
prevent a disruption of services to customers or prevent injury or damage to life or property.

b. The City Engineer may approve an exception to the prohibition set forth in this subsection (A)(1) if
the City Engineer finds that the excavation or cutting is required to provide essential utility services to a
property where there are no other reasonable means of providing such services to the property or
where the work is mandated by state or federal laws or orders and the excavation cannot be reasonably
avoided.

2. In the event of an excavation permitted by subsection (A)(1) of this section, the affected rights-of-way
shall be restored in accordance with the pavement excavation restoration standards set forth in Larkspur
Municipal Code Section 15.32.075.

B. Pavement Improvement List. The City will maintain a list of all newly constructed, reconstructed, paved, surfaced or resurfaced public rights-of-way. The list and map of the rights-of-way together with the date of completion for each pavement improvement project will be added on the City of Larkspur website. (Ord. 1033 § 2, 2019; Ord. 1001 § 1, 2015)

• Editor’s Note: Larkspur Municipal Code Section 15.32.070, “Trees – Planting,” previously contained herein, has been repealed in entirety by Ordinance No. 772. For provisions regarding trees, see Chapter 12.16 LMC.

Streets.

If excavation or cutting of pavement in the public right-of-way is allowed due to an emergency or exception as set forth in Larkspur Municipal Code Section 15.32.070, as a condition of approval of said emergency or exception excavation by the City Engineer, the permittee shall restore the pavement surface after cutting or trenching by one (1) of the following methods, subject to approval by the City Engineer:

A. For longitudinal trench cuts (parallel with the street centerline), surface restoration shall include removal and replacement of the surface layer of asphalt to a minimum depth and thickness of two (2) inches for the full length of the trench cut, plus a minimum of five (5) feet on either end of the cut, and for a total length of not less than forty (40) feet. The remove and replace limits shall extend from face of curb to centerline, or face of curb to face of curb for pavement widths of less than twenty-four (24) feet.

B. For nonlongitudinal trench cuts (pits, patches or perpendicular to the street centerline), surface restoration shall include removal and replacement of the surface layer of asphalt to a minimum depth and thickness of two (2) inches for the full length of the lot/parcel frontage associated with the permitted work or immediately adjacent to the work. The remove and replace limits shall extend from face of curb to centerline for cuts completely contained on one (1) side of street centerline and face of curb to face of curb for cuts that cross the centerline.

C. For pavement restoration cases in subsections (A) and (B) of this section, all other components of the restoration shall conform to Uniform Construction Standards – All Cities and County of Marin (MCUCS), with the structural section street repair extending twenty-four (24) inches beyond every trench wall per MCUCS Drawing No. 330.

D. For pavement cuts that do not include mechanical excavation and that result in less than two-foot by two-foot pits (such as hydro/vacuum potholing), standard MCUCS trench restorations will be allowed with the payment of a five hundred dollar ($500.00) in-lieu fee per pit.

E. At the discretion of the City Engineer, for cuts described in subsections (A) and (B) of this section, the City may charge a fee in lieu of the additional pavement restoration. The in-lieu fee charged will be determined on the nature of the emergency/exception and age of the paving. The minimum in-lieu fee charged will be five hundred dollars ($500.00). The maximum in-lieu fee charged will be the sum of the products of the calculated square footage of pavement grinding and tonnage of asphalt per subsection (A) or (B) of this section as applicable and the most recent unit prices for this work paid by the City on a publicly advertised project, plus an administrative charge of twenty (20) percent. If the in-lieu fee is applied, the excavation shall be repaired by the permittee per MCUCS with the structural section street repair extending twenty-four (24) inches beyond every trench wall per MCUCS Drawing No. 330. (Ord. 1034 § 2, 2019)

Prior to commencement of any business to paint house numbers on the curb of any public right-of-way, approval shall be obtained from the Public Works Department and secured with a one hundred dollar ($100.00) bond, refundable deposit or other funds to assume correction or alterations claimed by residents requiring remedial action by City forces. The bond may be cancelled or funds returned sixty (60) days after statement of termination of work. A business license and encroachment permit shall be obtained.

A. House numbers may only be painted on the face of the curb after permission of the resident is obtained.

B. Applicant must provide local or supply toll free telephone contact to the resident along with receipt showing name, address, and telephone number of business or organization. The quality of work must be accurate and to the satisfaction of the resident and City. Correction is to be made by the applicant, or, if made by the City will be charged against bond, refundable deposit, or other funds.

C. The paint used shall be white masonry high gloss enamel to completely cover previous number and background. Black masonry high gloss enamel shall be used for letters. Both paints shall be a rapid dry type. (Ord. 771 § 1, 1988)