Yorba Linda Municipal Code Ch. 12.12 Excavation, Filling and Obstruction of Public Rights-of-Way

The following terms, as used in this chapter, shall, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, have the respective meanings set forth in this section:

"Person"

means any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, the State, any City including this City, and all departments and bureaus thereof, except the Public Works Department of this City, any municipality, district or other political subdivisions thereof or any other group or combination acting as a unit.

"Public agency"

means the United States or any department or agency thereof, the State or any department or agency thereof and any County, municipal corporation or public district.

"Public right-of-way"

means any public highway, public street, public way or public place in the City which has been acquired by the City by purchase, dedication or condemnation proceedings.

(Prior code § 29-32)

No person shall dig up, plow up, remove or break the earth, soil, stone, pavement or other surface of, or otherwise injure, any highway, or make or cause to be made any excavation, or construct, place upon, maintain or leave any material or any obstruction or impediment to travel in or upon a public right-of-way, or install or maintain or cause to be installed or maintained any tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or any other installation of any nature across, upon, or under any public right-of-way unless he or she has first obtained a permit to do so.

(Prior code § 29-33)

A. Applications for permits required by this chapter shall be filed with the Public Works Director upon printed forms to be prescribed and supplied by him not less than forty-eight hours before the work is proposed to be done. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall state:

1. The name and address of the applicant;

2. The location, purpose, extent and nature of the proposed excavation, fill or obstruction;

3. The time during which it is estimated that the excavation, fill or obstruction will exist;

4. That the applicant agrees to indemnify, defend and save the City, its authorized agents, officers, representatives and employees harmless from and against all penalties, liabilities or annoyances or loss resulting from claims or court action and arising out of any accident, loss or damage to persons or property happening or occurring as a proximate result of any work undertaken under the permit granted pursuant to the application;

5. That the applicant agrees that if any tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or other installation of any nature or kind placed in the excavation, fill or obstruction for which the permit is issued shall at any time in the future interfere with the use, repair, improvement, widening or change of grade of the public right-of-way, the applicant or his or her successors or assigns, within ten days after the receipt of a written notice from the Director of Public Works to do so, will, at his or her own expense, either remove such tank, pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel or other installation or, subject to the approval of the Director of Public Works, relocate them to a site which may be designated by the Director of Public Works;

6. Any additional information which the Director of Public Works may deem necessary for the proper disposition of the application.

B. The application shall be accompanied by a plat showing the location, dimension, nature of the proposed excavation, obstruction or fill, and any other detail which the Director of Public Works may require.

C. If the applicant is other than the owner of the underlying fee, each such applicant for a permit shall submit to the Director of Public Works satisfactory proof of the applicant's right to use the public right-of-way for the purposes set forth in the application.

(Prior code § 29-34)

The Director of Public Works may require such changes in the application respecting the location, dimensions, character or number of the proposed excavations, fills or obstructions as in his or her opinion may be necessary for the protection of the public right-of-way, the prevention of undue interference with traffic or to assure the safety of persons using the public right-of-way.

(Prior code § 29-35)

The applicant for a permit under this chapter shall, in addition to an issuance fee and special deposit, pay for engineering and inspection fees as established by resolution adopted by the City Council.

(Prior code § 29-37)

If the applicant for a permit under this chapter complies in all respects with this chapter and with all other applicable laws, rules, regulations or ordinances of the City or of any other public agency and pays the fees and deposits required by this chapter, the Director of Public Works shall approve the application and issue the permit.

(Prior code § 29-38)

A permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to the following conditions, which shall be stated thereon:

A. The permit shall be kept at the site of the work and be shown, on demand, to any authorized representative of the City of any law enforcement officer.

B. The permit shall authorize work to be performed only as to such portion of the public right-of-way over which the City has jurisdiction.

C. All work shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and of all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the City and any other public agency and to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works.

D. The permit shall be nontransferable.

E. The Director of Public Works may cancel the permit unless the work authorized therein is commenced within sixty days of the issuance of the permit and thereafter, in the opinion of the Director, is diligently prosecuted to completion. Cancellation may be effected by giving written notice thereof by sending the same to the applicant by ordinary mail to the address shown on the application.

F. The Director of Public Works may, either at the time of the issuance of the permit or at any time thereafter until the completion of the work, prescribe such additional conditions as he or she may deem reasonably necessary for the protection of the public right-of-way or for the prevention of undue interference with traffic or to assure the safety of persons using the public right-of-way.

(Prior code § 29-39)

A. Unless the Director of Public Works shall have authorized the applicant for a permit under this chapter to perform the resurfacing or repair of the surface of any public right-of-way which may be removed in part or damaged by the proposed excavation, fill or obstruction, each applicant shall, in addition to the issuance fee for a permit under this chapter, deposit with the Director of Public Works the estimated cost of resurfacing or repairing the surface of the public right-of-way which may be damaged or destroyed. The special deposit required hereunder shall in no event be less than two hundred fifty dollars. The estimated cost shall be determined by the Director of Public Works. The City Council may from time to time change and revise the method of determining the estimated cost. The minimum cost of restoration or repair shall be presumed to be not less than two hundred fifty dollars.

B. In cases where the applicant is granted authority to make the repairs required under this chapter, the Director of Public Works may, in order to ensure the completion of such repairs in a satisfactory manner, require the applicant to furnish a surety bond. Such bond shall be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the State and shall be in an amount equal to twice the estimated cost of performing the work authorized; provided, that the minimum amount of such bond shall not be less than one thousand dollars, nor shall the minimum period be less than one year. The condition of such bond shall be that the applicant will perform the work authorized by any permit issued pursuant to this chapter in a good and workmanlike manner and to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works.

(Prior code § 29-40)

If the United States, this State, this or any other City, any municipal corporation, school district or other public body files with the Director of Public Works a written guarantee of payment of all costs for which they may become liable to the City under this chapter, then no deposit for costs shall be required from such persons. No permit issuance fee shall be required of any public agency entitled to exemption therefrom pursuant to Section 6103 of the Government Code of the State.

(Prior code § 29-41)

A. The City shall deduct from any deposit made or maintained by a permittee under this chapter:

1. The permit issuance fee, if it has not otherwise been paid;

2. The cost to the City of refilling any excavation or removing any obstruction;

3. The cost to the City of resurfacing or repairing the public right-of-way, calculated pursuant to the provisions of Section 12.12.050 or 12.12.120;

4. The cost to the City of any additional repairs, as provided in Section 12.08.100;

5. The cost of any inspection by the Director of Public Works made necessary by the failure of the permittee to comply with any provision of this chapter or the terms or conditions of the permit. The inspection fees provided for in Section 12.12.050 shall be presumed to be the actual cost of inspection, and a refund thereof shall not be made to any applicant.

B. After making the deductions specified above, the City shall, unless the deductions are made from a general deposit, refund any balance to the applicant in the same manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust money. The balance remaining in the general deposit shall be retained by the City and applied to the issuance fees and costs in connection with any future excavations, fills or obstructions pursuant to a permit issued under this article, unless a written demand for the balance therein is made, whereupon it shall be refunded in the same manner as provided by law for the repayment of trust money.

C. If any deposit is insufficient to pay all fees and costs herein provided, the permittee shall, upon demand, pay to the Director of Public Works an amount equal to the deficiency.

(Prior code § 29-42)

If a permittee, upon demand, fails to pay any deficiency as provided in subsection C of Section 12.12.100 or shall fail to pay any other costs due to the City under this chapter for which no deposit has been made, the City may recover the same by an action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Until such deficiency or cost is paid in full, a permit under this chapter shall not thereafter be issued to such permittee.

(Prior code § 29-43)

Whenever in this chapter any costs are to be charged to any permittee and no other method for the calculation thereof is specified, such cost shall be the actual cost, including the proportionate part of the salaries, wages or other compensation of any deputy or employee, plus the cost of overhead, not to exceed fifteen percent of the total cost.

(Prior code § 29-45)

Excavation of pavement or surfacing on an arterial highway (as shown on the master plan of highways) and determined by the Director of Public Works as having been improved with plant mixed surfacing or Portland cement concrete pavement, will be permitted only when physical conditions make boring or tunneling impossible. All boring and tunneling and placing conduits, casings and pipe lines shall be done in such a manner that the existing driving lanes will not be disturbed. If a casing is installed to receive the conduit or pipe line, all voids between the casing and conduit shall be filled with grout or sand.

(Prior code § 29-49)

If the surfacing or pavement within the driving lanes of an arterial highway (as shown on the master plan of highways) and determined by the Director of Public Works as having been improved with plant mixed surfacing or Portland cement concrete is removed or damaged by parallel construction operations, the existing surfacing or pavement of the width of the driving lane for the length of the damaged surfacing shall be removed and replaced; except, that such a removal and replacement shall in no case be less than one hundred feet in length. All materials and construction operations shall conform to the applicable provisions of the City standards.

(Prior code § 29-50)

Immediately upon completion of the work necessitating the excavation or obstruction authorized by any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, the permittee shall promptly and in a workmanlike manner refill the excavation or remove the obstruction to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works. If any permittee fails or refuses to refill any excavation which he or she has made or remove any obstruction which he or she has placed on any public right-of-way, the Director may do so, and the applicant shall promptly reimburse the City the cost thereof.

(Prior code § 29-46)

After completion of the refilling and compacting of the backfill material in the excavation as specified in Section 12.12.230 and the removal of the obstruction, the permittee shall promptly replace, with temporary or permanent patching material, or repair any portion of the public right-of-way surface removed or damaged by the excavation, obstruction or construction operations, as specified elsewhere herein, to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works, or the Director may, at his or her option, elect to do the surfacing or repairing himself.

(Prior code § 29-47)

Where the pavement (except Portland cement concrete pavement) or surface has been removed, the permittee shall replace it with a standard repair consisting of either five inches of plant mixed surfacing or three inches of plant mixed surfacing over six inches of untreated rock base; except, that the standard repair shall not be less in total thickness than the adjacent pavement or surfacing; and except, that the road-mixed surfacing may be repaired with three inches of plant mixed surfacing in lieu of the standard repair. Plant mixed surfacing shall consist of material aggregate and liquid asphalt grade SC-6 or grade 200-300 penetration paving asphalt. If Portland cement concrete pavement is removed, it shall first be sawed at the neat lines of the excavation and subsequently replaced with Portland cement concrete.

(Prior code § 29-48)

The Director of Public Works may, either at the time of the issuance of a permit under this chapter or at any time thereafter, elect to do the resurfacing repair of any public right-of-way surface removed or damaged by the proposed excavation or obstruction pursuant to a permit under this chapter.

(Prior code § 29-44)

If, after the refilling of an excavation, the permittee fails or refuses to resurface or repair that portion of the surface of the public right-of-way damaged by him, or if the Director of Public Works has elected to do such resurfacing or repairing, the Director shall do so, and the permittee shall be charged with the cost thereof computed by the Director as provided in Section 12.08.100 or Section 12.08.140, whichever, in the judgment of the Director, will most fairly compensate the City for the expenses incurred by it.

(Prior code § 29-51)

If at any time subsequent to the first repair of a surface of a public right-of-way damaged or destroyed by any excavation or obstruction in such right-of-way, it becomes necessary again to repair such surface due to settlement or any other cause directly attributable to such excavation or obstruction, the permittee shall pay to the City the cost of such additional repairs made by the Director of Public Works. The cost shall be computed by the Director as provided in Section 12.08.100 or Section 12.08.140, whichever, in the judgment of the Director, will most fairly compensate the City for the expenses incurred by it.

(Prior code § 29-52)

A. Trenching for installation across any intersecting roadway open to traffic shall be progressive. Not more than one-half of the width of a traveled way shall be disturbed at one time, and the remaining width shall be kept open to traffic by bridging or backfilling.

B. More than one-half of the width of a traveled way may be disturbed at one time only upon the prior authorization by minute order of the City Council.

(Prior code § 29-53)

All pipes and conduits laid parallel to the roadway shall be placed at least five feet from the edge of the pavement or graded traveled roadway, unless otherwise authorized in writing by the Director of Public Works. The shallowest portion of any pipeline or other facility shall be installed not less than thirty inches below the roadway surface.

(Prior code § 29-54)

A. General Compaction Requirements. All backfill replaced in excavations within the road right-of-way shall be compacted until the relative compaction within six feet of the top surface is not less than ninety percent and below six feet is not less than the adjacent undisturbed soil, as determined by the relative compaction test specified in Section 6, Article b-21, of the State Standard Specifications.

B. Compaction of Clayey Soils. Clayey materials shall be defined as a soil containing more than thirty percent of material which will pass a No. 200 mesh screen. Clayey material replaced as backfill may not be ponded or jetted, but shall be compacted as specified under general compaction requirements by any other suitable method providing the material is first conditioned by wetting or drying to within two percent of optimum moisture content. In lieu of backfilling with clayey material, the permittee, at his or her option, may elect to furnish sandy or granular material, less than thirty percent of which will pass a No. 200 mesh screen, in which case compaction may be obtained as specified under general compaction requirements.

(Prior code § 29-55)

A. After the work has been completed, all debris and excess material from excavation and backfill operations shall be removed from the right-of-way, and the roadway left in a neat and orderly condition.

B. All roadside drainage ditches shall be restored to the original grades and the inlet and outlet ends of all culverts shall be left free and clear.

C. All approaches to private driveways and intersecting highways and streets shall be kept open to traffic at all times.

D. Excess and nonsurfacing materials which adhere to roadway surfacing as a result of construction operations shall be removed by approved methods to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works.

(Prior code § 29-55)

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any person from making such excavation as may be necessary for the preservation of life or property when such necessity arises during such hours as the offices of the City are closed, if the person making such excavation obtains a permit therefor within one day after the offices of the Director of Public Works are first opened subsequent to the making of such excavation.

(Prior code § 29-56)

A permittee shall not make or cause to be made any excavation, or construction, place upon, maintain or leave any obstruction or impediment to travel, or pile or place any material in or upon any public right-of-way, or install or maintain or cause to be installed or maintained any tank, pipe, conduit, duct or tunnel in, upon or under the surface of any public right-of-way, at any location or in any manner other than that described in the application for a permit under this chapter, as approved by the Director of Public Works, or contrary to the terms of the permit or of any provision of this chapter.

(Prior code § 29-57)