A. Permitted Excavations: No public way of the city shall be dug up or excavated and no approach, road, driveway, pole, pipeline, conduit, sewer, ditch culvert, advertising sign, or other structure or object of any kind or character shall be placed, constructed or maintained within any such public way except as permitted by and in accordance with the city's ordinances and regulations.
B. Application For Permit: Any person desiring to perform work of any kind in a public way within the city shall make application for a permit prior to beginning such work. Such application shall be filed with the department on a form or forms to be furnished by the city. Property owners and/or tenants for whom work is being done shall be responsible for obtaining the permits; provided, however, contractors may obtain the permit in the contractor's name.
C. Eligible Persons: No person shall be eligible to apply for or receive permits to do work within the public ways of the city, save and except the following:
1. Contractors licensed by the state as general contractors;
2. Public utility companies; (Ord. 08-18, 7-17-2008)
3. Property owners installing, replacing, or maintaining less than five hundred (500) square feet or one hundred (100) linear feet of sidewalk, curb and gutter, or driveway approach, or other work approved by the department, upon a portion of the public way abutting their residence; or (Ord. 2015-02, 2-5-2015)
4. Persons offering a service which requires occupation of the public way, such as scaffold or staging, staging of a crane, installation or maintenance of electric signs, glass, awnings, and painting or cleaning of buildings or signboards or other structures.
D. Denial Based On Past Performance: The department may deny the issuance of permits to contractors, public utility companies, or other permit applicants who have shown by past performance that in the department's opinion will not consistently conform to the engineering design and construction standards or the requirements of this chapter.
E. Filing Of Plans And Specifications: When the department determines that it is necessary to fully determine the relationship of the work proposed to existing or proposed facilities within the public ways, or to determine whether the work proposed complies with the engineering design and construction standards, the city may require the filing of engineering plans, specifications and sketches showing the proposed work in sufficient detail to permit determination of such relationship or compliance, or both, and the application shall be deemed suspended until such plans and sketches are filed and approved. The city shall use its reasonable best efforts to review and respond to the permittee concerning such plans and sketches within five (5) business days after filing.
F. Commencement Of Work Without Permit Unlawful: It shall be unlawful for any person to commence work upon any public way until the department has approved the application and until a permit has been issued for such work, except as specifically otherwise approved in this chapter.
G. Appeal: The disapproval or denial of an application by the city community development director or other designee appointed by the city may be appealed by the applicant to the city council by filing of a written notice of appeal within ten (10) days of the date of the denial. The city council may hear such appeal, if written request therefor be timely filed as soon as practicable, and render its decision within a reasonable time following such appeal.
H. Limitation Of Authority: In approving or disapproving work within any public way, or permits therefor, in the inspection of such work; in reviewing plans, sketches or specifications; and generally in the exercise of the authority conferred hereunder, the department shall act in such manner as to preserve and protect the public way and the use thereof, but shall have no authority to govern the actions or inaction of permittees and applicants or other persons which have no relationship to the use, preservation or protection of the public way.
I. Exception From Permit Requirement: A permit is not required from the department for a city, county, state, federal, or other government employee to perform routine maintenance work, not involving excavations.
J. Hand Digging Excavations: A permit is not required from the department for hand digging excavations for installation or repair of sprinkler systems and landscaping within the nonpaved areas of the public way. However, conformance to the engineering design and construction standards is required. (Ord. 08-18, 7-17-2008)