(a) No person, company, or other entity shall make any opening or excavation in or under a street, alley, sidewalk, or other public way or ground without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Village Zoning Inspector and making such deposit of money as may be required by the street opening regulations of the Village. Permits shall be issued only to contractors or corporations covered by adequate public liability insurance.
(b) Permits required by subsection (a) of this section shall be issued only on applications made in writing to the Zoning Inspector. Each application shall contain all information required by the Zoning Inspector. A permit shall be issued only after payment of the required permit fee(s) as established by Village Council. Such fee(s) shall be commensurate with the costs of administering permits, performing inspections, and other related services.
(1) The state, the county, or any public utility corporation holding a franchise from the Village may obtain necessary street opening permits without prepayment, but shall be charged for necessary street restoration work and inspections.
(2) A public utility corporation may be licensed by the Zoning Inspector on an annual basis to do its own restoration work in connection with the opening of streets for maintenance and construction work, but shall be charged a sufficient sum to cover inspection costs.
(c) Exemptions from Permit.
(1) Any person performing work under this section and within any right-of-way shall be required to obtain all necessary permits except that work performed by the Village shall not require permits.
(2) Emergency Work. There are times when emergency situations cause damage to utility facilities located in the highway right of way and work needs to be performed immediately to repair the damage. The type of work being performed is normally handled under the Village's permitting process and could not be started until the permit is approved. However, because the affected utility facilities need immediate fix, the utility can perform the work and a permit does not have to be in hand at the time.
A permit is not required for work considered emergency maintenance of utility facilities when damaged by a vehicle, weather related causes or other uncontrolled incident. For all emergency work performed on all highway rights of way, by or for the utility, the utility is responsible for installing and maintaining traffic control devices in accordance with the provisions of the Ohio Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and immediately notifying the Village. In all cases, the emergency work needs to be performed in a prudent manner and a permit must be issued afterwards to address the situation which occurred.
(3) Utility Maintenance.
A. All utility companies perform day-to day maintenance activity to ensure their systems provide good and efficient service to their customers. In accordance with this intent, all such utilities are hereby granted a non-perpetual license to perform such maintenance work consisting of the following:
Any work done to repair, replace, or maintain existing utility facilities within the Village right of way that does NOT involve pavement work. The work must be done within the same footprint as the original installation.
B. Utility work that is not covered by the license is as follows:
1. Maintenance work done that requires boring under pavement, open cuts in the pavement, and pavement milling will require individual right of way use permits and cannot be done under the license.
2. Maintenance work done outside of the footprint of the original installation, but still within road right of way, will require individual right of way use permits and cannot be done under the license.
3. Any work associated with the installation of additional utility facilities within the Village right of way will require individual right of way use permits and cannot be done under the license.
The license covers all maintenance activity and individual permits are not required. However, the utility must notify the Village on all maintenance work that will be performed and all of the work activity must meet the requirements that are generally outlined in a permit. The license remains in effect until the Village or the utility company make the decision to cancel or revoke the license.
C. Tree and Brush Removal, etc. The utility shall apply for and receive an annual permit that will cover all future spraying, cutting, trimming, or removal of brush or trees on Village highway rights of way. After the permit is issued, the utility shall notify the Village in advance of each time these activities are scheduled to be performed. The work shall be performed in accordance with the provisions incorporated into the permit.
(d) Conditions That Would Cause Revoking of the Permit.
(1) If the party to whom the permit is issued does anything contrary to the orders of the Village Zoning Inspector and, after due notice, fails to correct the work as ordered, the Village may, with or without notice, correct such work or remove such structure or material, and the party whom the permit is issued to shall reimburse the Village for any expenses incurred in correcting the work or removing the structure or materials.
(2) At any time, a permit may be revoked or annulled by the Village Zoning Inspector for noncompliance with any of the conditions, restrictions, or regulations herein.
(3) The granting of a permit does not, in any way, abridge the jurisdiction of the Village over the streets located therein. If, during any future work benefiting the traveling public, it becomes necessary for the Village to order removal, reconstruction, relocation or repair of utility facilities or work performed under the permit, the removal, reconstruction, relocation or repair shall be wholly at the expense of the utility and be made as determined by the Village.
(e) Permit Application Information Permit Requests. Regardless of whether the permit application for a crossing or longitudinal utility installation is being submitted by the permittee during a highway construction project or for an installation in the existing right of way, all of the information needed from the permittee for review and approval is the same. The permittee shall furnish the following:
(1) General Information.
A. One copy of the permit plan and permit application.
B. Specific highway location.
C. Right of way plan or plan/profile sheet of the highway covering the permittee request
(2) Permit Plan Information.
A. Centerline stationing of any highway crossing.
B. A profile view and/or elevation points covering areas of possible conflict for both aerial and/or underground utility installations.
C. The type of materials that will be used for the installation must be specified. For underground installations, this will include the type and size of pipe, conduit, cable, etc.
D. Provide plans for the proposed installation, including profiles and representative cross sections, relating the installation to the highway stationing. Depending on the proposal, cross sections may not be required for an aerial installation.
E. For underground installations, a profile shall be provided to address points of possible conflict with other subsurface features.
(3) Construction.
A. Method of installation to be used.
B. State the length of time necessary to install the facilities.
C. If applicable, construction details for both excavation and backfilling of trenches shall be provided for all underground installations.
D. If the installation affects any portion of the highway slopes, an explanation will be required as to the method and materials to be used for protecting the slope from erosion. When sheeting is used, the material details and construction method must be provided.
E. All highway right of way which is disturbed by the proposed construction must be restored to the original or better condition.
F. In some instances, the utility installation may affect trees or other types of mature growth. Where this occurs, selective tree removal or necessary tree trimming will be permitted. In these situations, plans must be provided showing the selective removal and/or trimming required along with schematic plan depicting the necessary replacement plants to be installed. However, it must be clearly documented in their plan that neither the facility nor the construction of the facility will be detrimental to the natural growth in the area of the proposed utility installation.
G. The permittee shall place permanent markers (i.e. fluorescent markers, fluorescent pedestals) identifying the location of the underground utilities to avoid damage to the facility during Village seasonal maintenance activity. Non-metallic underground lines shall be accompanied by a trace wire, metallic tape or other method to locate and mark the underground facility.
H. A review of necessary highway restoration processes must be made. This review shall include the restoration of drainage, fence, guardrail, right of way and the pavement/shoulder areas. In conjunction, consideration must also be given to the possible use of specific restoration materials such as permanent sheeting/shoring or control density backfill. Furthermore, an evaluation shall be made as to the use of full time inspection and/or the bonding of the applicant or the applicant's contractor.
(4) Maintenance of Traffic.
A. A maintenance of Traffic Plan must be provided, including points of access for both the utility construction phase and future maintenance of the facility.
(5) Bond Protection.
A. If the permit applicant is not a utility that submits a significant number of requests for use of the highway right of way or there is installation concerns regardless of what utility is requesting the permit, the Village can request the applicant provide a bond to cover any damage that may occur as a result of the installation.
B. The bond amount will be established based on the physical characteristics of the roadway or bridge structure that has the potential for damage.
C. The bond is to be in place for five (5) years from the completion date of the installation and, if the permit holder does not make any needed repairs, the funds will be used to cover any costs the Village uses to make those repairs.
(Ord. 815. Passed 2-17-21.)