Sebastopol Municipal Code Ch. 16.44 Construction of Improvements

All streets, drainage facilities, water distribution and fire protection facilities, sanitary sewer facilities and other required improvements shall be constructed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and with the following specifications, as applicable: the Public Works Standard Specifications, City of Sebastopol Standard Details and Standard Specifications, and Caltrans Standard Specifications. In the event of a conflict between standards, the City Engineer shall determine which standard is the most appropriate. A copy of each such standard specifications is on file in the Public Works Department. No final map or parcel map shall be forwarded to the County Recorder’s Office until the subdivider either completes the required improvements or enters into an agreement with the City agreeing to do such work.

A. Improvement drawings shall be prepared, signed, and stamped with the engineer’s seal by a registered civil engineer and shall be submitted as part of the checkprint submittal to the City Engineer along with the required checking fee deposit. Construction activities may not take place until all improvement plans and specifications have been approved and the required number of drawings submitted. Approval by the City Engineer shall in no way relieve the subdivider or the subdivider’s engineer from responsibility for the design of the improvement and any deficiencies or adverse effects resulting from the design and construction of the improvement.

B. Plans, profiles and details shall be legibly drawn, printed or reproduced on 24-inch-by-36-inch sheets. A border shall be made on each sheet providing one-half inch at the top, bottom, and right side and one and one-half inch on the left side.

A title block shall be placed in the lower right corner or along the right edge and provide adequate space for approval by the City Engineer and for approval of plan revisions.

Plans and profiles shall be drawn to the scale of one inch equals 40 feet or better unless approved otherwise by the City Engineer. Details shall be drawn to such scale that clearly shows the facility being constructed. The scales for various portions of the plans shall be shown on each sheet.

A vicinity map shall be shown on the first sheet of all sets of plans.

A north arrow shall be shown on each sheet when applicable.

Plans shall be laid out to orient north to the top or right edge of the sheet unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer.

All lettering shall be one-eighth-inch minimum.

If the plans include three or more sheets, a cover sheet showing the streets, lots, easements, storm drains, index and vicinity map shall be included.

The form of all plans shall conform to additional requirements as may be established by the City Engineer. The final form of all plans shall be approved by the City Engineer.

C. An improvement plan shall be acted on within 60 working days of its submittal, except that at least 15 working days shall be provided for processing any resubmitted improvement plan. The 60-working-day period shall not include any days during which the improvement plan has been returned to the applicant for correction, has been subject to review by other than the City or, following that review, has been returned to the applicant for correction.

D. The improvement plans shall show complete plans, profiles and details for all required improvements, both public and private, including common areas. Hydrology, hydraulic plans and calculations, bond estimates and any structural, sewer flow, water flow or other design calculations as may be required shall be submitted with the improvement plans. Upon completion of the review, one set of the checkprint plans, with the required revisions indicated, will be returned to the subdivider’s engineer.

E. After completing all required revisions, the subdivider’s engineer shall transmit the originals and five prints of the improvement plans to the City Engineer for signature. The plans submitted shall be signed and stamped by the subdivider’s engineer and signed by all other parties as required by this chapter. Upon finding that all required revisions have been made and that the plans conform to all applicable City ordinances and conditions of approval of the tentative map or tentative parcel map, the City Engineer shall sign and date the plans. The originals shall remain on file in the office of the City Engineer. A copy of the approved plans will be returned to the subdivider’s engineer.

A. Requests by the subdivider or the subdivider’s engineer for revisions to the approved plans appearing necessary or desirable during construction shall be submitted in writing to the City Engineer or authorized representative and shall be accompanied by revised drawings showing the proposed revision. If the revision is acceptable, the revised plans shall be submitted to the City Engineer’s office for initialing. The originals shall be returned to the subdivider’s engineer and copies of the revised plans shall be immediately transmitted to the City Engineer. Construction of any proposed revision will not be permitted to commence until revised plans have been received and approved by the City Engineer.

B. When revisions are deemed necessary by the City Engineer to protect public health and safety, or as field conditions may require, a request in writing indicating the revisions shall be made to the subdivider and engineer. The subdivider’s engineer shall revise the plans and transmit the originals to the City Engineer for initialing within the time specified by the City Engineer. Construction of all or any portion of the improvements may be stopped by the City Engineer until revised drawings have been submitted and approved. The subdivider may appeal revisions required by the City Engineer to the City Council by filing a written appeal with the City Engineer and any required processing fee within 15 days following receipt of the request to revise the plans.

C. Costs incurred by the City for the checking of plans or calculations or inspection as a result of revisions to the approved plans shall be borne by the subdivider. A deposit, when required, shall be submitted with the revised prints and applied toward the actual costs.

All improvements are subject to inspection by the City. The City shall, upon not less than one working day’s advance notice or request, make such inspections as are requested and as is deemed necessary to ensure that all construction is in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and in no case shall such inspection be less than:

A. The inspection of all underground utility, gas, electric, telephone, water, sewer, drainage and fire service lines.

B. An inspection of the subgrade prior to placing the rock base.

C. An inspection of road base prior to placing of roadway surfacing.

D. An inspection of paving.

E. The inspection of concrete forms.

F. The inspection of the pouring of any concrete.

G. A final inspection of the grading.

H. An inspection of street lights.

I. Inspections by other City departments as required.

J. A final inspection upon completion of all improvements for the subdivision.

The subdivider shall notify the City Engineer upon the completion of each stage identified above and shall not proceed until the subdivider has received the authorized approval.

A. Upon completion of the subdivision improvements, the subdivider shall apply in writing to City for a preliminary final inspection. The City Engineer or authorized representative shall schedule a preliminary final inspection. A deficiency list shall be compiled during the inspection, noting all corrections or any additional work required. If the number of items is excessive or the subdivision appears incomplete, the preliminary final inspection may be halted and rescheduled on a date as determined by the City Engineer or authorized representative. When the preliminary final inspection has been completed, a copy of the deficiency list shall be transmitted to the subdivider for correction.

B. Upon having completed all corrections or additional work as outlined by the deficiency list, the subdivider shall certify in writing that all corrections have been completed satisfactorily and request a final inspection. The City Engineer or authorized representative shall then make a final inspection.

C. The completion of corrections indicated by the deficiency list shall not relieve the subdivider from the responsibility of correcting any deficiency not shown on the list that may be subsequently discovered.

A. When all improvement deficiencies have been corrected and as-built improvement plans filed by the subdivider, those subdivision improvements which will be dedicated to the City may be considered by the City Engineer for acceptance.

B. If the offers of dedication on the final or parcel maps have been rejected, the City Council may accept the improved dedications at a later date and the City Council’s resolution of acceptance shall be filed with the County Recorder.

C. When the required improvements have been accepted, the City Engineer shall file a Notice of Completion with the County Recorder.

D. Acceptance of improvements shall imply only that the improvements have been completed satisfactorily and that they have been accepted for public use.

If the required improvements are not satisfactorily completed before the filing of either the final map or the parcel map, the subdivider and owners of the subdivision shall, prior to or concurrently with the approval of such map, enter into an agreement with the City, agreeing to have the work completed within the time required, and specifying that should such work not be satisfactorily completed within the time limit, then the City may complete or have completed all specified improvements and be completely reimbursed for the same by the subdivider and owner of the subdivision. Any such improvement agreement shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney and shall at a minimum provide:

A. Construction of all improvements in accordance with the approved plans.

B. Completion of improvements within the time specified by SMC 16.44.080.

C. Warranty by subdivider that construction will not adversely affect any portion of adjacent properties.

D. Payment of inspection fees in accordance with the City’s established fees and charges.

E. Maintenance and repair of any defects or failures and causes thereof for one year following acceptance of the improvements.

F. Improvement and warranty security.

G. Release and indemnification of the City from all liability incurred in connection with the development and payment of all reasonable attorney’s fees that the City may incur because of any legal action or other proceeding arising from the development.

H. Payment of all required fees, including, without limitation, park dedication fee, traffic mitigation fees, etc.

I. Agreement to be financially responsible for all required City services provided to the subdivision’s residents prior to acceptance by the City.

J. Any other provisions required by the City as reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes and provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and this chapter.

A. Subdivisions of Five or More Parcels.

1. The subdivider shall complete the improvements for a subdivision of five or more parcels within 12 months, or a time as approved by the City Engineer, not to exceed 24 months, from the recording of the final map, unless an extension is granted by the City Council.

2. The subdivider shall complete improvements before final building inspection or the issuance of an occupancy permit for any unit in the subdivision.

3. If the subdivider fails to complete the improvements within the specified time, the City may by resolution of the City Council and at its option cause the uncompleted improvements to be completed and the parties executing the performance security shall be bound for the payment of all necessary costs.

B. Subdivision of Four or Fewer Parcels. The completion of improvements for divisions of four or fewer parcels is not required until a permit or other grant of approval for the development of a lot within the subdivision is applied for. However, the City may require completion of the improvements by a specified date when it finds that the completion of the improvements is necessary for public health or safety or for the orderly development of the surrounding area. The City Engineer may make this finding. The specified date, when required, shall be stated in the subdivision improvement agreement.

C. Extensions.

1. The completion date may be extended by the City Council, for subdivisions of five or more parcels, or by the Environmental Review Committee, for subdivisions of four or fewer parcels, upon written request by the subdivider and the submittal of adequate evidence to justify the extension. Any extension shall not exceed 12 months. The request shall be made not fewer than 30 days prior to expiration of the subdivision improvement agreement.

2. If approved, the subdivider shall enter into a subdivision improvement agreement extension with the City. The agreement shall be prepared by the City Engineer, approved as to form by the City Attorney, executed by the subdivider and surety and transmitted to the City Council for its consideration. If approved by the City Council, the City Clerk shall execute the agreement on behalf of the City.

3. In consideration of a subdivision improvement agreement extension, the City may require the following:

a. Revision of improvement plans to provide for current design and construction standards when required by the City Engineer;

b. Revised improvement construction estimates to reflect current improvement costs as approved by the City Engineer;

c. Increase of improvement securities in accordance with revised construction estimates;

d. Inspection fees may be increased to reflect current construction costs but shall not be subject to any decrease or refund;

e. The City Council may impose additional requirements as recommended by the City Engineer or as it may deem necessary as a condition to approving any time extension for the completion of improvements.

4. The subdivider shall pay the costs incurred by the City in processing the extension request and extension agreement.

A. Subdivisions of Four or Fewer Parcels. The frontage improvements along peripheral streets may be deferred when deemed necessary by the City Engineer. When improvements are deferred, the subdivider and/or owner of the real property shall enter into an agreement with the City, in form acceptable to the City Engineer and City Attorney, for the installation of all frontage improvements at a time in the future as specified by the City. The City Clerk shall execute the agreement on behalf of the City. The agreement shall provide for the following:

1. Construction of improvements shall commence within 90 days of the receipt of the notice to proceed from the City and shall be completed within the time specified by SMC 16.44.080.

2. That in the event of a default by the subdivider and/or owner, the City is authorized to cause construction to be done and charge the entire cost and expense to the subdivider and/or owner, including interest from the date of notice of such cost and expense until paid.

3. That the agreement shall be recorded with the County Recorder at the expense of the subdivider and/or owner and shall constitute notice to all successors and assigns of title to the real property of the obligations set forth therein, and shall also constitute a lien in such amount necessary to fully reimburse the City, including interest as provided above, subject to foreclosure in the event of a default in payment.

4. That in event of litigation occasioned by any default of the subdivider and/or owner, the subdivider and/or owner agree to pay all costs involved, including reasonable attorney’s fees, and that the same shall become a part of the lien against the real property.

5. That the terms “subdivider” and “owner” include, respectively, not only the subdivider and the present owner of the real property but also heirs, successors, executors, administrators and assigns thereof, it being the intent of the parties that the obligations undertaken shall run with the real property and constitute a lien against it.

6. Any other improvement security as required by SMC 16.44.100.

7. Any other provisions required by the City as reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes and provisions of the State Subdivision Map Act and this code.

The agreement shall not relieve the subdivider or owner from any other specific requirements of the State Subdivision Map Act, this code or law. The construction of deferred improvements shall conform to the provisions of this chapter and all applicable chapters of this code in effect at the time of construction.

B. Remainders. Where a remainder is made part of a final or parcel map, the subdivider may enter into an agreement with the City to construct improvements within the remainder at some future date and prior to the issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for the development of a remainder. The improvements shall be at the subdivider’s expense. In the absence of such an agreement, the City may require fulfillment of the construction requirements within a reasonable time following approval of the final or parcel map and prior to the issuance of a permit or other grant of approval for the development of the remainder, upon a finding that fulfillment of the construction requirements is necessary for reasons of:

1. The public health and safety; or

2. The required construction is a necessary prerequisite to the orderly development of the surrounding area.

A. General. Any improvement agreement, contract or act required or authorized by the State Subdivision Map Act or this chapter, for which security is required, shall be secured in accordance with Section 66499 et seq. of the State Subdivision Map Act and as provided below. No final map may be approved until all improvement securities required by this section have been received and approved or improvements completed.

B. Form of Security. The form of security shall be one or the combination of the following at the option and subject to the approval of the City:

1. Bond or bonds by one or more duly authorized corporate sureties. The form of the bond or bonds shall be in accordance with Sections 66499.1, 66499.2, 66499.3 and 66499.4 of the State Subdivision Map Act.

2. A deposit, either with the City or a responsible escrow agent or trust company, at the option of the City, of money or negotiable bonds of the kind approved for securing deposits of public moneys.

3. An instrument of credit or letter of credit from one or more financial institutions subject to regulation by the State or Federal government and pledging that the funds necessary to carry out the act or agreement are on deposit and guaranteed for payment.

4. Any other form of security as provided in Section 66499 of the State Subdivision Map Act.

C. Amount of Security. A performance bond or other security in the amount of 100 percent of the total estimated construction cost to guarantee the construction or installation of all improvements, and a labor and materials bond or other security in the amount of 100 percent of the total estimated construction cost shall be required to guarantee payment to subdivider’s contractor, subcontractors and to persons furnishing labor, materials or equipment for the construction or installation of improvements.

The estimate of improvement costs shall be as approved by the City Engineer and shall provide for:

1. Not less than five percent nor more than 10 percent of the total construction cost for contingencies.

2. Increase for projected inflation computed to the estimated midpoint of construction.

3. In addition to the full amount of the security, there shall be included costs and reasonable expenses and fees, including attorney’s fees, incurred by the City in enforcing the obligations secured.

D. Cash Bond. The subdivider shall deposit with the City not less than $1,000 cash for subdivisions of four or fewer parcels, and $3,000 for other subdivisions, or an additional amount as required by the City Engineer, not to exceed one percent of the total estimated construction cost. The deposit may be used at the discretion of the City to correct deficiencies and conditions caused by the subdivider, contractor or subcontractors that may arise during or after the construction of the subdivision. Any unexpended amount will be returned to the subdivider at the time all bonds and other security are released.

E. Warranty Security. Upon acceptance of the subdivision improvements by the City, the subdivider shall provide security in the amount as required by the City Engineer to guarantee the improvements against any defective work or labor done or defective materials used in the performance of the improvements throughout the warranty period, which shall be the period of one year following the completion and acceptance of the improvements. The amount of the warranty security shall not be less than 20 percent of the cost of the construction of the improvements, including the cash bond, which shall be retained for the one-year warranty period.

F. Reduction in Performance Security. The City Engineer may authorize in writing the release of a portion of the security in conjunction with the acceptance of the satisfactory completion of a part of the improvements as the work progresses upon application by the subdivider, but in no case shall the security be reduced by less than 50 percent or more than 80 percent of the total improvement security given for faithful performance. The amount of reduction of the security shall be determined by the City Engineer; however, in no event shall the City Engineer authorize a release of the improvement security which would reduce security to an amount below that required to guarantee the completion of the improvements and any other obligation imposed by the State Subdivision Map Act, this code or the improvement agreement. In no case shall more than two reductions be made.

G. Release of Improvement Security.

1. Performance Security. The performance security shall be released only upon acceptance of the improvements by the City and when an approved warranty security has been filed with the City Engineer. If a warranty security is not submitted, performance security shall be released 12 months after acceptance of improvements and correction of all warranty deficiencies.

2. Material and Labor Security. Security given to secure payment to the contractor, subcontractors and to persons furnishing labor, materials or equipment may, 60 days after the completion and acceptance of the improvements by the City, be reduced to an amount equal to the amount of all claims therefor filed and of which notice has been given to the City Council. The balance of the security shall be released upon the settlement of all claims and obligations for which the security was given.

3. Warranty Security. The warranty security shall be released upon satisfactory completion of the warranty period, provided:

a. All deficiencies appearing on the warranty deficiency list for the subdivision have been corrected.

b. Not less than 12 months have elapsed since the acceptance of the improvements by the City.