McFarland Municipal Code Ch. 12.08 Street Excavations

The ordinance codified in this chapter shall be known as the "street excavation regulations."

(Ord. 150 §1, 1976)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given in this section:

A. "City" means the city of McFarland.

B. "City manager" means the city manager of the city.

C. "Excavation" means any opening in the surface of a public place made in any manner whatsoever, except an opening into a lawful structure below the surface of a public place, the top of which is flush with the adjoining surface and so constructed as to permit frequent openings without injury or damage to the public place.

D. "Facility" means pipe, pipeline, tube, main, service, trap, vent, vault, manhole, meter, gauge, regulator, valve, conduit, wire, tower, pole, pole line, anchor, cable, junction box, transformer or object of any kind or character, whether enumerated herein or not, which is or may be lawfully constructed, let, placed or maintained in, upon, along, across, under or over any public place.

E. "Public place" means any public street, way, place, alley, sidewalk, park, right-of-way, or any other public property owned or controlled by the city.

F. "Substructure" means any pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel, manhole, vault, buried cable or wire, or any other structure located below the surface of any public place.

(Ord. 150 §2, 1976)

No person shall make any excavation, fill any excavation or make any cut in any public place without first obtaining a permit to do so from the city manager. No permit to make an excavation in any public place shall be issued except as provided in this chapter. The city manager may issue an annual permit for the purpose of placing, replacing or repairing any facility within a public place in the city, where the opening does not exceed three feet in width and five feet in length, to the following persons and/or entities upon payment of the fees and deposits required in this chapter, provided the city manager is notified in writing at least twenty- four hours in advance of any such work and the permittee does not replace, restore and/or repair such excavation without first securing the city manager's inspection thereof and consent thereto:

A. A public utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission; or

B. A person holding a franchise from the city; or

C. The McFarland Mutual Water Company.

(Ord. 150 §3, 1976)

No excavation permit shall be issued unless a written application on a form provided by the city for the issuance of an excavation permit is submitted to the city manager. The written application shall state the name and address and principal place of business of the applicant, the authority of the applicant to occupy the public place for which the permit is sought, the location and dimensions of the installation or removal for which excavation is to be made, the purpose of the facility and its location within the excavation and the length of time which will be required to complete such work, including backfilling and closing the excavation and removing all obstructions, materials and debris. The application, when approved and signed by the city manager, shall constitute a permit.

(Ord. 150 §4, 1976)

A permit fee shall be charged by the city manager for the issuance of an excavation permit. The fee for a single permit shall be ten dollars and for an annual permit, fifty dollars.

(Ord. 150 §5, 1976)

Before an excavation permit is issued, as provided in this chapter, the applicant shall deposit with the city a public liability and property damage insurance policy naming the city, its officers, employees and agents as additional insureds. The policy shall provide:

A. Limits of one hundred thousand dollars for the injury or death of one person and three hundred thousand dollars for the death or injury of more than one person in any one accident; and

B. Property damage liability in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars; and

C. The policy shall remain in force until all work authorized under an excavation permit has been completed by the applicant and has been approved by the city; and

D. That prior to the cancellation of the policy, the insurance carrier shall provide the city with thirty days' written notice thereof.

(Ord. 156 §3, 1977: Ord. 150 §6, 1976)

A. The application for an excavation permit to perform excavation work under this chapter shall be accompanied by a cash deposit, made payable to the city for deposit with the city treasurer, as follows: A sum equal to three dollars per square foot of surface area of each excavation made in a public place. No deposit shall be less than three hundred dollars. Any person applying for an annual permit shall deposit the sum of one thousand dollars with the city treasurer. Such deposit shall cover only those excavations permitted under an annual permit.

B. Any special or general deposit made under this chapter shall serve as security for the repair and performance of work necessary to put the public place in as good a condition as it was prior to the excavation. Upon the permittee's completion of the work covered by the permit in conformity with this chapter as determined by the city manager, two-thirds of such cash deposit, except in the case of any annual deposit, shall be promptly refunded by the city to the permittee and the balance shall be refunded by the city to the permittee upon the expiration of a twelve-month period where the city manager finds that the work completed remains satisfactory. In the case of an annual deposit, two-thirds of such cash deposit shall be refunded by the city at the end of the one-year period for which the deposit is made or the satisfactory completion of all excavation work undertaken during such period, whichever is later, and the balance of the annual deposit shall be refunded at the end of a twelve-month period following the completion of the excavation work where the city manager finds that the work completed remains satisfactory. The city may use any or all of any deposit under this section to pay the cost of any work the city performs to restore or maintain the public place as provided in this chapter in the event the permittee fails to perform such work to the satisfaction of the city manager. In such case, the amount refunded to the permittee shall be reduced by the amount expended by the city.

(Ord. 150 §7, 1976)

A. A public utility company regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of the state and holding a franchise from the city may be exempted from the provisions of Sections 12.08.060 and 12.08.070 upon the execution of a hold harmless agreement between the city and the public utility, the form of the agreement to be approved by the city manager.

B. The public utility shall agree to hold harmless, indemnify and defend the city, its officers, employees and agents, from any and all liability claims, losses or damages, including attorneys' fees, arising or alleged to arise from the performance of the work undertaken by the public utility under an excavation permit issued under the regulations of this chapter.

C. The public utility shall also indemnify and save the city, its officers, employees and agents harmless from all such costs, losses, expenses, damages, attorneys' fees, and all other costs, including all costs of defense, which any of them incur with respect to the failure, neglect or refusal of the public utility company to faithfully perform the work authorized under an excavation permit issued under the regulations of this chapter, including all conditions of approval, to the satisfaction of the city.

(Ord. 156 §1, 1977: Ord. 150 §7(A), 1976)

The city manager may waive the requirements of Sections 12.08.060 and 12.08.070 where he finds that the excavation permit is issued pursuant to the following conditions:

A. The applicant is a property owner of the city and the work to be undertaken is for the benefit of the applicant's principal residence;

B. The work to be performed consists solely of placing a new driveway approach where the only material to be excavated is dirt;

C. There will be no placement, removal or alteration of curb and gutter;

D. All work will be commenced and completed within twenty-four hours.

(Ord. 156 §2, 1977: Ord. 150 §7(B), 1976)

Upon written application of the holder of an annual permit, the city manager may renew an annual permit without payment of the application fee required in Section 12.08.050; provided, however, that the requirements of Sections 12.08.060 and 12.08.070 shall be fully complied with in respect to the renewed permit.

(Ord. 150 §8, 1976)

The city manager shall condition the approval of an excavation permit upon the faithful performance of the permittee. Such conditions may include, but not be limited to, the following:

A. Routing of traffic;

B. Protection of traffic;

C. Clearance for vital structures;

D. Relocation and protection of utilities;

E. Abandonment of substructures;

F. Protection of adjoining property;

G. Protective devices and measures;

H. Care of excavation materials;

I. Clean up;

J. Protection of watercourses;

K. Breaking through pavement;

L. Depth and/or location of facilities;

M. Backfilling;

N. Restoration of surface;

O. Completion time of all excavation work;

P. Health and safety of the surrounding community.

(Ord. 150 §9, 1976)

If in his judgment, the traffic conditions, the safety or convenience of the traveling public or the public interest require that the excavation work be performed as emergency work, the city manager shall have full power to order, at the time the permit is issued, that a crew of men and adequate facilities be employed by the permittee twenty-four hours a day to the end that such excavation work be completed as soon as possible.

(Ord. 150 §10, 1976)

A. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the making of any excavation as may be necessary to make emergency repairs for the preservation of life or property, provided that the person making the excavation shall notify the police department immediately upon making the excavation and shall apply to the city manager for a permit on the first working day after such work is commenced.

B. No excavation undertaken under this section shall be closed until such permit is secured.

(Ord. 150 §11, 1976)

The city manager shall make such inspections as are reasonably necessary in the enforcement of this chapter. The city manager shall have the authority to promulgate and cause to be enforced such rules and regulations as may be reasonably necessary to enforce and carry out the intent of this chapter.

(Ord. 150 §12, 1976)

Any monument set for the purpose of locating or preserving the lines of any street or property subdivision, or a precise survey reference point, or a permanent survey bench mark within the city, shall not be removed or disturbed or caused to be removed or disturbed without first obtaining permission in writing from the city manager to do so. Permission to remove or disturb such monuments, reference point or bench marks shall only be granted upon condition that the person applying for such permission shall pay all expenses incident to the proper replacement of the monument by the city.

(Ord. 150 §13, 1976)

A. If, in the opinion of the city manager, after an inspection of any work in progress and reviewing all relevant information, the permittee has violated any provisions of this chapter or any condition which was made a part of the excavation permit pursuant to Section 12.08.110, the permit shall be revoked and no further work shall be undertaken by the permittee except to restore the public place to its original condition or such condition as required in the permit. The permittee shall be notified by mail at the address given on the permit in the event that the permit is revoked. The notice shall inform the permittee of his right of appeal under Section 12.08.170.

B. In the event the permittee fails to restore the public place as required in the permit when so notified by the city manager, the city manager shall cause the same to be done and shall deduct the amount necessary to restore the public place from the deposit required in Section 12.08.070.

(Ord. 150 §14, 1976)

(Ord. No. 002-2010, § 1, 4-11-11)

Any person applying for a permit or any permittee shall have the right to appeal any decision or condition imposed by the city manager in the exercise of his responsibility under this chapter; however, there shall be no right of appeal to those provisions of this chapter specifically provided for. An appeal under this section shall be upon a written form provided by the city and shall be accompanied by a filing fee of twenty-five dollars. The city council shall hear the appeal at its next regular meeting and shall make a determination thereon. The decision of the city council shall be final.

(Ord. 150 §15, 1976)

(Ord. No. 002-2010, § 1, 4-11-11)

Every person owning, using, controlling or having an interest in substructures, under the surface of any public place used for the purpose of supplying or conveying gas, electricity, cable television signals, communication impulse, water, steam, ammonia or oil in the city, shall file with the city manager, within one hundred twenty days after the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter, a map or set of maps, each drawn to a scale of not less than one inch to two hundred feet, showing in detail the location, size, description and date of installation, if known, of all substructures, except a service line designed to serve a single property owner, beneath the surface of the public place belonging to, used by or under the control of such person having any interest, and shall file with the city manager within fifteen days after the first day of January of each and every year a corrected map or set of maps, each drawn to said scale including all installations made during the previous year, to and including the last day of such year; provided, however, that a public utility owner may, at its option, provide corrected atlas sheets at more frequent intervals.

(Ord. 150 §16, 1976)

(Ord. No. 002-2010, § 1, 4-11-11)

This chapter shall not be construed as imposing upon the city or any official, employee or agent of the city any liability or responsibility for any damages or injury to any person by the performance of any excavation work for which an excavation permit is issued under this chapter, nor shall the city, its officers, employees or agents be deemed to have assumed such liability or any responsibility by reason of inspections authorized under this chapter or the issuance of any permit or the approval of any excavation work.

(Ord. 150 §17, 1976)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for a period of not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 150 §19, 1976)

Permission to excavate in newly renovated streets will not be granted for three years after completion of street renovation as shown by the filing of a notice of completion. Utilities shall determine alternate methods of making necessary repairs to avoid excavating in newly renovated streets. Exceptions to the above are as follows:

1. Emergency which endangers life or property.

2. Interruption of essential utility service.

3. Work that is mandated by city, state or federal legislation.

4. Service for buildings where no other reasonable means of providing service exists.

5. Other situations deemed by the city council to be in the best interest of the general public.

All permits which are issued under subsections A through E [of this section] shall be in accordance with the standards, details and specifications established by and on file in the office of the director.

(Ord. No. 6-2025, § 2, 7-23-25)