A. It shall be unlawful for any Person to excavate, cut, or open the pavement surface of any street within 5 years after acceptance of the street construction work by the City Engineer, with the exception of seal coated or micro-surfaced streets, which shall be for a period of 3 years after acceptance of the work by the City Engineer. This moratorium on street excavations shall not apply if the Director of Development Services grants a street excavation permit for any of the following reasons.
(1) Excavation work that is mandated by City, County, State or Federal legislation or that is required as a condition of approval to a City issued development permit;
(2) Utility service for development where no other reasonable means of providing service exists, as determined by the Director of Development Services;
(3) For a Prospect Hole, as defined in this Chapter, to verify utility depth or location;
(4) Excavations which are essential components of a regional project which will provide a substantial public benefit;
(5) Written requests for State/Federal mandated pipeline integrity inspections; or
(6) Other situations where the Director of Development Services finds that the excavation is necessary for the public health, safety, or welfare.
B. In the event of an emergency which endangers life or property, or for an emergency repair or modification which is necessary to prevent interruption of life essential utility services, excavation work may occur without first obtaining a permit; however, written application for a permit shall be provided the following business day.
C. If a permit is granted by the Director of Development Services or emergency excavation work as hereinabove described is performed, the following conditions shall apply:
(1) All restoration and repair work shall be performed in accordance with the most current trench, backfill and pavement replacement detail standards in effect and as approved by the City Engineer.
(2) Provide a written pavement life performance warranty in a form acceptable to the City, unless one is already provided through a franchise agreement with the City. The warranty shall provide that in the event that subsurface material or pavement over or within the Trench Influence Area becomes depressed, broken, or otherwise fails at any time after the excavation (or joint operation excavation) has been completed, that Person shall repair or reconstruct the subsurface and pavement to a condition to the satisfaction of the City Engineer; and
(3) The Person requesting the excavation permit or responsible for emergency excavation work shall submit an application for an excavation permit, pay all required fees and comply with the provisions of Chapter 12.03.
D. The moratorium on excavations shall not apply in any area where the street pavement construction was completed 5 years prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
(Ord. MC-1281, 8-19-08)