Manhattan Beach Municipal Code Ch. 7.40 Construction Site Temporary Encroachment Permit

The following sections apply to anyone who wishes to construct, excavate, demolish, place materials or otherwise plan some action which will result in installing or maintaining a temporary encroachment within the City of Manhattan Beach.

No person shall deposit or maintain in or upon any public street, court, alley, sidewalk or parkway, any protective fence, protective canopy, building material of any kind, debris from any building or building excavation, or any kind of material or equipment used or intended for use in connection with any building or other work upon adjacent private or public property without first making and filing a written application with the Department of Public Works and receiving a permit therefrom to do so.

Exceptions: The following persons and agencies shall be exempted from the permit procedure: City employees engaged in official City business and contractors in connection with work performed under contract to the City.

Application for said permit shall contain:

A. The address for which a permit is desired.

B. The name, address and telephone number of the applicant.

C. A non-business hour telephone number of the party responsible for use of public property.

D. A detailed diagram accompanied by a written statement declaring the location and dimension of each excavation, demolition, or construction intended to be made, and the proposed purpose thereof, and the exact location where it is desired to place obstructions in a public street, court, alley, sidewalk or parkway, the kind and nature of obstruction or material to be thus placed, the amount of room required therefor, and the time during which the obstruction or material will be there.

E. A statement revealing any use of heavy or oversized construction equipment, including the purpose of their use and the parking location thereof.

A permit fee and associated inspection fee as established by the Council under separate resolution shall be charged by the Administrative Authority for the issuance of a temporary encroachment permit. No refund shall be made on permit fees, and all monies collected shall revert to the City.

A deposit may be charged as established by the Council under separate resolution to be used if the Director of Public Works or his/her agent find it necessary to install any type of structure or device to prevent or correct any adverse condition resulting from the building or completion of any construction, excavation or demolition, or to pay for any violations cited against said permittee by qualified city officers.

If the cost against the sum of this deposit depletes said deposit or exceeds it, then the permittee shall provide any additional funds required by the City.

Any part of the deposit made by the permittee which is not used shall be returned to the depositor upon written request within ninety (90) days after the completion of work under the permit.

(Ord. No. 20-0021, § 1, eff. October 20, 2020)

Suspension or revocation of permit shall result when an officer of the City finds that public property or the public's safety is endangered in any way by any hazardous element produced by the excavation, demolition or construction conducted by the permittee; or when Federal, State, County or City law has been violated; or when any condition or fact exists which would, if known at the time of issuance of the permit, have been grounds for denying the permit; or when any failure to comply with the Standard Street Encroachment diagrams exists.

The permittee shall post the permit at the site of the work in an obvious and accessible place, and retain a copy himself during building, and have any manager or assigns under him be able to quickly produce a copy to any officer or inspector of the City at the work site.

Application for renewal must be made prior to the expiration date of the permit, and must be accompanied by a renewal fee as established by the Council under separate resolution; otherwise a new permit must be filed in accordance with the previous section and a new inspection fee, which shall be added to the preliminary deposit, must be paid.

(Ord. No. 20-0021, § 2, eff. October 20, 2020)

All materials, equipment, and debris related to the project shall not occupy any sidewalk or street, or part thereof, other than immediately in front of the premises of the project for which the permit is issued.

The permittee shall comply with the following restrictions regarding the placement of any debris or equipment. Unless otherwise permitted, no material whatsoever shall be deposited or maintained:

A. Within twenty-five (25′) feet of any fire hydrant;

B. Within ten (10′) feet of any railroad track;

C. Directly in front of any U.S. mail box;

D. Within ten (10′) feet of any pole, facility, or structure belonging to a public utility lawfully using the public streets, alleys, sidewalks or parkways of the city;

E. Directly in front of any business so as to obstruct or discourage the entering or approaching to such a place by any citizen;

F. Within ten (10′) feet of any crosswalk;

G. Within seventy-five (75′) feet of any gate or passageway which lends access to public school grounds;

H. Where or in such a manner that gutters or waterways are obstructed and the passage of water is inhibited; or

I. Directly in front of marked public transit stops.

Only with the consent of an officer or inspector of the Department of Public Works may the permittee place or extend any material or equipment, produced by or necessary for the construction, excavation or demolition of any structure, into any road, street, or alley, and the permittee shall abide by any suggestions made by said officer or inspector as to the potential development of traffic congestion or other problems.

During the progress of building operations, at least four (4′) feet of the sidewalk pavement shall be at all times kept clear of rubbish dirt for the free and unobstructed use of pedestrians. If the sidewalk is to be occupied, a temporary plankwalk not less than four (4′) feet in width surrounded by sturdy railings or guards shall be constructed pursuant to the Uniform Building Code around the outside of said construction.

No vehicle to be used by the permittee or assigns or employees under him may be operated or parked on any portion of a walkstreet whatsoever unless canvas or other such protective blanketing is placed on said walkstreet so as to pick up any oil droppings from the vehicle which may otherwise damage or deface the pavement.

Construction equipment, whether parked or in operation on a public street, shall not extend more than ten (10′) feet into the roadway from the curb and shall not occupy more than one half (½) the width of any alley in which it is working except:

A. When it is found absolutely necessary that these boundaries must be extended for more efficient parking or operation of such vehicles, and

B. When previous arrangements have been made with the Department of Public Works to (1) establish any device to guide traffic and pedestrians around the periphery of the vehicular occupation, or to (2) close any street or portion thereof to vehicle or pedestrian traffic when public peace, health or safety requires such temporary closing.

Flagmen, barricades, signs, canopies, temporary sidewalks, railings, approaches, and warning devices are to be provided and maintained whenever necessary to protect the public, and such will be constructed and positioned to the satisfaction of the Department of Public Works.

All approaches to excavations and depressions must be barricaded. Railings are to be established as a safety barrier between the pedestrian right-of-way and the construction material or excavation, and these railings must not be less than three and one-half (3 ½′) feet from the floor of the walkway.

No person shall maintain building material, debris, equipment, or any other kind of material related to the encroachment, on any street or alley without placing and maintaining a warning light at each end of each pile of such material or debris and at each end of such equipment throughout the night. Such warning lights shall be so located that they are clearly visible to approaching traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian.

Upon completion of any project, any structure not involved or mentioned in the contract and permit must be in the same or better condition as before the commencement of such work.

If such uninvolved material is damaged, repair costs incurred by the Department of Public Works shall be deducted from his bond deposit or shall be paid in full by the permittee. However, if said permittee is capable of conducting such repair himself, and with the approval of the Public Works Department, then he shall repair all such damaged structures and be subject to all costs involved.

Each construction site will be subject to inspection at any time by officers of the City. The City may at any time impose such additional conditions or requirements as may reasonably be deemed necessary in order to protect the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare.

Any permittee guilty of not complying to a written or oral request by the City within four (4) hours after submittal to him to detract from or add to any nature of the construction, excavation, or demolition which would be necessary to insure the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare, shall be charged with a misdemeanor. Any material extending outside the boundaries of the diagram proposed in the filed permit, and not removed by the permittee may be removed and sold at a price which will reimburse the cost incurred by the removal of such.

If the public streets, alleys, sidewalks, or parkways are not cleaned to the satisfaction of the Department of Public Works or if any fencing, construction material, equipment, or other debris is not removed after two (2) days following the completion of the project, City crews may remove the materials or clean up the traffic or pedestrian routes and the cost for this service will be deducted from the deposit.

Earth, rubbish, or debris produced by excavations, constructions or other projects shall not be stored either upon sidewalks, roadways or streets and shall be removed as quickly as produced. Any such material apt to be affected by wind, as in the creation of dust, shall be wetted down upon removal.

No person shall mix, make, place, pile, or store any mortar, concrete plaster, lime, or any similar substance or mixture upon any surface of any paved street in such a manner that the same will be deposited upon the surface of any street, alley, sidewalk, or parkway.

Any structure or storage of materials related to the encroachment shall be maintained in a safe and stable condition regardless of weather conditions.

If construction materials are permitted to occupy metered parking spaces, then a fee must be paid by the permittee. If the metered parking space is not centrally located in a commercial area, or if said space is not scarce or important, as determined by the Department of Public Works, then $2.00 per day must be paid for each space occupied by material, and the total charge will accumulate until such material is removed. However, if the metered parking space is scarce and necessary for parking, as determined by the Department of Public Works, then $10.00 per day per parking space will be charged to the permittee for as long as each space is occupied.

Metered parking spaces will be considered occupied if access to or use of the space is blocked or partially blocked by material related to the encroachment. Upon such occupation of metered parking space, said space will be blocked by proper signs or posts to prevent its usage by motorists.

The applicant's encroachment diagrams will explicitly show such places to be occupied and the total fee shall be paid to the City immediately upon reopening the metered parking space.

Any person operating overhead construction equipment in or upon a public roadway or walkway must comply with the following regulations:

A. No unauthorized person or vehicle is to be permitted to pass or stand under a boom or load. All unauthorized persons and vehicles must be kept at a safe distance from such operations.

B. Flagmen, barricades, signs and warning devices are to be provided and maintained whenever necessary to protect the public.

C. The contractor shall be liable for all damage that occurs to public streets or improvements or property therein which is caused by or results from the operation.

D. Any other condition specified by the City in granting the permit including, but not limited to, the hours and days that such equipment be parked or operated in a public street, and any safety measures to be taken shall be observed by the permittee.

The person applying for an encroachment permit must assume responsibility and be willing to pay for all injuries and damage to persons or property arising from or in connection with exercising the privilege of legal permitted encroachment.

No permit, however, shall be issued unless the applicant post and maintain with the City a surety bond or policy of public liability insurance in a form and with limits of coverage approved by the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 1517, eff. February 2, 1978)