(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to make an opening in, or to construct or repair any pavement in, any public way or other public place without first obtaining a public way work permit from the Commissioner of Transportation; provided, however, that any such opening, construction or repair may be performed by a person holding the public way work license required by this article, who is not a permittee under this section but who is acting as subcontractor for, or otherwise acting under instructions from, as agent for, on behalf of, or in concert with, a permittee under this section. Except as otherwise permitted by Section 10-20-150(i), the Commissioner of Transportation shall allow a permittee to include at most one subcontractor per discipline on the permit. A permit fee shall be required for creating any opening in, or for constructing or repairing any pavement in, the public way. Beginning on January 1, 2009, the permit fee for creating a pavement opening or for pavement construction or repair shall be $337.00 for each such opening to be created or each such construction or repair project. Beginning on January 1, 2009, the permit fee for creating an opening, or for construction or repair, in any parkway or unimproved portion of the public way shall be $169.00 for each such opening to be created, or each such construction or repair project. All permit fees required under this section shall be increased by five percent per annum beginning January 1, 2010. The fee for any permit issued during the time periods specified in subsection (b) of this section shall be as the Commissioner of Transportation sets by rule in an amount that will cover the additional administrative costs associated with disrupting the recently paved public way.
A reinspection fee of $100.00 shall be assessed against any person issued a permit under this section whenever the department of transportation conducts a reinspection after an initial inspection to verify compliance with the municipal code or any conditions of the permit issued under this section. A reinspection fee shall also be assessed whenever any scheduled inspection by the department of transportation cannot take place because of the absence of, or other action or inaction, taken by the permittee.
The foregoing permit and reinspection fees, however, shall not be required of any person who has been granted the right to use the public way pursuant to a franchise ordinance approved by the City Council and which franchise ordinance specifically prohibits the imposition of such fees in addition to the compensation to be received by the City pursuant to the franchise ordinance.
(b) Unless the Commissioner of Transportation determines that circumstances warrant the opening or repairing of pavement, no permit shall be issued for:
(i) opening or repairing any pavement that has been newly constructed or reconstructed after January 1, 1994, for a period of ten years after completion of the construction or reconstruction;
(ii) opening or repairing any pavement that has been resurfaced after January 1, 1994, within five years after completion of the repaving or;
(iii) opening or repairing any pavement at anytime located within the area bounded by North Avenue, Halsted Street, 22nd Street and Lake Michigan. Whenever the Commissioner of Transportation determines that circumstances warrant the opening or repairing of pavement under this subsection, the Commissioner of Transportation may require that the entire surface of the public way abutting the excavated pavement be restored from curb line to curb line but shall, at a minimum, require that the surface of the public way abutting the excavated pavement be restored to the furthest quarter point in all directions. For purposes of this subsection, "quarter point" means each point situated at a distance equal to one-quarter of the distance from curb line to curb line. Any person who opens or repairs a newly constructed, reconstructed or resurfaced pavement without a permit within the time period specified herein or without the approval of the Commissioner of Transportation, or who falsifies information in order to obtain a permit for such work, shall be subject to a fine of $5,000.00 for each day that the opening exists or that the repair is conducted.
When determining whether circumstances warrant the opening or repair of pavement under this subsection, the Commissioner of Transportation shall consider, in addition to other reasonable factors, whether the work to be performed constitutes an emergency repair; whether there is no other reasonable access available to perform the work; and whether the work will provide a public benefit.
(c) It shall be a condition of any permit for the opening of, or the construction or repair of, any public way or other public place that the permit applicant shall agree to restore the pavement or other materials in accordance with public way restoration standards. These standards shall be in the form of regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Transportation.
(d) In addition to the other limitations on the issuance of permits described in this chapter, the Commissioner of Transportation shall not issue any permit for the opening of, or the construction or repair of, any public way or public place until he or she shall have been fully advised of the time, place and character of such opening, construction or repair and the purpose thereof. The Commissioner of Transportation may require that applications for permits be accompanied by a plat or pencil tracing or sketch showing the location, character and dimensions of any proposed openings for the installation of new work, or the location and character of any alterations involving changes in the location of pipes, conduits, wires or other conductors, or proof of compliance with the insurance, letter of credit or other license requirements of this article.
(e) Before a permit that contemplates the breaking or other disturbance of a bituminous surface shall be granted to open, or conduct construction or repair on, any public way or public place for any purpose, the permit applicant shall as part of the application either (1) commit to restoring the bituminous surface after completion of the work and restoration of the pavement, or (2) request that the City of Chicago restore the bituminous surface after completion of the work and restoration of the pavement. If the applicant selects option (2), the Commissioner of Transportation shall assess the applicant a restoration fee, as calculated by the Commissioner of Transportation, sufficient to cover the City of Chicago’s cost to restore the bituminous surface. This restoration fee shall be calculated on a per-square-yard basis, based on current construction costs established through average bid prices in the City of Chicago. In the event that the City of Chicago’s cost to restore the bituminous surface is less than the restoration fee, the amount of the surplus shall be returned to the permittee.
(f) In order for a permit to be issued, the Comptroller shall collect the amount of both the permit fee and any applicable restoration fee. Where the opening, construction or repair is required to perform underground work to facilitate a City or state project or the repair of damage caused by City forces, the payment of permit fees shall be waived.
(g) The permit specified in this section shall not be required for:
(1) the placement, planting, cultivation, maintenance or removal of any tree, shrub, flower, sod or other plant material in the public way, as long as the surface disturbance requires a hole of less than six inches deep;
(2) the operation, improvement, installation, removal and maintenance of parking meters by a person, or the person’s designee, acting pursuant to a concession agreement with the City governing the operation, improvement, installation, removal and maintenance of, and collection of fees from, certain designated parking meters; or
(3) the operation, improvement, installation, removal and maintenance of City digital signs by a person, or the person’s designee, acting pursuant to a coordinated City digital sign program agreement with the City governing the operation, improvement, installation, removal and maintenance of such City digital signs.
(h) With respect to a permit applied for pursuant to this section in conjunction with the installation or relocation of any utility pole on the public way, the Commissioner of Transportation shall provide a 30-day notification to the alderman of the affected ward prior to issuing such permit.
(i) A permittee under this Section may petition the Commissioner of Transportation to permit more than one subcontractor per discipline, by submitting said petition in compliance with the submission process established by the Commissioner of Transportation. If such a petition is granted, the permittee shall be charged a separate permit fee for each subcontractor beyond the one per discipline added to the permit.
(j) The Commissioner of Transportation is authorized to promulgate such rules as are necessary or useful to implement the administration and enforcement of this article.
(Prior code § 33-1; Amend Coun. J. 7-13-88, p. 15000; Amend Coun. J. 12-11-91, p. 10925; Amend Coun. J. 6-23-93, p. 34415; Amend Coun. J. 1-14-97, p. 37762, § 12; Amend Coun. J. 6-9-99, p. 5453; Amend Coun. J. 12-7-05, p. 64870, § 1.9; Amend Coun. J. 9-27-07, p. 9188, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. IX, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 48243, Art. I, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-08, p. 50506, § 13; Amend Coun. J. 3-18-09, p. 56210, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 8; Amend Coun. J. 12-12-12, p. 44485, § 7; Amend Coun. J. 11-14-18, p. 90376, Art. III, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-21, p. 35804, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 11-7-22, p. 55595, Art. V, § 1)
Editor's note – Formerly § 10-20-010.