HomeMy WebLinkAbout175122 ORDINANCE NO. 17,512
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4 AN ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS AND
5 SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE RESTORATION OF EXCAVATIONS
6 AND CUTS IN STREETS OR ALLEY RIGHTS -OF -WAY;
7 PROVIDING FOR A PERMIT PROCESS; ESTABLISHING FEES:
8 PROVIDING FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
9 OF THE PROCESS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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11 WHEREAS, the City has experienced situations in which various utilities and
12 other entities have had to make excavations in City streets in order to adequately bury
13 and secure pipe, fiber optics, or other materials; and
14 WHEREAS, a uniform process needs to be in place that assures that no such
15 excavations are made without the proper notice to the relevant City departments; and
16 WHEREAS, there should also be in place proper enforcement mechanisms in the
17 event the repair of these excavations does not meet City standards; and
18 WHEREAS, without such enforcement there is a potential for future collapse of
19 the streets which will not only create serious risks of injury to persons or property, but
20 could also cost taxpayers considerable sums of money.
21 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
22 OF THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS:
23 SECTION 1. Definitions.
24 "Applicant" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association of
25 any nature whatsoever, including any governmental entity, seeking a permit to make, or
26 cause to be made, any excavation, cut or boring in any city street, alley, or other public
27 property.
1 "City Manager," means the City Manager, or designee, responsible for enforcing
2 the terms of this ordinance
3 "Minor maintenance work" means work done by a permit holder that involves
4 400 continuous linear feet or less of the paved portion of the public right -of -way.
5 "Permit holder" means any applicant that has been granted a permit pursuant to
6 the terms of this ordinance.
7 "Public , right -of -way" means any city street, alley or other public property.
8 SECTION 2. Findings and Purpose.
9 The Board of Directors finds that the City has experienced development,
10 construction and maintenance operations by utilities and other entities which require
I 1 excavations and cuts in public streets, alleys, and other properties. These excavations
12 or cuts occur because of such things as the installation of water lines, sanitary sewers,
13 drainage structures, other utilities, or the replacement, improvement, or maintenance of
14 such systems. When these excavations or cuts occur, significant problems face the City
15 because of the vast number of cuts, the occasional poor restoration techniques, or the
16 multiple cuts in the same area by different entities because there is no need to contact
17 other utilities. As a result, there is a real potential for serious deterioration of the paved
18 rights -of -way and, on occasion, a possible hidden threat to the public safety. As a result,
19 an ordinance is required that sets forth in detail the responsibilities of any entity that
20 uses the public rights -of -way, through franchise or other legal authority, and in the
21 course of, or in furtherance of, that use, causes excavations or cuts to occur.
22 SECTION 3. General Permit Requirement.
23 (A) Except as set forth in subsection (B), it shall be unlawful for applicant, to
24 make or cause to be made any excavation or cut in the public right -of -way without
25 having first obtained a written permit.
26 (B) A written permit is not required prior to an excavation, cut or boring of any
27 public right -of -way if, and only if:
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1 (1) The excavation, cut or bore is made as a result of an emergency
2 situation in which the destruction of life or property is imminent or is necessary to
3 restore basic service, and
4 (2) The City Manager is notified at the earliest possible moment, but
5 in any event, no later than the first business day after the excavation, cut or bore is
6 made.
7 (C) The provision of this ordinance that requires notice to other utilities or
8 entities before a permit can be granted shall not apply to minor maintenance work.
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10 SECTION 4. General Standards.
11 (A) The City Manager shall direct that a process for obtaining permits to make
12 excavations, cuts or bores in the public is established and published. This process shall.
13 include, among other things
14 (1) The name of the appropriate city department to contact in order to
15 obtain a permit, or to report an emergency excavation or cut;
16 (2) The city department that will be responsible for the day to day
17 administration and enforcement of this ordinance;
18 (3) The process for notifying other public utilities of an intent to make
19 an excavation or cut in the public right -of -way in order to participate in the excavation
20 or cut;
21 (4) The time frame for submitting plans to the appropriate department
22 for the work to be done, including the restoration work required, with notice that no
23 permit shall be issued until the review process has been completed;
24 (5) The city department responsible for approving the barricade plan
25 to be in place while the excavation, cutting or boring occurs;
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1 (6) The temporary and permanent restoration requirements to be met
2 during the course of, or the completion of, the excavation, cutting or boring including,
3 but not limited to, the type and grade of materials that shall be required.
4 (B) Boring preferred. Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance,
5 it is the preference of the city that boring or pushing of utility services under city streets,
6 alleys, or other public property, occur instead of excavations or cuts. Even so, the
7 permitting process set forth in this ordinance shall be met, and all tunneling plans shall
8 be subject to approval of the City Manager.
9 (C) Surety Bond. If the bond is not required by the applicant's franchise
10 agreement, the City Manager shall determine the amount of any surety bond that is
I 1 appropriate to ensure the completion of a project and fulfillment of all requirements set
12 forth in this ordinance and the procedures adopted pursuant to this ordinance:
13 (1) The applicant shall post the required bond as an additional
14 condition to the issuance of a permit to excavate, cut or bore in the public right -of -way;
15 and,
16 (2) The failure to post this bond in a timely manner shall be the basis
17 for denying a permit, or the basis for revoking a permit previously issued; and,
18 (3) This surety bond shall remain in place at least for the period of time
19 necessary to complete the work set forth in the permit and, may be required for such
20 additional period of time as deemed appropriate by the City Manager.
21 (4) Notwithstanding the above listed requirements, if the permit
22 application is only for minor maintenance work, a pen-nit may be issued without further
23 review to an applicant who has a $10,000 corporate surety bond on file with the City
24 Clerk, provided that after the issuance of the permit, additional surety may be required
25 if the City Manager determines that such security is necessary to ensure the completion
26 of the project.
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1 (D) Fees. The applicant for a permit to excavate, cut or bore in the public 440
2 right -of -way shall, as a condition of any permit, pay a fee according to the provisions of
3 Sections 5 and 6 of this ordinance.
4 (E) Limitations on Applications by Mail. The City Manager may permit
5 applications for permits to be made by snail, provided that no mail -in permit request
6 shall be accepted in the following instances:
7 (1) Excavations, cuts or bores in street intersections for which there are
8 traffic signals in place or under construction;
9 (2) Excavations, cuts or bores in a part of the public right -of -way that
10 is the subject of a major construction, maintenance, or replacement project currently
11 under review by the City; or
12 (3) Excavations, cuts or bores in an arterial or collector street, as defined
13 in the Master Street Plan, if at anytime during the construction process, the work
14 requires a total street closure
15 (F) Paint or Marking Compounds. No permanent paint or marking
16 compound shall be used to locate the right -of -way, or for any other purpose associated
17 with the boring, excavation or cut of the public streets, alleys, or public property. Any
18 temporary paint or marking compound used shall be of a type that will deteriorate over
19 time, but in any event, will not be discernible thirty (30) days after it is applied
20 regardless of the date that work under any permit is completed.
21 (G) City signs, conduits or facilities to be undisturbed. No work done under a
22 permit issued pursuant to this ordinance shall disturb any city signs, conduits, or other
23 facilities unless expressly permitted by the City Manager.
24 (H) Minimum width. All excavations or cuts in paved surfaces shall have a
25 minimum uniform width of twelve (12) inches unless a different width is expressly
26 authorized by the City Manager. All excavations, or cuts in paved surfaces shall be
27 smoothly cut or sawed and shall have a neat appearance.
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1 SECTION 5. Restoration.
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2 (A) Restoration required. Any boring, excavation, or cut, made pursuant to the
3 terns of this ordinance shall be restored. Temporary restoration shall occur immediately
4 upon completion of the work that required the boring, excavation, or cut. Permanent
5 restoration shall be completed by the applicant or, if agreed to in writing with the City
6 Manager, shall be completed by the city.
7 (B) Resurfacing
8 The applicant shall resurface the full width of any street lane and replace
9 pavement markings in the public right -of -way where there has been an excavation or cut.
10 If the City has scheduled a resurfacing project which includes the applicant's permitted
11 area, the applicant and the City Manager may contractually agree for the applicant to
12 pay a proportionate share of the City's costs of resurfacing rather than requiring the
13 applicant to resurface the area. Resurfacing shall not be required for minor maintenance.
14 (C) Temporary Restoration.
15 (1) No materials removed from a boring, excavation, or cut, shall be used
16 as backfill material. This limitation applies to pieces of broken concrete or asphalt.
17 (2) The top six (6) inches of backfill material shall be compacted to
18 ninety five percent (95 %) of maximum density as determined by the Modified Proctor
19 Compaction Test.
20 (3) The surface course shall consist of a two (2) inch application of cold
21 mix asphalt for asphalt streets, concrete streets or streets with single or double
22 penetration surface treatments. For gravel streets and alleys, the top six (6) inches of
23 backfill material shall meet Class 7 of the most current Arkansas State Highivay
24 Cmnmission Standard Specifications, and shall be compacted to conform to the surrounding
25 surface.
26 (4) The applicant is permitted to use any or all of the following as
27 backfill material:
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1 (a) Crushed rock and natural fines uniformly mixed and so
2 proportioned as to meet the specifications for Class 7 as reflected in the most recent
3 edition of the Arkansas State Highway Commission Standard Specifications;
4 (b) Crushed rock, or other selected material approved by the City
5 Manager or his designee, that is free of debris and excess moisture, when compacted to
6 a minimum of ninety percent (90 %) density as determined by the Modified Proctor
7 Compaction Test;
g (c) Compacted river sand or lean mix concrete if the use of this
9 material has been previously approved by the City Manager.
10 (5) The applicant is wholly responsible for making temporary
11 restorations consistent with the standards set forth in this ordinance. Any temporary
12 restoration must be of sufficient quality, as determined by the City Manager, to bring
13 the city street, alley, or public property, back to is original usefulness and must be
14 capable of supporting normal traffic use for a period of thirty (30) days.
15 (6) Inspections shall by made by the city of any temporary restoration.
16 If the temporary restoration does not meet the standards of this ordinance, then the
17 permit holder shall be required to correct the situation within forty -eight (48) hours.
18 (7) Any temporary restoration shall be replaced by the applicant with
19 the appropriate permanent restoration within thirty -five (35) days of the date of
20 issuance of permit. Any temporary restorations remaining after that time shall be
21 repaired by the city and the cost of such repair shall be paid by the permit holder or shall
22 be claimed from the surety bond required pursuant to this ordinance. The City Manager
23 shall grant an extension of the 35 days if a delay is caused by inclement weather. In
24 such case, the applicant will be responsible for temporary repairs until permanent
25 restoration is in place.
26 (D) Pennanent Restoration.
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1 1. (1) Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the City Manager
2 and the applicant, the applicant shall make all permanent restorations of any
3 street or alley pavement in which there has been a boring, excavation, or cut made
4 pursuant to this ordinance.
5 (2) Arterials and Collectors. Permanent restoration of concrete or
6 asphalt streets designated as arterials or collectors by the Master Street Plan shall be as
7 follows:
8 (a) Except as set forth in this subsection, all backfill and
9 compaction requirements shall comply with Section (C) concerning temporary
10 restorations; and
11 (b) Backfill material shall be removed to a depth of eight (8)
12 inches for concrete streets and ten (10) inches for asphalt streets. Further,
13 (I) If the street is concrete, eight (8) inches of 3000 pound
14 per square inch (PSI) P.C. concrete, meeting the specifications of the Arkansas Highway
15 Department, shall be placed to provide the final restored surface;
16 (II) If the street is asphalt, eight (8) inches of 3000 PSI
17 P.C. concrete shall be placed to within two (2) inches or the street surface and, as soon
18 as the concrete has cured, a bituminous tack coat shall be applied to the concrete and
19 the sides of the cut, and then two (2) inches of hot mix asphaltic concrete, meeting
20 Arkansas State Highway specifications, shall be applied.
21 (3) Streets and surfaces other than arterial and collector streets. The
22 pennanent restoration of surfaces other than those of arterial and collector streets shall
23 be made as follows:
24 (a) Except as set forth in this subsection, all backfill and
25 compaction requirements shall comply with Section (C) concerning temporary
26 restorations;
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1 (b) If the surface is concrete, the top six (6) inches of backfill shall
2 be removed and replaced with six (6) inches of 3000 PSI concrete, and then finished to
3 conform with the surrounding surface;
4 (c) If the surface is asphalt or single or double penetration surface
5 treatment, the top eight (8) inches of backfrll shall be removed and replaced with six (6)
6 inches of hot binder asphaltic concrete in two (2) inch lifts, with the final two (2) inches
7 consisting of asphaltic concrete surface course to conform with the surrounding surface;
8 (d) If the surface is gravel, gravel shall be added as required and
9 compacted to conform with the surrounding surface.
10 (E) Notice. Applicants authorized, or required, to make permanent
11 restorations pursuant to this ordinance shall notify the City Manager on the first
12 business day after the completion of the permanent restoration for each permit.
13 (F) Sidewalks, driveways or curbs. All removed or undercut sidewalks,
14 driveways and curbs shall be restored by the permit holder in accordance with this
15 ordinance and any other applicable ordinance. The applicant shall be responsible for
16 protecting any shoulders, ditches, and other drainage structures in the work area and,
17 if damaged in any way whatsoever during the time of the permit, shall make all necessary
18 repairs. Notification of completion shall be in compliance with the standards established
19 by the City Manager.
20 (G) Grasses and vegetation. To the extent possible, the applicant shall restore
21 or replace all planted grasses and vegetation, including trees of the same height and
22 character. The City Manager shall permit modifications to this aspect of the restoration
23 plan in appropriate cases. Notification of completion shall be in compliance with the
24 standards established by the City Manager.
25 (H) Excess material or debris. When any temporary or final restoration is
26 completed, all excess material, debris, mud, or other foreign materials shall be removed
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I from the street, alley, or other public property involved in the permit, and the surface 445
2 shall, to the satisfaction of the City Manager, be restored to its original condition.
3 (I) Agreementsfor Final Restoration not Prohibited. Nothing in this ordinance shall
4 prohibit the City Manager from entering into written agreements with any permit holder
5 concerning the final restorations, provided that the terns of any such agreements shall .
6 comply with the requirements of this ordinance or shall be determined by the City
7 Manager to utilize new procedures that comply with the purposes of this ordinance, and,
8 provided further, that the city shall receive a reasonable inspection fee for the final
9 inspection of any work done pursuant to such an agreement.
10 SECTION 6. Permits and Fees: Basis for Assessment.
11 (A) The Department of Public Works shall issue all permits for boring,
12 excavations, or cuts in the public right -of way as follows:
13 (1) Any work involving extensive longitudinal cuts for the purpose of
14 installing, maintaining or repairing trunk or main lines shall require multiple permits;
15 (2) Separate permits shall be required for all service lines;
16 (3) Permit limits shall be determined by existing or planned features
17 such as manholes, hand holes, junction boxes, pull boxes, directional changes, and street
18 intersections, but in any event shall not exceed five hundred (500) linear feet.
19 (B) Permit fees for the boring, excavation or cut shall be two dollars ($2.00)
20 per foot for the first fifty (50) feet of the boring, excavation or cut, or any fraction
21 thereof, and one ($1.00) per each additional one hundred feet, or any fraction thereof.
22 (C) Inspection fees, except for boring, shall be twenty five ($25.00) dollars for
23 the first three hundred (300) feet, or fraction thereof, of restoration, and fifteen
24 ($15.00) dollars for each additional three hundred (300) feet, or fraction thereof.
25 (D) For boring that does not break the surface, the maximum inspection fee shall
26 be twenty -five dollars ($25.00). If the boring does break the surface, the fees shall be
27 those delineated in section (C).
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1 (E) If the applicant does not do the final restorations, then in addition to any !#
2 other fee set forth in this ordinance, the city shall bill the permit holder the actual cost
3 of such restoration and payment shall be due upon receipt of this bill.
4 SECTION 7. Shared excavations or cuts.
5 The city has a vested interest in assuring that any disruption of the flow of traffic,
6 or the digging of any trench, excavation, or cut, in the paved portion of the public right-
7 of -way, be kept to a minimwn. In order to facilitate this interest, the city shall provide
8 notice to any other utility or entity known to seek permits under this ordinance that an
9 application for a permit for other than minor maintenance has been made. Final
10 approval of any permit shall be withheld for 15 calendar days so any other utility or
11 entity that desires to do so may make arrangements to simultaneously excavate, cut, lay
12 conduit, or place equipment in the paved portion of the public right -of -way.
13 SECTION 8. Premiums
14 (A) For minor maintenance only, in addition to any other cost for fees set forth
15 in this ordinance, whenever an applicant seeks a permit pursuant to the terms of this
16 ordinance that involves the excavation or cut in the paved portion of the public right -of-
17 way that has been improved by paving, reconstruction, or resurfacing within the
18 immediately preceding five (5) year period, the applicant shall be required to pay the
19 city the larger sum of two hundred ($200.00) dollars per square yard of excavation, or
20 cut, or a minimum fee of five hundred ($500.00) dollars for each excavation or cut made
21 within twelve (12) months of the date the surface was paved, reconstructed, or
22 resurfaced. In the subsequent twelve (12) month periods, this premium shall be:
23
24
25 Period
26 13 -24 months
27 25 -36 months
Basic Fee Per Square Yard
$160.00
120.00
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Minimum Fee
$400.00
300.00
1 37 -48 months 80.00 200.00
2 49 -60 months 40.00 100.00
3 SECTION 9. Penalties.
4 The failure of any person, firm, corporation, governmental entity, or association
5 of any kind to comply with this ordinance, shall result in a penalty of five thousand
6 ($5000) dollars and a premium fee equal to twice the amount of any permit fee required
7 by this ordinance. Failure to comply means that a person, firm, corporation,
8 governmental entity, or association of any kind, fails to seek a permit to bore, excavate,
9 lay conduit, or place equipment in any public right -of -way prior to beginning such
10 activity.
11 SECTION 10. Severability. In the event any title, subtitle, section,
12 subsection, subdivision, paragraph, subparagraph, item, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
13 of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such
14 declaration or adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of this ordinance
15 which shall remain in full force and effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged
I6 invalid or unconstitutional was not originally a part of this ordinance.
17 SECTION 11. Certain Provisions Supplemental. The provisions of this
18 ordinance that relate to barricade plans and street closures shall be supplemental to all
19 existing ordinances and code provisions relating to these topics.
20 SECTION 12. General Repealer. Except as set forth in Section 11 above, all
21 ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are
22 hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
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PASSED: July i, 1997
ATTEST:
ROBBIE HANCOCK
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
THOMAS M. CARPENTEAJ
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
U�
JIM UAILEY
MAYOR