A. Any utility company owning, operating or installing in rights-of-way or any other public places facilities providing water, sewer, gas, electric, communication, video or other utility services, shall prepare and submit to the director a utility master plan, in a format specified by the director, that shows the location of the utility company's existing facilities in city streets, alleys, sidewalks and other public places, and shows all of the utility company's planned major utility work in city streets, alleys, sidewalks and other public places. Utilities shall submit an initial utility master plan no later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of the ordinance adopting this section. Thereafter, each utility company shall submit semi-annually, on the first regular business day of January and July, a revised and updated utility master plan. As used in this subsection, the term planned major utility work refers to any and all future excavations planned by the utility company when the utility master plan or update is submitted that will affect any public right-of-way or other public place for more than five days, provided that the utility company shall not be required to show future excavations planned to occur more than five years after the date that the utility master plan or update is submitted.
B. Any city department owning, operating or installing utility facilities in public rights-of-way shall prepare and submit to the director a utility master plan that shows the location of the department's existing facilities in rights-of-way and other public places, and shows all of the department's planned major utility work in rights-of-way and other public places. An initial utility master plan shall be submitted no later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. Thereafter, each such department shall submit semi-annually, on the first regular business day of January and July, a revised and updated utility master plan. As used in this subsection, the term planned major utility work refers to any and all future excavations planned by the department when the utility master plan or update is submitted that will affect any public right-of-way or other public place for more than five days, provided that the department shall not be required to show future excavations planned to occur more than five years after the date that the utility master plan or update is submitted.
C. The director shall make all utility master plans submitted in accordance with subsections A and B of this section available for public inspection.
D. The director shall prepare a five year repaving plan showing the street resurfacing planned by the city for the next five years. The five year repaving plan shall be revised and updated on a semi-annual basis after receipt of the utility company's and city departments' utility master plans and updates. The director shall make the city's five year repaving plan available for public inspection. In addition, after determining the street resurfacing work that is proposed for each year, the director shall send a notice of the proposed work to all utility companies that have current utility master plans on file.
E. Prior to applying for an encroachment permit, any person planning to excavate in the public right-of-way or other public places shall review the utility master plans and the city's five year repaving plan on file with the director and shall coordinate, to the extent practicable, with the utility and street work shown on such plans to minimize damage to, and avoid undue disruption and interference with the public use of such rights-of-way or other public places.
F. Excavations in city streets disrupt and interfere with the public use of city streets and damage the pavement. The purpose of this section is to reduce this disruption, interference and damage by promoting better coordination among utility companies making excavations in city streets and between those utility companies and the city. Better coordination will assist in minimizing the number of excavations being made wherever feasible, and will ensure that excavations in city streets are, to the maximum extent possible, performed before, rather than after, the resurfacing of the streets by the city. Coordination also provides a means for utility companies to avoid payment of a trench cut cost recovery fee either by eliminating the need for a new excavation, or, if an excavation is made, by allowing the excavation to qualify for an exemption from the trench cut cost recovery fee pursuant to Section 12.12.140 of this chapter. However, even utility companies performing the best possible coordination will find it necessary to make excavations that do not qualify for an exemption from the trench cut cost recovery fee. For this reason, and in order to provide a further incentive for such utility companies to perform the best possible coordination, if a utility company coordinates its work with other
utility companies and/or the city so that no trench cut cost recovery fee is required for at least eighty (80) percent of the linear feet of its total excavations in city streets during a calendar year, the utility company shall receive a refund, without interest, of one-quarter (twenty-five (25) percent) of the trench cut cost recovery fees the utility company paid during that year. If a utility company coordinates its work with other utility companies and/or the city so that no trench cut cost recovery fee is required for at least ninety (90) percent of the linear feet of its total excavations in city streets during a calendar year, the utility company shall receive a refund, without interest, of one-half (fifty (50) percent) of the trench cut cost recovery fees the utility company paid during that year. If a utility company coordinates its work with other utility companies and/or the city so that no trench cut cost recovery fee is required for at least ninety-five (95) percent of the linear feet of its total excavations in city streets during a calendar year, the utility company shall receive a refund, without interest, of one hundred (100) percent of the trench cut cost recovery fees the utility company paid during that year. Upon appropriation by the city council, city funds authorized for the purpose of maintenance, repair or resurfacing of city streets shall be transferred to the special fund or funds created pursuant to Section 12.12.140(D) of this chapter, to replace any amount refunded pursuant to this subsection. The director shall adopt procedures for implementing this subsection. (Ord. 2009-022 § 2)