.010 Any person required to pay a pavement trench cut fee pursuant to Section 12.30.030 and not granted a variance pursuant to Section 12.30.050, who desires to protest or otherwise challenge the imposition or amount of the fee shall tender to the City payment in full of the fee when due, accompanied by a written notice containing the following information:
a. A statement that the required payment is tendered under protest; and
b. A description of the factual and legal basis for the protest. If the person contends that the fee is inconsistent with the provisions of a contract, the written notice shall include a complete, executed copy of the contract along with a description of the claimed inconsistency.
.020 Any person required to pay a pavement trench cut fee pursuant to Section 12.30.030 and who has complied with the fee protest provisions of Section 12.30.070.010, may submit a claim for refund of the fee in the manner set forth in California Government Code Section 910 et seq. and within the time limits set forth in Government Code Section 911.2. In evaluating the claim, the City shall consider whether the claimant has established that: (1) the claimant's excavation will not degrade and shorten the life of the surface of the street(s); (2) the degradation of the street(s) will not increase the frequency and cost to the public of necessary resurfacing, maintenance and repair of the street(s); (3) the imposition or amount of the pavement trench cut fee is inconsistent with a contract to which the claimant is a party; or (4) the imposition or amount of the pavement trench cut fee required of the claimant is unlawful for another reason. If the City finds that future imposition of the pavement trench cut fee against the claimant would also be inconsistent with a contract to which the claimant is a party or would be unlawful for another reason, the claimant shall thereafter be exempt from the pavement trench cut fee, unless the City later finds on the basis of changed circumstances that the exemption should be revoked.
.030 The validity or amount of a pavement trench cut fee shall not be contested in any action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding is commenced within 90 days after a claim is filed and denied pursuant to Section 12.30.070.020. (Ord. 6536 § 1 (part); September 27, 2022.)