A. An application for a permit required pursuant to this chapter must be made in writing on a form supplied by the city engineer.
B. The city engineer will only review and approve an application for an encroachment permit if the proposed work will not significantly damage the public right-of-way or create an unreasonable risk of harm to persons or property, or the approval of the application is in the public interest. No permit shall be valid unless signed by the city engineer or his or her designee.
C. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, the city engineer may approve an encroachment permit application subject to conditions, including measures to protect the traveling public, if the city engineer determines that by doing so it would be in the public interest, no significant damage to the public right-of-way would be created, and no unreasonable risk of harm to persons or property would be created. Nothing in this subsection requires the city engineer to approve an application subject to conditions.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this section, the city engineer will approve an encroachment permit application, subject to conditions, for any public agency or utility with lawful authority to occupy the public right-of-way and authorized by law to establish or maintain any works or facilities in, over, or under any public right-of-way. This subsection does not apply to any public agency or utility acting outside of its boundaries. Any encroachment permit issued to a public agency or public utility pursuant to this section is conditioned on a requirement that the permit must relocate its encroachment and its sole expense if future improvement of the public right-of-way necessitates such relocation.
E. Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter is subject to the following conditions:
1. That if the permit expires, is revoked by the city, or the public right-of-way is vacated or abandoned, the permittee will, immediately onto the satisfaction of the city engineer, restore the public right-of-way to the same or better condition than it was on the date that the permit was issued;
2. That the permittee indemnifies and holds harmless the city and any officer or employee from any liability or responsibility for any accident, loss or damage to persons or property, happening or occurring resulting from any placement, change or renewal of any encroachment and that all of the liabilities are assumed by the permittee;
3. That the permittee and any successors, at their own expense, remove or relocate any encroachment that interferes with the improvement, grading or realignment of the public right-of-way by the city or other city project.
F. 1. For any work performed within the public right-of-way, the applicant, his or her contractor, and/or the contractor's sub-contractor(s) shall possess valid contractor license(s) issued by the State of California. This ensures the quality and aesthetics of work performed. The following licenses are acceptable:
Right-of-Way Valid Contractors State License(s) |
Sanitary Sewer Laterals |
Class C-42 (Sanitation System) plus Cal OSHA T-1 Annual Trench/Excavation Permit |
Public Street Repair (right-of-way) |
Class A (General Engineering) |
Class C-12 (Earthwork and Paving) |
Class C-34 (Pipeline) |
Concrete Repair (e.g., sidewalk, curb, gutter, etc.) |
Class C-8 (Concrete) |
2. Contractors working within the public right-of-way shall also possess a valid city of Pinole business license at the time of application.
G. Permits will be valid for sixty calendar days from date of issuance unless specified otherwise in Encroachment Permit Special Conditions or extended in writing by the city engineer. Encroachment permits issued in conjunction with a building permit are bound by the expiration date of the building permit, unless otherwise stated in the Encroachment Permit Special Conditions.
H. Permits are non-exclusive. If a conflict with an existing facility or improvement is discovered during the course of work, the permittee must arrange with the owner of the facility or improvement for any necessary removal or relocation of the facility or improvement. Any and all associated cost for the removal or a relocation will be the responsibility of the permittee. The improvements installed by permittee will be subject to and subordinate to the city's use of the property.
I. Permits issued under this chapter are non-transferable and revocable by the city without cause. Non-compliance with this chapter, general and special conditions of the permit are all grounds for revocation.
J. Permittee shall, whenever required, secure the written authorization for any work that must be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), CAL-OSHA, Caltrans, or any other regional/state agencies as required by law. Failure to comply with the law, as noted above, will invalidate the city's encroachment permit. A copy of such permit shall be attached to the encroachment permit. Permittee shall be liable and shall indemnify the city of Pinole for any and all violations, consequences, mitigations, fees, and penalties that these agencies may impose that are caused directly or indirectly by the proposed work.
K. The issuance of a permit does not constitute a lease, deed, or grant of easement, or a fee interest by the city. (Ord. 2022-03 § 2 (part), 2022).