All persons seeking to perform work activity in the right-of-way which involves construction, reconstruction, installation, maintenance or repair of facilities or other activity which results in excavation in the right-of-way or involves the safety of the traveling public shall obtain a right-of-way permit from the City Engineer.
(a) In the event of unexpected repair or emergency work, a person required to obtain a permit under this section may commence such repair and emergency work as required, provided that person notify the City as promptly as possible before commencing or within 24 hours after commencing such repair or emergency work if advance notice is not practicable. Any person performing repair or emergency work under this section shall apply for a right-of-way permit within five days of commencing such work.
(b) Applications for permits under this chapter shall be submitted in a format to be determined by the City and shall be accompanied by drawings, plans and specifications in sufficient detail to demonstrate the following.
(1) The facilities will be constructed in accordance with all applicable codes, rules and regulations.
(2) The location and route of all facilities to be located under the surface of the ground, including the line and grade proposed for the burial at all points along the route which are within the public ways. Included with the installation shall be tracer wire or another method acceptable to the City for the purpose of locating the facility during future construction activities.
(3) The location of all existing underground utilities, conduits, ducts, pipes, mains and installations which are within the public ways along the underground route proposed by the applicant.
(4) The construction methods to be employed for protection of existing structures, fixtures and facilities within or adjacent to the public ways.
(5) The location and dimension of all trees within or adjacent to the public ways along the route proposed by the applicant.
(c) All plan submissions shall be in accordance with the submission requirements as established and maintained by the City Engineer. In cases such as major projects involving construction or relocation of multiple utilities or other facilities in the right-of-way, situations where the structural integrity of surrounding facilities is at issue, or other such construction concerns, such plans, upon request of the City Engineer, shall be certified by a State registered professional engineer, or by the public utility as defined by Ohio R.C. § 4905.03 as the right-of-way occupant, that the drawings, plans and specifications submitted comply with the applicable codes, rules and regulations. The City Engineer shall specify the basis for requiring certification of the plans.
(d) Issuance of permit.
(1) Upon submission of all plans and documents required of the applicant and payment of the permit fees required by this chapter, the City Engineer, if satisfied that the applications, plans and documents comply with all requirements of this chapter, shall issue a right-of-way permit authorizing work in the right-of-way, subject to such further conditions, restrictions or regulations affecting the reasonable time, place and manner of performing the work as he may deem necessary or appropriate. The City Engineer may withhold the issuance of a permit if the applicant or owner has outstanding work covered under an expired permit.
(2) The permit shall expire 120 days from the date of issuance unless otherwise specified on the permit. An additional permit fee equal to the original permit fee will be assessed for any work not completed within 120 days of the date of issuance of the permit or as required under divisions (i) or (k)(3).
(e) Notice of construction.
(1) Any person performing work in the right-of-way and subject to the provisions of this chapter must provide the City 48 hours notice prior to beginning such work, except as otherwise permitted under § 1034.19(a).
(2) Upon the issuance of a right-of-way permit under this chapter, the City reserves the right to require a pre- construction meeting, the submission of a construction schedule, and/or the submission of a traffic control plan demonstrating the protective measures and devices that will be employed are consistent with the Ohio Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, latest edition, to prevent injury or damage to persons or property and to minimize disruptions to efficient pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
(3) All permit holders are required to cooperate with the City and with each other. All construction, locations, activities and schedules shall be coordinated, as ordered by the City Engineer, to minimize public inconvenience, disruption or damages.
(f) All construction practices and activities shall be in accordance with the permit and approved final plans and specifications for the facilities. The City Engineer and his representatives shall be provided access to the work and such further information as may be required to ensure compliance with such requirements.
(g) The permit holder shall maintain a copy of the right-of-way permit and approved plans at the construction site, which shall be displayed and made available for inspection by the City Engineer or his representatives at all times when construction work is occurring.
(h) If the right-of-way permit specifies the location of facilities by depth, line, grade, proximity to other facilities or other standard, the permit holder shall cause, upon the request of the City, at the permit holder’s cost, the location of such facilities to be verified by a registered Ohio land surveyor, the person obtaining the permit, or an authorized representative of such person if it is a business entity. The permit holder shall relocate any facilities which are not located in compliance with permit requirements.
(i) Upon order of the City Engineer, all work which does not comply with the right-of-way permit, the approved plans and specifications for the work, or the requirements of this chapter, shall be removed.
(j) The permit holder shall promptly complete all construction activities so as to minimize disruption of the public ways and other public and private property. All construction work authorized by a permit within the public ways, including restoration, must be completed in a time period established by the City Engineer not to exceed 120 days from the date of issuance of the construction permit, unless specified otherwise on the permit.
(k) Within 60 days after completion of construction, the permit holder shall furnish the City with one complete set of plans certified to the City as accurately depicting the location of all facilities constructed pursuant to the permit.
(l) Upon completion of any construction work the permit holder shall, at its own expense, promptly repair any and all public ways and restore property improvements, fixtures, structures and facilities, which were damaged during the course of construction, as nearly as practicable to their condition before the start of construction.
(1) If weather or other conditions do not permit the complete restoration required by this section, the permit holder shall temporarily restore the affected public ways or property in accordance with standards established by the City. Such temporary restoration shall be at the permit holder’s sole expense and the permit holder shall promptly undertake and complete the required permanent restoration when the weather or other conditions no longer prevent such permanent restoration.
(2) A permit holder or other person acting on its behalf shall use suitable barricades, flags, flagmen, lights, flares and other measures as necessary and in accordance with applicable state and local requirements for the safety of all members of the general public and to prevent injury or damage to any person, vehicle or property by reason of such work in or affecting such ways or property.
(3) If the permit holder fails to restore public property as required by this provision within 30 days of completion of the construction work or as otherwise specified on the permit, the City may have such work performed at the sole expense of the permit holder.
(4) If the City Engineer approves the permit holder’s restoration of the project, such restoration shall be deemed reasonable and complete and the City shall not require further restoration work related to the project at a later date. The City shall reserve the right to provide conditional approval on restoration work where, in the opinion of the City Engineer, the adequacy of such restoration may not be fully known at the time of completion.
(m) Landscape restoration. All trees, landscaping and grounds removed, damaged or disturbed as a result of the construction, installation, maintenance, repair or replacement of facilities must be replaced or restored as nearly as may be practicable, to the condition existing prior to performance of work.
(Ord. O2007-54, passed 8-21-2007)