Mountain House Municipal Code Ch. 4 Encroachment Standards

The intent of this Chapter is to specify the requirements for performing work within County rights-of-way.

(Ord. 2024-18, § 1(Exh. A), 2024)

(a) Permit required for grading and excavating. No person shall dig holes, trenches, or ditches, make openings or excavations of any kind for any purpose, or perform grading of earth soil or other material on any street, highway, road, or other public place except upon application to, and permit granted by, the Director of Public Works, who shall have authority to prescribe how much work shall be done, how the holes, trenches, ditches, and openings shall be filled or backfilled, when the work may be commenced, and when finished. Every permit granted pursuant to this section shall be made on the condition that if the grantee fails, refuses, or neglects, within a reasonable time after written demand of the Director of Public Works, to complete the work or to restore the street, highway, road, or other public place to a condition equal to or better than its condition before the opening or excavation was made and to maintain the same in that condition, the Director of Public Works may do the work and furnish the material necessary, therefore, and all sums reasonably expended for these purposes shall be repaid to the City by the grantee.

(b) Bond or Cash Deposit. No application shall be granted until the applicant has filed with the Director of Public Works a bond or cash deposit in a sum satisfactory to the Director guaranteeing that the street, highway, road, or other public place shall be restored to a condition equal to or better than its condition before the opening was made and shall be maintained in that condition. An applicant for these permits may file one bond to cover all work during a year, if desired, in an amount that the Director shall deem necessary to save the City harmless from all damage.

(c) Liability of County. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to enlarge the liability of the City for any excavation or work or for damages to the public or otherwise resulting therefrom, and every permit and bond issued under this chapter shall provide that the City and its officers and employees shall be held harmless on account of any damage or injury to the public or otherwise resulting from the excavation or other work.

(Ord. 2024-18, § 1(Exh. A), 2024)

(a) Irrigation Drainage. No person shall drain irrigation water, or permit irrigation water to be drained, from his lands onto any county highway by any means.

(b) Obstructions. No person shall obstruct any natural watercourse so as to:

(1) Prevent, impede, or restrict the natural flow of waters from any county highway into and through the watercourse, unless other adequate and proper drainage is provided.

(2) Cause waters to be impounded within any county highway.

(3) Cause interference with, or damage or hazard to, public travel.

(c) Water Storage. No person shall store or distribute water for any purpose so as to permit it to overflow onto, to saturate by seepage, or to obstruct any County highway.

(d) Acts Requiring Permit. No person without a permit shall cause or permit the following:

(1) Maintain or, if already existing, continue to maintain any obstruction of any drainage facility lying partly or wholly within, across, under, or above any County highway.

(2) Permit to be deposited in any drainage facility in any County highway any material or substance, including dirt, soil, weeds, trash, rocks, or any other substance which would tend to impede the drainage of water.

(3) Alter, construct, obstruct, constrict, or enlarge any drainage facility within any County road right-of-way by increasing or decreasing the amount, extent, nature, or direction of flow of water along any drainage facility.

(4) Decrease or increase, enlarge or construct, heighten or deepen, or in any other fashion change the drainage facilities on private property or public property facilities on private property or public property adjacent to any drainage facility along or across any County highway so as to prevent the natural or ordinary drainage of waters along the highway or so as to place an extraordinary burden on the capacity of any drainage facilities along any County highway.

(Ord. 2024-18, § 1(Exh. A), 2024)

Encroachment permits are required for the erection or construction of any facility or for alterations or moving of any existing facilities within the City right-of-way. They shall be applied for and secured from the Office of the Director of Public Works or at other offices that may be designated by the Director of Public Works for these purposes where employees or representatives of the Director of Public Works may be authorized to issue these permits.

(a) Administration.

(1) The Director of Public Works shall have the following powers and duties in administering and enforcing this chapter:

(A) The issuance of permits.

(B) Enforcement of related state laws as well as this chapter.

(C) Keeping of accurate records.

(D) The preparation and adoption of the forms, rules, and regulations that may be reasonably necessary for the proper enforcement of this chapter, including requirements for the submission by applicants for permits of plans and specifications, informal or formal, that may be deemed necessary for the proper location and construction of the various types of drainage facilities.

(E) The inspection of construction and operation of drainage facilities. For this purpose the Director of Public Works or his authorized representative shall have the power of a police officer, including the right of entry on private property, the right to stop construction operations, and the right to clear out or open up the stoppage of any drainage facility if the stoppage is deemed contrary to this chapter and does or may endanger public health, safety, and the general welfare.

(F) Other powers and duties, related to the foregoing, that may be reasonably necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.

(2) The Director of Community Development shall be empowered to issue driveway encroachment permits and transportation permits for moving mobile homes and conventional houses.

(b) Notice to Remove Encroachment.

(1) If any encroachment exists in, under, or over any County highway, road, or land, the Director of Public Works may require the removal of the encroachment in the manner provided hereinafter.

(2) Notice shall be given to the owner, occupant, person in possession of the encroachment, or any other person causing or allowing the encroachment to exist by serving on him a notice containing a demand for the immediate removal of the encroachment from within the highway. The notice shall describe the character and location of the encroachment with reasonable certainty. In lieu of service on the person, service of the notice may also be made by registered mail or by posting, for a period of five (5) days, a copy of the notice on the encroachment described in the notice in a manner that will not interfere with the use of the highway. In case the owner, occupant or person in possession is not present in the City, notice may be given to his agent in lieu of service by mailing or posting.

(c) Removal of Encroachment. The Director of Public Works may immediately remove from any county highway any encroachment which:

(1) Is not removed, or the removal of which is not commenced and thereafter diligently prosecuted, within five (5) days after the service of the notice.

(2) Obstructs or prevents the use of the highway by the public.

(3) Consists of refuse.

(4) Is an advertising sign of any description unless the advertisement is a notice posted as required by law.

(d) Recovery of Costs. The Director of Public Works may remove any encroachment on the failure of the owner to comply with the notice of demand of the Director of Public Works under the foregoing section and shall have an action to recover the expenses of the removal, costs and expenses of suit, and, in addition, the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) for each day the encroachment remains after the expiration of five (5) days from the service of the demand.

(e) Abatement Action: Recovery of Penalty. If the owner, occupant, person in possession of the encroachment, the person causing or suffering the encroachment to exist, or the agent of any of them, disputes or denies the existence of the encroachment or refuses to remove or permit the removal of the encroachment, the Director of Public Works, in the name of the City, may commence, in any court of competent jurisdiction, an action to abate the encroachment as a public nuisance. If judgement is recovered by the Director of Public Works, he may, in addition to having the encroachment adjudged a nuisance and abated, recover ten dollars ($10.00) for each day the encroachment remains after the service of the notice in the manner provided in the foregoing sections and may also recover the costs and expenses incurred in the action. This remedy is cumulative and does not exclude punishment for the violation of this Chapter as otherwise provided in this Chapter.

(f) Disposition of Recovered Money. All money recovered under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into the Road Fund which is available to the Director of Public Works for highway purposes.

(g) Procedures Not Exclusive. Procedure provided in this chapter is not exclusive and shall not prohibit the Director of Public Works or other County officers and departments from exercising any other remedy provided by law to prevent damage to or protect any County highway or to collect the damages therefrom.

(h) Violation: Penalties. In case of violations, appropriate procedures may be taken for the abatement, removal and restraint of any actions taken in violation of the provisions. Penalties shall be as specified in Section Chapter 2 of Division 19, with the correction period reduced to five (5) days.

(i) Liability of County. This chapter shall not be construed to impose on the City any liability or responsibility for damage resulting from drainage obstruction, nor shall the City or any County official or employee be held to assume any such liability or responsibility by reason of any inspection authorized under this chapter, by reason of any failure to make the inspection, or by the granting or denial of any permit.

(Ord. 2024-18, § 1(Exh. A), 2024)

It is unlawful to build or thereafter maintain any private or public driveway of ingress to or egress from land adjacent to a County highway without first having secured a driveway encroachment permit from the Director of Public Works. In no case shall a permit for construction permit the drainage facility along any County highway to be obstructed so as to impede the proper flow of drainage waters. Unless otherwise specified, driveways shall be constructed in accordance with City of Mountain House Improvement Standards. At a minimum, driveways shall be paved with asphalt concrete from the existing edge of pavement to the property line.

(Ord. 2024-18, § 1(Exh. A), 2024)