No excavation shall be initiated without a permit being issued by the city except as provided for in § 95.035.
(A) Application. Application for an excavation permit shall be made at least 24 hours in advance, in writing, to the city on forms provided by the city. In the case of a bona fide emergency, the written application may be filed after the excavation has been initiated providing that the intent to excavate has been reported to the Department of Public Works, either in person or by telephone.
(B) Permit; to whom issued. A permit to excavate shall be issued only to a licensed excavator, to a governmental unit of the city, to a contractor performing work under a written contract with any governmental unit or any owner of a utility franchised to operate within the city, or to the owner of a utility franchised to operate within the corporate limits of the city; however, the issuance of a permit under the provisions of this subchapter shall not relieve any permittee from compliance with all requirements of this subchapter nor relieve the permittee of any liability for damage to any existing utility. The city assumes no liability whatsoever by virtue of the issuance of said permit. The permit shall be maintained on the site while the excavation is in progress.
(C) Permit fee. The fee for each permit issued under the provisions of this subchapter shall be $25. However, if an excavation is begun before a permit is issued, the permit fee shall be $50.
(D) Permit expiration. Every permit issued under the provisions of this subchapter shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the work authorized by such permit is not commenced within 20 days from the date of such permit.
(E) Multiple excavations. An application for an excavation permit may cover multiple excavations to be accomplished by the applicant. The Public Works Director, in his or her discretion, may issue a permit covering multiple excavations if, in the judgment of the Public Works Department, the excavations are minor, are components of a single construction project and can be efficiently monitored and inspected by the Department as a group, under a single permit.
(Prior Code, § 5-1B-5) (Ord. 183, passed 10-6-1975; Ord. 434, passed 2-1-1993; Ord. 532, passed 7-5-2000; Ord. 584, passed 6-16-2003) Penalty, see § 95.999