Victorville Municipal Code Ch. 9.12 Excavation Permits

The provisions of this chapter set forth additional requirements that apply to the making of applications for and the granting and control of permits for the making of excavations, openings, fills or obstructions in any highway or public right-of-way.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

An applicant for an excavation permit shall complete and file with the city engineer an application conforming to the provisions of Section 9.11.020 which shall contain, in addition thereto, the following information:

(a) The location, dimensions, purpose, extent and nature of the work to be performed;

(b) The proposed date and time of day when said work will be commenced;

(c) The proposed date and time of day when said work will be completed;

(d) A plat in quadruplicate clearly showing the highways affected and the exact locations and dimensions of the proposed excavations, as well as any other details that the city engineer prescribes; provided, however, that when excavations are made for service connections or for the location of trouble in conduits or pipes, or for making repairs thereto, the city engineer may waive the filing of a plat;

(e) The inquiry identification number assigned by the regional notification center; and

(f) Such other information as the city engineer may reasonably require.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

(a) Any permit authorized under any of the provisions of this chapter may be issued subject to such conditions, changes and limitations as are, in the discretion of the city engineer, necessary for the protection of the highways, or to prevent undue interference with traffic, or to protect both persons and property within, upon or adjacent to said highways from damage or danger.

(b) The city engineer may issue a single permit for any number of excavations which are part of a single project and may also issue a single annual permit for service connections. Either permit may be exercised by giving not less than forty-eight (48) hours' notice to the city engineer on a form to be prescribed by the city engineer before work is commenced.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

In any permit issued by him the city engineer may specify what lights, barriers, barricades, warning signs or other measures designed to protect the traveling public must be erected by the permittee, which measures shall be in accordance with the latest edition of the state of California MUTCD or the WATCH.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

(a) If the permit does not specify the precautionary measures to be taken by the permittee, such as the erection of barriers, barricades or warning signs, the permittee shall place and maintain warning lights at each end of such excavation or obstruction and at distances of not more than fifty feet along such excavation or obstruction from sunset of each day to sunrise of the next day, until such excavation is entirely refilled and resurfaced or such obstruction is removed and every said person shall place and maintain barriers, or barricades, at each end of any said excavation or obstruction at all times until such excavation is entirely refilled or such obstruction is removed.

(b) Barriers, barricades and warning devices shall conform to the same configuration and standards provided for in the latest edition of the state of California MUTCD or the WATCH.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

(a) Immediately upon completion of the work necessitating the excavation or obstruction permitted by any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, the permittee shall promptly and in a workmanlike manner refill the excavation or remove the obstruction in a manner which the city engineer determines is most effective to accomplish thorough consolidation and enable the highway to be restored to a condition equivalent to that in which it was prior to the excavation or obstruction.

(b) After refilling has been completed, the top surface of excavations made in improved streets shall be covered as identified in the city's standard specifications for public works and to the city engineer's satisfaction and shall conform closely enough to the level of the adjoining surface and shall be compacted so that it is hard enough and smooth enough to be safe for pedestrian travel over it as well as for vehicular traffic to pass safely over it at a legal rate of speed. The permittee shall maintain the surface of the refill safe for pedestrian and vehicular traffic until the excavation has been resurfaced in accordance with Section 9.12.090.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

If any permittee fails or refuses to refill any excavation which he has made, or remove any obstruction which he has placed in any highway, the city engineer may do so and charge the cost thereof to the permittee.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

Upon completion of the refilling of the excavation for which a permit has been issued, the permittee shall provide to the city engineer the results of soils compaction testing conducted by a state-licensed geotechnical engineer indicating that compaction meets or exceeds the city's standards.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

(a) The city engineer, at his option, may require the permittee to resurface that portion of the highway surface damaged by the permittee's excavation or obstruction, or the city engineer may elect to do such resurfacing himself. Where the pavement or surface has been removed, the permittee shall replace it in accordance with the city's specifications for public improvements; and, if the city engineer deems it necessary, per a structural section prepared and submitted by a state licensed civil engineer.

(b) Where a treated or modified subgrade or surface has been removed or destroyed, the permittee shall replace it in accordance with the city's specifications for public improvements; and, if the city engineer deems it necessary, per a structural section prepared and submitted by a state licensed civil engineer, unless the city engineer orders that the repair of such treated or modified subgrade or surface shall be made by an oil and rock mixture, in which case the thickness shall be in accordance with a structural section prepared and submitted by a state licensed civil engineer.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

If, after the refilling of an excavation the permittee fails or refuses to resurface that portion of the surface of the highway damaged by him, or if the city engineer elects to do such resurfacing, the city engineer may do such resurfacing. The cost of such resurfacing shall be charged against and deducted from the permittee's securities, except in those instances where the permittee's excavation is within an area of pavement to be immediately reconstructed by the city, and the resurfacing of the excavation is an integral part of the general city improvement.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

(a) The city engineer shall deduct from the securities maintained by the permittee:

(1) The cost to the city of refilling any excavation or removing any obstruction;

(2) The cost to the city of resurfacing the highway;

(3) The cost of any inspection by the city engineer.

(b) After making the proper deductions, the city engineer shall refund any remaining cash deposit amount to the applicant or provide for release of any other securities posted in the manner set forth in Section 9.11.070.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

Any highway or public right-of-way surface excavated or damaged shall be replaced by the permittee to as good or better condition as the same was in before such work was begun and shall be maintained for a period of one year after the completion of the work performed under the permit, during which one-year period the permittee shall repair and make good any injury or damage to any portion of the highway or public right-of-way which occurs as a result of work done under the permit, including any and all injury and damage to the highway or public right-or-way which would not have occurred had such work under said permit not been done.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)

Nothing in this chapter prohibits any person from maintaining by virtue of any law, ordinance or permit any pipe or conduit in any highway, or from making such excavation as may be necessary, for the preservation of life or property, if the person making such excavation obtained a permit therefore within one day after the offices of the city engineer are first opened subsequent to the making of such excavation. Failure to obtain a permit within one day after the offices of the city engineer are first opened shall be a violation subject to the penalty and remedy provisions set forth in Sections 9.04.030 to 9.04.050.

(Ord. No. 2349, § 3, 5-17-16)