Chapter 12.118
CONSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Sections:
12.118.010 Definitions.
12.118.020 Permit required.
12.118.030 Exemptions.
12.118.040 Application.
12.118.050 Permit fee.
12.118.060 Minimum standards—Special conditions.
12.118.070 Asphalt pavement restoration—Special conditions.
12.118.080 Failure to comply with permit, work stoppage, revocation of permit, damages.
12.118.090 Enforcement.
12.118.100 Revocation of permit—Appeal.
12.118.110 Surety bond.
12.118.120 Liability insurance.
12.118.130 New street and recent overlay.
12.118.010 Definitions.
The following terms when used in this chapter shall be construed to mean as follows:
A. “Alley” means a duly dedicated public alley;
B. “Person” means the plural as well as the singular, and shall include any firm, partnership, association, group, corporation, public or private utility or organization of any kind;
C. “Sidewalk” means a concrete or asphalt walk for pedestrian use outside the building lot line of any property, owned or constructed for use by the general public;
D. “Street” means a duly dedicated public street;
E. “Right-of-way” means all real property owned or held by the city in fee, or by way of easement, or dedicated to the public and located within the city, and used or intended to be used as a street, alley, sidewalk, public way or easement for public or private utilities, whether developed or undeveloped;
F. “City engineer” means the city engineer or his duly authorized designee;
G. “Planning director” means the director or his duly authorized designee;
H. “City utilities” means utilities owned by the city of Battle Ground;
I. “Public utilities” means a public utility that provides service under the rules and regulations on file with the Public Service Commission of Washington State. (Ord. 03-014 § 1, 2003)
12.118.020 Permit required.
No public alley, sidewalk, street, public way, or right-of-way within the city, whether the same is developed or undeveloped, shall hereafter be constructed, altered, maintained or repaired, nor shall any construction work, alteration, maintenance or repair work be performed within the area of such public alley, sidewalk, street, public way or right-of-way without a written permit therefor being first duly obtained from the office of the city engineer. The terms “constructed, altered, maintained or repaired” shall, for the purpose of this chapter, be deemed to include the excavation of soils and the construction of embankments necessary or desirable to facilitate the installation, repair, replacement, maintenance or removal of any utility lines, driveways, curbs, drains, or other structures, services or improvements. Violations of this provision by any person, firm, corporation, partnership or other entity shall be deemed a civil offense, punishable as set forth in Chapter 20.102 BGMC. (Ord. 03-014 § 2, 2003)
12.118.030 Exemptions.
No permit shall be required for the following:
A. Construction or maintenance projects undertaken by a public utility under contract with the city or the city pursuant to a contract between the city and its contractor; or construction or maintenance projects undertaken by city departments;
B. Work allowed and approved by other permits issued by the city;
C. Those users which the city engineer finds to be of a nature for which a permit is not justified; and
D. Emergency repairs to existing facilities;
E. Permit exemption does not exclude the person or entity from meeting the standards and practices contained in BGMC 12.118.060(A) and (C), 12.118.070 and 12.118.130. (Ord. 03-014 § 3, 2003)
12.118.040 Application.
A right-of-way permit required pursuant to this chapter shall be issued by the city engineer upon receipt of a written application therefor and upon the payment of the required permit fee. The application shall be on a form provided by the city engineer and shall require the following minimum information:
A. The name and address of the applicant, and if the applicant is a corporation or similar entity, the name and address of its representative;
B. A description of the intended work to be performed, the anticipated commencement and ending construction date, and estimated cost;
C. Plans for the proposed work shall be submitted in a format satisfactory to the city engineer and shall be based upon the complexity of the work to be conducted. In the event of minor work, as determined by the city engineer, a sketch in a format satisfactory to the city engineer shall be submitted. Wherever applicable, the most recent standard plans or details adopted by the city, or included in the most current edition of the APWA Standard Specifications and the WSDOT Standard Specification for Road, Bridge and Municipal Construction shall be used. The plans shall include, but not be limited to, vicinity map, plan and profile, traffic control plan, erosion control plan, planting plan, pavement and site restoration plan. (Ord. 03-014 § 4, 2003)
12.118.050 Permit fee.
Fees for permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall have a base charge of seventy-five dollars, plus a per lineal foot fee as outlined in Table 1.
|
Per Foot Cost |
Length |
|
$1.00 per foot |
1 foot to 100 feet |
|
$0.50 per foot |
101 feet to 1,000 feet |
|
$0.40 per foot |
1,001 feet to 5,000 feet |
|
$0.30 per foot |
5,001 feet or more |
Fees are nonrefundable and payable at the time of application. The fees for permits under this chapter shall not be deemed to be fees for use of streets, alleys, sidewalks, or other public ways. The fees imposed pursuant to this chapter are for the sole purpose of defraying the costs connected with the administration of this chapter and to pay the cost of inspections necessitated by work performed under the terms of this chapter. (Ord. 03-014 § 5, 2003)
12.118.060 Minimum standards—Special conditions.
A. All work to be performed in accordance with this chapter shall conform to the minimum requirements of the WSDOT Standard Specifications for Road, Bridge and Municipal Construction, city municipal construction codes, APWA Standard Specifications, and specifications contained herein. In addition, the city engineer, in order to maintain the integrity of existing improvements and to provide for public health, safety, and welfare, may impose such additional terms upon such permits as deemed necessary. Such conditions may be modified, if conditions warrant, during the life of such permit.
B. The permit holder is required to notify the city at the department of public works office no later than 8:30 a.m. two business days before any permit work begins, at the address and/or telephone numbers noted on the permit form.
1. Failure to notify the city prior to commencing work is a violation of the permit. In the event of a violation, the permit holder shall be subject to a stop work order, revocation of permit or a one-hundred-dollar permit penalty.
2. It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder to be prepared for inspection by city personnel. In the event a permit holder calls for an inspection more than twice without site preparation completed, which may include, but not be limited to, traffic control, forming or shoring, material on hand, or any other site condition that renders the inspection noncomplete will be deemed a violation of the permit. A reinspection fee of one-half of the initial permit fee will be assessed, but not to exceed seventy-five dollars, for every reinspection thereafter.
C. Traffic control and detour plan shall be required for all work within the right-of-way, including maintenance, and shall conform to the most recently adopted Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD). A traffic control plan shall be submitted and approved with the right-of-way permit. Any construction activity conducted in the right-of-way that is found to be in violation of the MUTCD or the approved traffic control plan will be issued a stop-work order and the permit for that operation may be revoked. In the event of revocation, the city may use its own forces or a private contractor to restore the area. All restoration costs will be billed to the permit holder. If the permit holder wishes to complete the project, they will be required to apply for another permit.
D. Private Streets. Prior to the city accepting a privately constructed street as a new public street, the pavement conditions shall be brought up to the standards of new construction and a five-year moratorium on trenching shall come into effect.
E. Hours of Operations. The hours for working within the roadway for asphalt overlays or trench restoration shall be directed by the permit conditions.
F. Compliance. All public and private utilities, and persons wanting to construct in city right-of-way shall follow these procedures. All right-of-way permits will be reviewed and conditioned in accordance with this chapter.
G. A permit shall expire after ninety days if the work assigned to that permit has not been completed. Any permit fees shall not be refunded. (Ord. 03-014 § 6, 2003)
12.118.070 Asphalt pavement restoration—Special conditions.
Provisions for, and restoration of, pavement and pave shoulder are found in the city of Battle Ground’s standard construction details per Resolution No. 98-21, except as provided herein:
On streets without curb, any construction that damages the edge of existing pavement, a minimum three-foot wide section of pavement will be removed and replaced for the full length of the damaged section and two feet beyond the beginning and ending point of the damaged pavement edge. The section shall be repaved with two inches of Class A asphalt mix per city standards. (Ord. 03-014 § 7, 2003)
12.118.080 Failure to comply with permit, work stoppage, revocation of permit, damages.
In the event that a permit holder should, in the performance of work under said permit, fail to comply with the terms thereof, or failed to perform the work in accordance with such terms, they shall be in violation, and all current or revised code enforcement procedures and penalties as set forth in Chapter 20.102 BGMC shall apply. In the event that makes it necessary for the city to perform work to correct defective work or materials of any permit holder after revocation of such permit, the city shall have the right to recover from such permit holder the cost of work and materials performed or used by the city.
In the event that any work performed pursuant to this chapter should be improperly performed, or should become defective within two years after termination of the permit or the conclusion of the work, the person to whom the permit was issued shall be responsible for correcting such defective work, or paying the cost of such correction. Defective work shall include, but is not limited to, any and all settlement within the areas of excavation or embankment, or pavement and concrete failure. Upon notification of the existence of such defective work, the holder of such a permit shall take immediate steps to remedy such defective work.
Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, or who shall counsel, aid or abet any such violation or failure to comply, shall be deemed to have committed a civil infraction, and shall be fined under the standard procedures, as set forth in Chapter 20.102 BGMC. (Ord. 03-014 § 8, 2003)
12.118.090 Enforcement.
The city engineer or designee is authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter utilizing the remedies and procedures under BGMC Title 20. (Ord. 03-014 § 9, 2003)
12.118.100 Revocation of permit—Appeal.
Any action of the city engineer revoking a permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be appealable to the hearing examiner as stated in Chapter 17.200 BGMC. (Ord. 03-014 § 10, 2003)
12.118.110 Surety bond.
Before a right-of-way permit as herein provided is issued, the applicant shall deposit with the city engineer a surety bond in the amount of five thousand dollars, or an amount equal to the construction costs, whichever is greater, payable to the city. The surety bond must be:
A. With a good and sufficient surety authorized to transact business in the state of Washington;
B. Satisfactory to the city attorney in form and substance;
C. Conditioned upon the permittee’s compliance with this chapter and to secure and hold the city and its offices harmless against any and all claims, judgments or other costs arising from the excavation and other work covered by the permit, or for which may be made liable by reason of any accident or injury to persons or property through the fault of the permittee either in not properly guarding the excavation or for any other injury resulting from the negligence of the permittee. Said surety shall be conditioned that the permittee shall restore all right-of-way to city construction standard specifications. Any street cuts or openings shall be restored per BGMC 12.118.070 and warranted for two years after the work has been completed. Any settlement or failure of the surface within two years shall be deemed conclusive evidence of defective work by the permittee. Any owners of real estate repairing their own sidewalk and not engaging another to repair said sidewalk shall not be required to give such bond. In the event of any suit or claim against the city by reason of the negligence or default of the permittee, upon the city’s giving written notice to the permittee of such suit or claim, any final judgment against the city requiring it to pay for such damage shall be conclusive upon the permittee and his or her surety. (Ord. 03-014 § 11, 2003)
12.118.120 Liability insurance.
A permittee, prior to issuance of permit, shall furnish the city engineer a copy of liability insurance and evidence in writing that the permittee has in force and will maintain in force during the performance of the excavation work and the period of the right-of-way permit public liability insurance, as follows:
A. Insurance in the amount of not less than one million dollars for injuries to or the death of any one person; and
B. One million dollars for injuries to or death arising from any one accident or occurrence; and
C. One hundred thousand dollars for property damage; and
D. One million dollars general aggregate; and
E. City of Battle Ground must be named as “additional insured” as pertains to work within the city right-of-way; and
F. Said insurance company must be authorized to do business in the state of Washington; and
G. Homeowners must have homeowner’s insurance that provides coverage and protection. (Ord. 03-014 § 12, 2003)
12.118.130 New street and recent overlay.
Whenever a new street is completed, or an overlay of an existing street is completed, a five-year moratorium on pavement trenching shall be applied. Periodic seal coats or overlays less than one-and-one-half inch in thickness do not constitute a new street or overlay. Public notice will be given, one month in advance, to abutting property owners and public utilities, prior to pavement overlay or street reconstruction. It shall be the responsibility of each property owner, or public utility to design and construct any utility improvements as deemed necessary, prior to street reconstruction or overlay. Any work performed shall comply with the most recently adopted version of WSDOT Standard Specifications for Road, Bridge and Municipal Construction, city municipal construction codes, the APWA Standard Specifications, and specifications contained herein, all plans approved by the city engineer or designee. A right-of-way permit will be required before construction of utilities.
Under certain compelling circumstances, pavement trenching may be allowed provided a more reasonable alternative does not exist. “Compelling circumstances” can be a bona fide emergency where a utility system has failed or some procedure is required where no other reasonable alternative for service delivery exists. Inadequate advance planning is not considered a compelling circumstance.
Whenever a compelling circumstance exists in the mind of a utility operator it shall apply for a permit to undertake the desired procedure. The city engineer must agree with the compelling nature thereof. In that event, the utility shall choose from the following three restoration options:
A. Option No. 1. This option applies to street crossings and/or longitudinal trenches and requires milling off two inches of existing pavement and the resurfacing of the entire roadway or vehicle lane impacted by the trenching. Once the trench work is completed and the trench restored per standard, the entire roadway (or affected lane, as a minimum) will be ground/milled a depth of two inches for eight feet beyond each end of the trench excavation. The section will be repaved with two inches of Class A asphalt mix per city standards.
B. Option No. 2. This option applies to crossings and/or longitudinal trenches on narrow streets where a partial pavement milling and complete overlay can be substituted for Option No. 1 above.
Once the trench work is completed and the trench restored per standard, the affected roadway shall be milled to within six feet of each curb or gutter line on both sides of the roadway for eight feet beyond each end of the trench section. The section will be repaved with a two-inch overlay of Class A asphalt per city standards.
C. Option No. 3. This option applies to street crossings and may be selected whenever there is only one crossing every block (or three hundred thirty feet) along a roadway. Once the trench work is completed and the trench restored per standard, two inches of the existing pavement shall be milled, in an area extending three feet beyond both the edges of the trench and repaved with two inches of Class A asphalt mix per city standards. (Ord. 03-014 § 13, 2003)