(a) Every user of vault space, that is located under the public way and that has an area of at least 30 square feet and that is deeper than three feet below the surface grade of the public way, shall cause the vault to be inspected periodically under the certification of a licensed engineer. Vaults within the central business district, as defined in Chapter 9-4 of this Code, shall be inspected annually; vaults outside the central business district shall be inspected no less than once every three years. Required inspections shall be conducted at the vault user's expense. The user of the vault shall maintain records of inspections under this section for a period of three years, and shall make the records available for review by the department of transportation, the department of business affairs and consumer protection and the department of buildings on demand during regular business hours.
(b) If the inspection indicates the need for any repairs, alterations or other work, the vault user shall prepare a written report indicating the following: the location of the vault; the purpose for which the vault is used; the date of commencement of the work; the date of completion of the work; the nature of the work; and the name and address of each contractor performing any portion of the work. The report shall be filed with the department of transportation, the department of business affairs and consumer protection and the department of buildings in accordance with rules issued by those departments. In preparing the rules, those departments shall consider the purpose for which the vault space is used, the nature of equipment or items stored in a space, the proximity of vault space to the public way, and other factors that may affect public safety.
(c) Any vault user who fails to obtain a required inspection, or who fails to maintain inspection records or file a required inspection report, or who provides false or misleading information in an inspection report, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $200.00 and not more than $500.00 for each offense. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(Added Coun. J. 2-9-94, p. 45320; Amend Coun. J. 12-7-05, p. 64870, § 1.9; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5)