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(a) In addition to the requirements set forth in this Article, the Department may adopt such orders or regulations as it deems necessary in order to preserve and maintain the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience. Each excavation in the public right-of-way pursuant to this Article shall be performed in accordance with the standard plans and specifications of the Department and any Department orders or regulations, except where the Director, in the Director’s discretion, grants prior written approval to deviate from such standard plans and specifications, orders, or regulations. The Director shall develop guidelines to implement the granting of waivers authorized pursuant to this Article. Furthermore, excavation in the public right-of-way shall conform to the orders, regulations, and rules of the Municipal Transportation Agency.
(b) The Department may adopt such orders, regulations, or standard plans and specifications as it deems necessary or appropriate to allow a permittee to use microtrenching to install fiber-optic facilities in the public right-of-way; provided, however, the Department shall not require any increase in the requested width or depth of any microtrench unless it specifically finds that the increase would be necessary to preserve and maintain the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience.
(Added by Ord. 341-98, App. 11/13/98; Ord. 287-08, File No. 081340, App. 12/5/2008; amended by Ord. 52-24, File No. 230867, App. 3/22/2024, Eff. 4/22/2024)
For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
"Agent" shall mean a person or persons authorized to assist an owner in the permitting process or in the performance of an excavation.
"Applicant" shall mean an owner or duly authorized agent of such owner, who has submitted an application for a permit to excavate.
"Article" shall mean this Article 2.4 of the Public Works Code.
"Block" shall mean that part of the public right-of-way that includes the street area from the property line to the parallel property line in width and extending from the property line of an intersecting street to the nearest property line of the next intersecting street in length. For purposes of this definition, an intersection also shall be considered a "block."
"City" shall mean the City and County of San Francisco.
"City communications infrastructure" shall mean conduits, pull boxes, and other facilities that are used by the City to provide communications services.
"Department" shall mean the Department of Public Works.
"Department of Technology" shall mean the Department of Technology or any successor City agency that is responsible for managing City communications infrastructure.
"Department of Technology Requirements" shall mean the Department of Technology's regulations implementing the Department of Technology's participation in excavation projects by installing City communications infrastructure.
"Deposit" shall mean any bond, cash deposit, or other security provided by the applicant in accordance with Section 2.4.40 of this Article.
"Director" shall mean the Director of the Department of Public Works or his or her designee.
"Excavation" shall mean any work in the surface or subsurface of the public right-of-way, including, but not limited to opening the public right-of-way; installing, servicing, repairing or modifying any facility(ies) in or under the surface or subsurface of the public right-of-way, and restoring the surface and subsurface of the public right-of-way.
"Facility" or "facilities" shall include, but not be limited to, any and all cables, cabinets, ducts, conduits, converters, equipment, drains, handholds, manholes, pipes, pipelines, splice boxes, surface location markers, tracks, tunnels, utilities, vaults, and other appurtenances or tangible things owned, leased, operated, or licensed by an owner or person, that are located or are proposed to be located in the public right-of-way.
“Fiber-optic facilities” shall mean fiber-optic cables, and related ancillary equipment such as conduit, ancillary cables, hand holes, vaults, and terminals.
"Incremental cost" shall mean the cost associated with adding City communications infrastructure to an excavation project, including the cost of the materials needed by the City and any additional labor cost.
"Large excavation project" shall mean any excavation of more than 1000 square feet.
"Major work" shall mean any reasonably foreseeable excavation that will affect the public right-of-way for more than 15 consecutive calendar days.
"Medium excavation project" shall mean any excavation of more than 100 but no greater than 1,000 square feet.
“Microtrench” shall mean an open trench that is less than or equal to 4 inches in width and not less than 12 inches nor more than 26 inches in depth, and that is created for the purpose of installing a subsurface pipe or conduit for fiber-optic facilities.
“Microtrenching” shall mean excavation of a microtrench.
"Moratorium street" shall mean any block that has been reconstructed, repaved, or resurfaced by the Department or any other owner or person in the preceding five-year period.
"Municipal excavator" shall mean any agency, board, commission, department, or subdivision of the City that owns, installs, or maintains a facility or facilities in the public right-of-way.
"Owner" shall mean any person, including the City, who owns any facility or facilities that are or are proposed to be installed or maintained in the public right-of-way.
"Permit" or "permit to excavate" shall mean a permit to perform an excavation as it has been approved, amended, or renewed by the Department.
"Permittee" shall mean the applicant to whom a permit to excavate has been granted by the Department in accordance with this Article.
"Person" shall mean any natural person, corporation, partnership, any municipal excavator, or any governmental agency, including the State of California or United States of America.
"Public right-of-way" shall mean the area across, along, beneath, in, on, over, under, upon, and within the dedicated public alleys, boulevards, courts, lanes, roads, sidewalks, spaces, streets, and ways within the City, as they now exist or hereafter will exist and which are or will be under the permitting jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works.
"Responsible party" shall mean the owner for each excavation involving the owner's facility or facilities. In addition, it shall mean any person who performs an excavation or has a duty or right to manage or participate in the management of an excavation and whom the Director designates as responsible, in whole or in part, for such excavation.
"Sidewalk" shall mean the area between the fronting property line and the back of the nearest curb.
"Small excavation project" shall mean any excavation of 100 square feet or less.
"Standard City communications infrastructure specifications" shall mean the type, size, and quantity of conduits, the size and frequency of pull boxes, and any other facilities that the Department of Technology determines are necessary to serve the City's communications needs.
"Utility excavator" shall mean any owner whose facility or facilities in the public right-of-way are used to provide electricity, gas, information services, sewer service, steam, telecommunications, traffic controls, transit service, video, water, or other services to customers regardless of whether such owner is deemed a public utility by the California Public Utilities Commission.
(a) Applications shall be submitted in a format and manner specified by the Department and shall contain:
(i) The name, address, telephone, and facsimile number of the applicant. Where an applicant is not the owner of the facility to be installed, maintained, or repaired in the public right-of-way, the application also shall include the name, address, telephone, and facsimile number of the owner;
(ii) A description of the location, purpose, method of excavation, and surface and subsurface area of the proposed excavation;
(iii) A plan showing the proposed location and dimensions of the excavation and the facilities to be installed, maintained, or repaired in connection with the excavation, and such other details as the Department may require;
(iv) A copy or other documentation of the franchise, easement, encroachment permit, license, or other legal instrument that authorizes the applicant or owner to use or occupy the public right-of-way for the purpose described in the application. Where the applicant is not the owner of the facility or facilities to be installed, maintained, or repaired, the applicant must demonstrate in a form and manner specified by the Department that the applicant is authorized to act on behalf of the owner;
(v) The proposed start date of excavation;
(vi) The proposed duration of the excavation, which shall include the duration of the restoration of the public right-of-way physically disturbed by the excavation;
(vii) Written acknowledgment that all material to be used in the excavation, installation, maintenance, or repair of facilities, and restoration of the public right-of-way will be on hand and ready for use so as not to delay the excavation and the prompt restoration of the public right-of-way;
(viii) Written acknowledgment that the owner and its agent, if any, are in compliance with all terms and conditions of this Article, the orders, regulations, and standard plans and specifications of the Department, and that the owner and its agent are not subject to any outstanding assessments, fees, penalties that have been finally determined by the City or a court of competent jurisdiction;
(ix) A current Business Tax Registration Certificate issued by the San Francisco Tax Collector pursuant to Section 1003 of Part III of the San Francisco Municipal Code for the owner and its agent, if any;
(x) Evidence of insurance as required by Section 2.4.23 of this Article;
(xi) A deposit as required by Section 2.4.40 of this Article;
(xii) Any other information that may reasonably be required by the Department.
(b) The Department may allow an applicant to maintain documents complying with Subsections (iv), (ix), (x), and (xi) on file with the Department rather than requiring submission of such documents with each separate application.
(Added by Ord. 341-98, App. 11/13/98; amended by Ord. 33-02, File No. 020051, App. 3/28/2002)
(a) Five-Year Plans.
(i) On the first day of April and October, or the first regular business day immediately thereafter, each utility and municipal excavator shall prepare and submit to the Department a plan, in a format specified by the Department, that shows all major work anticipated to be done in the public right-of-way in the next five years. Any utility or municipal excavator that does not propose major work in the next five years shall submit a plan with a statement that no such major work is anticipated and shall immediately report any major work to the Department as soon as it becomes reasonably foreseeable.
(ii) The Department may disclose information contained in a five-year plan to any utility excavator or municipal excavator only on a need-to-know basis in order to facilitate coordination among excavators and to avoid unnecessary excavation in City streets. To the maximum extent permissible under federal, State, and local laws applicable to public records, the City shall not otherwise disclose to the public any information contained in a five-year plan submitted by a utility excavator that is proprietary, trade secret or is otherwise protected from disclosure; provided, however that the City shall have no duty to decline to disclose any information that the utility excavator has not identified on its face as proprietary, trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure. The Department shall notify a utility excavator of any request for inspection of public records that calls for disclosure of any five-year plan on which any information has been identified as proprietary, trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure. The Department shall consult with the City Attorney regarding any such request and shall inform the affected utility excavator either that the Department will refuse to disclose the protected information or, if there is no proper basis for such refusal, that the Department intends to disclose the requested information unless ordered otherwise by a court.
(b) Department Repaving Plans.
(i) The Department shall prepare a five-year repaving plan showing all proposed repaving and reconstruction of the public right-of-way. The Department's repaving plan shall be revised and updated on a semiannual basis after receipt of the five-year plans from utility and municipal excavators. In order to facilitate coordination and minimize the cost of excavation, the Department shall make its repaving plan available for public inspection.
(ii) At least one hundred twenty calendar days prior to undertaking the repaving and reconstruction of any block, the Department shall send a notice of the proposed repaving and reconstruction to each utility and municipal excavator.
(c) Coordination.
(i) The Department shall review the five-year plans and identify conflicts and opportunities for coordination of excavations. The Department shall notify affected owners and permittees of such conflicts and opportunities to the extent necessary to maximize coordination of excavation. Each applicant shall coordinate, to the extent practicable, with each potentially affected owner and permittee to minimize disruption in the public right-of-way.
(ii) When two or more applicants coordinate major work in the same block so that, in the opinion of the Department, such major work minimizes disruption to the affected neighborhood, and is likely to qualify the block for repaving, the Department shall make its best effort to schedule the affected block for repaving. Such scheduling shall occur, to the extent funds are available in the Street Damage Restoration Fund, so that the applicants may qualify for a waiver of the street damage restoration fee under Section 2.4.44(b)(ii). Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this subsection shall interfere with the Department's authority to allocate available repaving resources in a manner that it determines best serves the public interest.
(Added by Ord. 341-98, App. 11/13/98)
(a) Municipal Excavators. Whenever two or more municipal excavators propose major work in the same block within a five-year period, such work shall be performed by one municipal excavator. The participants to the excavation shall pay their pro rata share of the work. For purposes of this subsection, the municipal excavators shall be treated as a single applicant and shall submit one application.
(b) Utility Excavators. Whenever two or more utility excavators propose major work in the same block within a five-year period, such work shall be performed by one utility excavator. For purposes of this subsection, the utility excavators shall be treated as a single applicant and shall submit one application.
(c) Municipal Excavator and Utility Excavator. Whenever a municipal excavator(s) and a utility excavator(s) propose major work in the same block within a five-year period, the Department shall condition permits for such work in a manner that maximizes coordination and minimizes the total period of construction.
(d) Waiver of Joint Excavation Requirements. Applicants may seek a waiver of the joint excavation requirements with respect to a particular excavation. Within 30 calendar days of receipt of a written request for a waiver, the Director, in his or her discretion, may grant a waiver to the joint excavation requirements for good cause. In making his or her decision on the request for waiver, the Director shall consider the impact of the proposed excavation on the neighborhood, the applicant's need to provide services to a property or area, facilitating the deployment of new technology as directed pursuant to official City policy, and the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience. The Director shall indicate in written, electronic, or facsimile communication the basis for granting any waiver pursuant to this subsection. The Director may place additional conditions on any permit(s) subject to a waiver, including, but not limited to, the charging of additional fees pursuant to Section 2.4.43. The Director's decision regarding waivers of the joint excavation requirements shall be final.
(Added by Ord. 341-98, App. 11/13/98)
(a) Whenever the Department or other Municipal Excavator undertakes a project involving the planning, construction, reconstruction, or repaving of a public right-of-way, such project shall include, to the maximum extent practicable and feasible, the following transit, pedestrian, bicycle, stormwater, and communications infrastructure improvements:
(1) Street and pedestrian-scale sidewalk lighting;
(2) Pedestrian and bicycle safety improvement measures, as established in any official City adopted bicycle or pedestrian safety plan or other City adopted planning documents;
(3) Appropriate access in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act;
(4) Public transit facilities accommodation, including, but not limited to designation of the right-of-way as a transit preferential street designation or bus rapid transit corridor;
(5) Traffic calming devices;
(6) Landscaping;
(7) Low-impact design stormwater facilities consistent with the Stormwater Design Guidelines;
(8) Other pedestrian and streetscape elements listed as appropriate to the relevant street type as identified and defined in the Better Streets Plan;
(10) Communications infrastructure.
(b) The Director, in consultation with the Directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Department of Public Health, Planning Department, Department of the Environment, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Department of Technology, and Mayor's Office on Disability shall develop orders, regulations, or amendments to the Department's Standard Plans and Specifications that address the improvements set forth in Subsection (a).
(c) To the maximum extent practicable and feasible, the Director shall condition all excavation and street improvement permits on the inclusion of the improvements set forth in Subsection (a). If such conditions would exceed the Director's regulatory authority, the Director shall coordinate with other City departments to provide, to the maximum extent practicable and feasible, said improvements on behalf of the City. As part of the decision on any permit or authorization pursuant to the Public Works Code, the Director shall take into account the permit activity's positive and negative impacts on the integration, enhancement, or preservation of the improvements set forth in Subsection (a).
(Added by Ord. 209-05, File No. 050591, App. 8/18/2005; amended by Ord. 310-10, File No. 101194, App. 12/16/2010; Ord. 220-14
, File No. 130412, App. 11/7/2014, Eff. 12/7/2014)
(a) "Dig Once." To facilitate the Department of Technology's efforts to develop City communications infrastructure, and limit excavation in the public right-of-way, an applicant for a permit under Section 2.4.10 for the installation of underground conduits shall comply with the requirements of this Section 2.4.14.
(b) Notice Required.
(1) An applicant for a permit to install underground conduits shall notify the Department of Technology of its application in the manner set forth in the Department of Technology Requirements at least 14 days before submitting the application to the Department.
(2) Notice is only required when the minimum length of the proposed excavation will be at least 900 linear feet, or such longer distance as the Department of Technology may establish in the Department of Technology Requirements.
(c) Approval of Application.
(1) Where the Department of Technology Will Participate. The Department may approve an application and issue a permit if the Department finds that all of the following have occurred:
(A) The applicant has complied with the Department of Technology Requirements for notice of its application;
(B) The Department of Technology has not notified the applicant and the Department that the Department of Technology will not participate in the proposed excavation project; and
(C) The applicant has submitted plans consistent with the standard City communications infrastructure specifications.
(2) Where the Department of Technology Will Not Participate. The Department may approve an application and issue a permit if the Department finds that both of the following have occurred:
(A) The applicant has complied with the Department of Technology Requirements for notice of its application; and
(B) The Department of Technology has notified the applicant and the Department that the Department of Technology will not participate in the proposed excavation project.
(d) Denial of Application. The Department shall deny an application for a permit if the Department determines that the applicant has failed to comply with the Department of Technology Requirements.
(e) Applicant's Incremental Costs. The Department of Technology shall be responsible for the applicant's incremental costs when the Department of Technology participates in an excavation project by installing City communications infrastructure.
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