Pismo Beach Municipal Code Ch. 12.36 Pavement Cut Moratorium

A. The purpose of the pavement cut moratorium in this chapter is to protect the city's investment in its infrastructure; and to preserve the life of streets to provide an improved driving surface and a more pleasing appearance to roadway surfaces that have undergone utility work.

B. No entity or organization shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter including, but not limited to, utility companies, state agencies, federal agencies, school districts, and private developers.

(Ord. O-2018-003 § 1 (part), 2018)

The following definitions are applicable within this chapter:

"Public right-of-way" means the area in, upon, above, beneath, or across any public street, parking lot, other city-owned parcels or easements, including but not limited to any highway, street, lane, court, alley, boulevard, sidewalk, median, parkway, parking lot, or easement reserved by or dedicated to the city for public use.

"Excavate" or "excavation" means any cutting, digging, potholing or otherwise disturbing the street surface within the right-of-way to access or install a utility line or any related facility or for other reasons. All such excavations shall require an encroachment permit issued in accordance with Chapter 12.32 of this Code.

"Public works director" means the public works director or designee.

"Permit" means written authorization from the public works director to excavate, encroach upon, or obstruct a public right-of-way.

"Roadway" means any public street, including but not limited to any highway, street, lane, court, alley, boulevard, median, parkway, parking lot, or easement reserved by or dedicated to the city for vehicular, pedestrian, or equestrian travel.

"Completion date" means the date the notice of completion was adopted by the city council for the completion of roadway construction, resurfacing operations, or maintenance. For streets paved as public improvements for a private development, this date shall be the date the notice of completion for the development was adopted by the city council; for public improvements for which a notice of completion was not adopted by the city council, this date shall be the actual date of completion of the work. For roadway resurfacing projects spanning more than one calendar year, this date shall be the actual date that work was completed for the entirety of a given roadway, as determined by the public works director. (Ord. O-2025-002 § 32 (part), 2025; Ord. O-2018-003 § 1 (part), 2018)

A. Except as set forth in subsection B. of this section or Section 12.36.040 of this Code, permission to excavate in roadways shall not be granted for five (5) years after the completion date of roadway construction or maintenance, including but not limited to an overlay, chip seal, slurry seal coatings, micro paving, or other maintenance of the roadway surface. Utilities shall plan well enough in advance to determine alternate methods for making necessary repairs to avoid excavating in newly resurfaced roadways.

B. Exceptions to the above moratorium in the form of an excavation waiver as described in Section 12.36.040 of this Code may be permitted in the following situations at the discretion of the public works director:

• 1. Emergencies which endanger life, property or public health and safety.
• 2. Interruption of essential utility service.
• 3. Work that is mandated by city, state, or federal legislation.

4. Unforeseen circumstances where the financial burden outweighs the benefit to the roadway infrastructure.

5. Other situations deemed by the public works director to be in the best interest of the general public. (Ord. O-2025-002 § 32 (part), 2025; Ord. O-2018-003 § 1 (part), 2018)

A. To excavate within a roadway within five (5) years of the completion date, a waiver must be obtained. To request a waiver, the applicant must submit a written request to the public works director. The request must include:

1. The location of the excavation.

2. Description of the work to be performed.

3. A statement from the applicant setting forth good cause for why the work was not performed before the roadway was resurfaced.

4. A statement from the applicant setting forth good cause for why the work cannot be deferred until after the five (5) year period.

5. A statement from the applicant setting forth good cause for why the work cannot be performed at another location.

B. In the event the waiver is granted under subsection A., any excavation in the roadway shall be repaired with full-lane paving on the street as follows:

1. Overlaid or reconstructed roadway: All lanes that are affected shall be ground down one-and-a-half (1.5) inches and paved with one-and-a-half (1.5) inches of similar asphalt concrete material as the previous treatment to the satisfaction of the public works director. Some roadways may require rubberized asphalt or other materials.

2. Slurry sealed, chip sealed, or micro-surfaced streets: All lanes that are affected shall be resurfaced to the satisfaction of the public works director with a treatment similar to what was previously utilized.

3. For trenches perpendicular to the curb face, the trench shall be resurfaced for the entire trench width plus ten (10) feet on each side of the trench (i.e. twenty (20) feet plus the width of the trench) along the entire length of the impacted lane or lanes. For trenches parallel to the curb face, the entire lane shall be resurfaced along the entire length of the trench plus ten (10) feet on each end (i.e. twenty (20) feet plus the length of the trench).

4. Exception: Full-lane width restoration shall not be required during a curb and gutter restoration in which the city has exempted the contractor from removing and replacing the required eighteen (18) inches of asphalt paving from the edge of gutter. City staff will provide the waiver following an inspection determining the pavement cut is smooth and straight along the gutter lip and existing asphalt.

C. Exceptions to Subsection B. may be permitted at the discretion of the public works director to repair existing utilities, not associated with a construction project in the following cases:

1. Emergencies which endanger life, property or public health and safety.

2. Interruption of essential utility service.

3. Unforeseen circumstances where the financial burden outweighs the benefit to the roadway infrastructure.

4. Other situations deemed by the public works director to be in the best interest of the general public. (Ord. O-2025-002 § 32 (part), 2025; Ord. O-2021-003, § 28, 2021: Ord. O- 2018-009, 2018: Ord. O-2018-003 § 1 (part), 2018)