(a) No public street, alley, highway, sidewalk, public way or public ground within the City shall be dug into, opened or excavated, or the surface thereof in any manner broken or injured for the benefit of any person, other than the City itself, except as provided in this article, and except as provided in Article 9.
(b) Any person desiring to have any opening or excavation made in the surface of a street, or to use the streets and alleys for his benefit, shall make an application in writing to the City Manager therefor. Such application shall give the name and address of the applicant, the location and purpose of the opening or excavation and the time when such opening or excavation is to be made. All such openings and excavations shall be made by the City or its agents, employees or contractors.
(c) Upon approval thereof, the City Manager shall issue a work order or permit: showing the work which is to be accomplished by the City for the applicant with the estimated cost thereof and such other information as the City Manager may deem pertinent. In any proper case, the City Manager may require the applicant by bond or money deposit to insure the City of payment for the work before the same is accomplished.
(d) Where any such opening or excavation, or other disturbance, is upon a paved street, the applicant may also be required to pay to the City a service fee to cover the cost of any permanent injury to the surface of such street.
(e) In addition to the fees, rates and charges above provided for, the City may also make a proper charge, to be determined by the City Manager, for reimbursement of the cost to the City for providing the necessary safeguards to the traveling public, and for the protection of persons and property, while such work is being accomplished.
(f) The applicant shall within ten days after the completion of the work pay to the City its full costs therefor as may be required, and in the event the same shall not be paid within such period of time the Director of Finance shall cause a lien to be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Court of the County against any property which the applicant may own within the City.
(g) In the making of such openings and excavations, all necessary safeguards shall be used by the City or its contractor for the safety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and for the protection of lives and property.
(h) The foregoing provisions of this section are subject to the proviso that, as to any public utility company or other person having a current or existing franchise with the City, or any municipally-owned public utility providing public water service to the residents of the City that any such franchised public utility company, or other person, or any such municipally-owned waterworks maintaining its public service lines in, on, under, over or through the streets and other public ways within the City may at its own cost open or excavate in any street, alley, highway, avenue, public way or sidewalk for the purpose of laying, maintaining, repairing, relaying or altering such public service lines but only in such manner as may be authorized or required by its franchise, or by such municipally-owned waterworks system in such manner as the City Manager may require consistent with the existing franchise ordinances of the City; provided, however, that no franchised public utility having a franchise with the City shall act as a contractor for, or shall do work under the terms of this section for any person or public utility which does not have a franchise with the City.
(Passed 6-26-17.)