A. Prior to any individual or entity other than the city of Charleston, or its agents, performing any work upon city right of way, said individual or entity must first obtain an application and receive permission by the city of Charleston to perform such work on city right of way.
B. The application shall be maintained by the director of public works and shall require such information as said office deems necessary.
C. Any individual desiring to obtain a permit to work on city right of way must apply for said permit and receive written notification to proceed at least forty eight (48) hours prior to commencing said project. Said project must be completed within thirty (30) days of the date said permit is approved. Prior to obtaining a permit to work on city right of way, the applicant must meet the following criteria:
1. The applicant represents all parties in interest and shall furnish material, do all work, pay all costs, and shall in a reasonable length of time restore the damaged portions of right of way to a condition similar or equal to that existing before the commencement of the described work, including any seeding or sodding necessary.
2. The proposed work shall be located and constructed to the satisfaction of the director of public works, plumbing inspector or their duly authorized representative. No revisions or additions shall be made to the proposed work on the right of way without the written permission of the director of public works, plumbing inspector or their duly authorized representative.
3. The applicant shall at all times conduct the work in such a manner as to minimize hazards to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Traffic controls and work site protection shall be in accordance with the applicable requirements of Illinois department of transportation standards for traffic control and the "Manual Of Uniform Traffic Control Devices". All signs, barricades, flaggers, etc., required for traffic control shall be furnished by the applicant. The work may be done on any day except Sunday, and all scheduled holidays of the city of Charleston as posted and published on an annual basis. Work shall be done only during daylight hours.
4. The work performed by the applicant shall be for the bona fide purpose expressed and not for the purpose of, nor shall it result in, the parking or servicing of vehicles on the city right of way. Signs located on or overhanging the right of way shall be prohibited.
5. The applicant, his successors or assigns, agrees to hold harmless the city of Charleston and its duly appointed agents and employees against any action for personal injury or property damage sustained by reason of the exercise of this permit. All work performed on city right of way shall comply with minimum OSHA standards for work safety.
6. The applicant shall not trim, cut or in any way disturb any trees or shrubbery along the city right of way without the approval of the director of public works or his duly authorized representative.
7. The permit applicant or owner of the improvement on city right of way shall be responsible for the maintenance of the improvement on city right of way. The city of Charleston reserves the right to make such changes, additions, repairs and relocations within its statutory limits to the facilities constructed under this permit or any such appurtenances to said facilities on the right of way as may at any time be considered necessary to permit the relocation, reconstruction, widening or maintaining of the city right of way and/or provide proper protection to life and property on or adjacent to the city right of way.
In the event this permit is granted to construct, locate, operate and/or maintain utility facilities on the city right of way, the applicant, upon written request by the city of Charleston, shall perform such alterations or change of location of said facilities, without expense to the city of Charleston. Should the applicant fail to make satisfactory arrangements to comply with this request within a reasonable time, the city reserves the right to make such alterations, to change the location, or to remove the work, and the applicant agrees to pay for the cost incurred.
8. This permit is effective only if the city of Charleston has jurisdiction and does not presume to release the applicant from compliance with the provisions of any existing statutes or local regulations relating to the construction of such work.
9. The construction of access driveways is subject to approval of the street superintendent, the regulations listed in this code, and the "Policy On Permits For Access Driveways To State Highways". Any reference to the state of Illinois or Illinois department of transportation in this document shall be interpreted to reference the city of Charleston. Any deviation from this document shall be obtained in writing from the street superintendent or the director of public works prior to implementation. If, in the future, the land use of property served by an access driveway described and constructed in accordance with this permit changes so as to require a higher driveway type as defined in that policy or by this code, the owner shall apply for a new permit and bear the costs for such revisions as may be required to conform to the regulations specified in these documents.
10. Utility installations shall be subject to approval of the utility superintendent, plumbing inspector, or director of public works and shall conform to this code and the "Policy On The Accommodation Of Utilities On Right Of Way Of The Illinois State Highway System". Any reference to the state of Illinois or Illinois department of transportation in this document shall be interpreted to reference the city of Charleston. Any deviation from these documents shall be obtained in writing from the utility superintendent, plumbing inspector, or director of public works prior to implementation.
11. The applicant affirms that the property lines shown on the attached sheet(s) are true and correct and is bound and obligated to perform the operation in accordance with the description and attached sketch and to abide by the policy regulations.
12. After obtaining a permit to work on city right of way, the applicant shall notify the city of Charleston a minimum of forty eight (48) hours in advance of doing work on city right of way.
13. A blanket permit to cover all permit work on city right of way for a period of one year is available. The permit format and requirements are the same except the permit period will be for one year.
14. Prior to performing any work on city right of way, if the applicant proposes to cut or damage the pavement, the applicant shall file a copy of a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit naming the city of Charleston as the sole beneficiary in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for each work location permitted by the city of Charleston. Surety shall remain in place for a period of one year after the inspection and approval of the work on city right of way.
15. A fifty thousand dollar ($50,000.00) or larger surety bond may be required for a three (3) year period for any utility company or contractor if determined to be necessary by the Director of Public Works.
16. A contractor may also provide a blanket bond good for a period of one calendar year from January 1 through December 31 of each year for the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). This document shall be kept on file by the inspection department and all bonds shall be held for a period of one year after the work covered by the bond is complete and approved by city personnel.
17. Once the appropriate blanket permit and bond are on file with the city, notification of work and location may be made in writing or via e-mail to the inspections department of the city of Charleston. The e-mail notification shall be directed to cityhall@co.coles.il.us; however, no work on city right of way shall begin until approval to begin is granted by the city's inspection department or the director of public works and all other specifications of this construction permit shall apply.
18. All work on city right of way shall comply with the preparation and backfill requirements in subsection D of this section.
D. The following preparation and backfill requirements shall exist:
1. All pavement, curbing or sidewalks shall be saw cut in a uniform manner.
2. If water or sewer pipe is undercut it must have a granular backfill FA-06 or similar gradation compacted beneath the pipe. Granular backfill shall be defined as FA-06 or similar gradation.
3. The existing pipe must be covered by at least six inches (6") of granular backfill. The contractor shall not place backfill until a representative of the city has inspected the trench and the work that was done under the permit.
4. The remaining portion of the backfill for areas in the roadway (street, sidewalk, or alley) and two feet (2') beyond the improved roadway shall be compacted trench backfill material, in accordance with section 208 of the current edition of the "Standard Specifications For Road And Bridge Construction", or a nonair entrained controlled low strength material (commonly known as flowable fill). The trench backfill material shall be brought up to the top of subgrade, which is to the bottom of the existing street surface, in accordance with section 550.07 of the current edition of the "Standard Specifications For Road And Bridge Construction".
Excavations on city right of way not under the roadway shall be backfilled with suitable material, which was excavated from the trench.
5. The remaining portion of the excavation, from the top of the subgrade to the finished surface shall be replaced with at least the same pavement cross section as the adjacent pavement, which was not disturbed. All materials incorporated into the replaced pavement structure shall be IDOT approved materials and mix designs.
6. Sidewalk areas shall be backfilled with trench backfill up to four inches (4") below existing finished grade, and the sidewalk replaced using an IDOT approved concrete mix design. If sidewalk is in an ingress or egress area, the concrete thickness shall be six inches (6") instead of four inches (4").
7. During normal hours of operation, city personnel may be contacted at 217-345-5650.
8. Any emergency excavation on any public right of way or on days when city forces do not normally work shall be reported to the city by calling the water treatment plant at 217-345-2977. (Ord. 07-O-25, 5-1-2007; amd. Ord. 2022-O-24, 6-7-2022)