(a) A person shall not perform any construction, except for an emergency activity, within a public right-of-way without first obtaining a permit from the director prior to the start of construction. A person who undertakes any work outside of the public right-of-way that will cut, break, or otherwise damage the public right-of-way shall also obtain a permit under this section.
(b) A permit is not required under subsection (a) of this section if the activity in the public right-of-way consists exclusively of:
(1) A connection of real property to a retail utility service on the same side of the public right-of-way, if the connection does not require a pavement cut; or
(2) The replacement of a single damaged pole.
(c) The following procedures and requirements govern the application for and issuance of a permit to perform construction within the public right-of-way:
(1) A permit application must be made in writing on a form approved by the director. The application must be signed and submitted by the owner of the facility for which the permit is requested or, if the work does not involve a facility, by the owner of the improvement for which the permit is requested.
(2) Except in the case of a major project, a permit application must be submitted to the director not less than two business days before commencement of the proposed construction unless emergency activity is required, in which case immediate notice, including the reasons for the emergency activity, must be given to the director.
(3) A permit application for a major project must be submitted enough time in advance of the commencement of the proposed construction to allow the director at least 30 business days for review. During this project submission review period, schedules, alternatives to cutting the street, utility assignments, special repair requirements, and all other questions will be resolved. Adjustments to time limits specified in the Pavement Cut and Repair Standards Manual may be granted by the director for major project work. The proposed construction on the project may commence upon issuance of the permit by the director.
(4) A permit application must include a statement by the applicant that the applicant has collected all available plans for existing city underground facilities and other public and private utilities and has included those facilities and utilities in the applicant's design, showing no apparent conflict. The statement must also affirm that the applicant will perform field verifications as necessary during construction to locate all city and other existing underground facilities.
(5) The permit application on any project must include submittal of plans to the director. When required by the Texas Engineering Practice Act, as amended, the plans must be sealed by a professional engineer licensed to practice in the state. The plans must include the horizontal alignment of all proposed facilities in relation to all existing public and private facilities in plan view. If the project is a major project that is located within the central business district, crosses street intersections, or involves crossing proposed facilities over or under existing facilities, the plans must also include a representation of the vertical alignment of the facilities in profile view. Each sheet of the plans must have a note instructing the contractor to verify the location of underground utilities at least 100 feet in advance of all proposed utility crossings, and also at locations where the proposed facilities are shown to be running parallel to existing facilities within five feet. The plans must be half-size (11 inches by 17 inches) at a scale no smaller than one inch equals 40 feet in plan view and one inch equals six feet in profile view. Each project must be assigned a project number, which must appear on each sheet.
(6) A permit is required even if other authority has been granted by the director to make a pavement cut or excavation in a public right-of-way as part of a city construction project.
(7) The director shall state on the permit the activity for which the permit is issued and include any additional restrictions or requirements determined necessary by the director.
(8) The permittee has the exclusive responsibility to coordinate with other public service providers to protect all existing facilities in the public right-of-way in which the construction occurs.
(9) The permittee shall, as an express condition of the permit, comply in all respects with the requirements prescribed for the permitted activity in the Pavement Cut and Repair Standards Manual and with all other city ordinances and state or federal laws or regulations affecting the permitted activity.
(10) The director shall notify public service providers that registered during the previous calendar year of pavement surfaces to be reconstructed or resurfaced by the city during the next calendar year.
(11) A public service provider planning construction within the public right-of-way shall notify the director by March 1 of each year of all then-known facility expansion or replacement projects planned for the next fiscal year that may require pavement cuts or excavations.
(12) The director may require any permittee to use trenchless technology or boring, instead of disturbing a public right-of-way surface, if it is:
a. In the best interest of the city;
b. Technically, commercially, and economically feasible; and
c. Not in violation of federal or state regulations or industry safety standards.
(13) Directional drilling or boring may not be used in the central business district, unless otherwise approved by the director as being in the best interest of the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience.
(14) In using trenchless technology or boring, whether or not required under this subsection, the permittee must:
a. Obtain and have at the construction site recent plans from the city's water utilities department, and, where available, plans from owners of all other underground facilities, showing the horizontal and vertical placement of the underground facilities, if the permittee's proposed facilities will:
1. Cross other existing facilities; or
2. Be located within five feet of existing facilities at any point.
b. Locate all water main lines by potholing, if the permittee's proposed facilities will:
1. Cross other existing facilities; or
2. Be located within five feet of existing facilities at any point; and
3. Be able to locate the bore head at all times in accordance with the latest technologies and provide the location of the bore to the director upon request.
(15) The permittee shall maintain the construction area in a public right-of-way in a manner that avoids dust, other health hazards, and hazards to vehicular and pedestrian traffic until the public right-of-way is permanently repaired.
(16) When making a pavement cut or excavation, or placing spoils or excavated material in or along a public right-of-way, the permittee shall place barricades, warning signs, and warning lights at the location sufficient to warn the public of the hazard of the cut, excavation, spoils, or excavated material in compliance with the 1980 edition of the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, as amended, published by the state department of transportation.
(17) The director may require the permittee to share trench space to minimize the disruption of vehicular and pedestrian traffic or to provide space for needed city facility installations if such sharing is:
a. Technically, commercially, and economically feasible; and
b. Not in violation of state or federal regulations or industry safety standards.
(d) The following additional procedures apply if it is necessary to close, in whole or in part, a public right-of-way for purposes of making a pavement cut or an excavation:
(1) For any closure of a traffic lane or blocking of a sidewalk or alley lasting one day or less, the permittee shall conspicuously mark its vehicles with the permittee's name and telephone number.
(2) Any closure of a traffic lane or blocking of a sidewalk or alley lasting longer than one day must be identified by a sign that is clearly legible to the traveling public. The sign must be posted at or in close proximity to the worksite and must contain:
a. The name of the permittee;
b. The name of the person performing the construction on behalf of the permittee, if any; and
c. A local 24-hour contact number that can be used in case of emergency or to answer any questions.
(3) The requirements of this subsection are in addition to any other signage, barricades, or warning devices required by law or ordinance. The sign information required by subsection (d)(2) of this section may be included on barricades or warning devices.
(4) When permitted construction will last longer than two weeks, the permittee shall give written notification to all adjacent property occupants by conspicuously posting the notification on each adjacent property at least 72 hours before commencement of construction, unless the director determines that an emergency exists.
(5) If a street or alley must be totally closed for any duration, the permittee shall provide for reasonable alternative access to the adjacent property by the property's occupants and invitees, which access must include, but is not limited to, deliveries to the property.
(6) If construction on a partially closed thoroughfare stops for the day, all thoroughfare lanes must be reopened to traffic, unless an extended time of closure is expressly granted by the permit.
(7) If a pavement cut is to be covered, the permittee shall use steel plates, or equivalent plates, of sufficient strength and thickness to support all traffic.
(8) Plates must be sufficiently secured in place so as not to become dislodged or in any way cause a hazard to any traffic. Asphalt transitions must be placed as required to provide a reasonably smooth riding surface.
(9) Plates must be marked with the name of the person performing the construction and with a local 24-hour contact number that can be used in case of an emergency, unless a sign complying with subsection (d)(2) of this section is posted at or in close proximity to the worksite.
(10) Unless it becomes necessary to conduct emergency activity, a permittee shall not cause or allow interference with traffic flow on a thoroughfare during the hours of 6:30 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. through 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
(11) A temporary repair may not remain on public right-of-way for more than 14 calendar days after the completion of the repair or installation of the underground structure or facility, unless a time extension has been granted by the director. The city may, at the expense of the permittee or other responsible person, remove any temporary repair remaining in the public right-of-way beyond the 14-day time limit and make permanent repairs. Any exception to the 14-day time limit, other than a relocation of a facility in advance of a city construction project in the public right-of-way, must be approved by the director prior to expiration of the time limit.
(12) If no construction has commenced under a permit within 120 calendar days after issuance of the permit, the permit becomes null and void, and a new permit is required before construction may be performed in the public right-of-way. An extension to a permit may be granted by the director only before the permit expires.
(13) The director may refuse to issue a permit if:
a. The proposed construction will substantially interfere with vehicles or pedestrians and no procedures, or procedures inconsistent with this article, have been implemented to minimize the interference;
b. The proposed construction will substantially interfere with another activity for which a permit has been issued, or will conflict or interfere with existing facilities already in the public right-of-way;
c. The proposed barricading, channelizing, signing, warning, or other traffic control procedures or equipment do not comply with the requirements of the 1980 edition of the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, as amended;
d. The proposed construction, incidental traffic control, or other permitted activity, or the manner in which it is to be performed, will violate a city ordinance or regulation or a state or federal statute or regulation;
e. The permittee:
1. Failed to furnish all the information required by this article;
2. Knowingly or intentionally furnished materially false or incorrect information to the director;
3. Failed, except for good cause shown, to file the application on the approved form within the time limits prescribed by this section;
4. Failed or refused to submit plans of record;
5. Was convicted of violating a provision of this article twice within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of application;
6. Failed to furnish or have on file with the director the insurance required under this article;
7. Is not in compliance with applicable requirements of an existing permit issued under this article; or
8. Has not obtained a current copy of the Pavement Cut and Repair Standards Manual from the director.
(14) The director may suspend construction or revoke an issued permit on the same grounds on which a permit may be denied, or if the permittee:
a. Commences or performs construction in violation of an applicable requirement of this article or the permit;
b. Creates or is likely to create a public health or safety hazard by performance of the construction in question;
c. Fails to comply with an order or regulation of the director;
d. Fails to comply with restrictions or requirements of other city ordinances or state or federal laws or regulations applicable to the construction; or
e. Commences or performs work without having prior knowledge and understanding of the applicable repair standards or without having obtained a current copy of the Pavement Cut and Repair Standards Manual from the director.
(15) The director shall provide written notice of a suspension or revocation to the permittee or the person hired by the permittee to perform the construction.
(16) Construction that is suspended may not resume until the director determines that the permittee has corrected the violation, noncompliance, or hazard that caused the suspension. A permit that has been revoked may be reinstated by the director if the director determines that:
a. The permittee has corrected the violation, noncompliance, or hazard that caused the revocation; and
b. The health or safety of the public is not jeopardized by reinstating the permit.
(17) Any variance from the requirements of this article must be approved in advance by the director. The director may grant a variance only if an extreme hardship exists and the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience is not adversely affected by granting the variance. The director may not approve any variance that would give a competitive advantage to one public service provider over another public service provider providing the same or similar service. The director may not grant a variance from the indemnity requirements of this article.
(Ord. No. 033-2017, Exh. A(17-28.060), 8-22-2017)