52.10.010 Permits required.

In accordance with other chapters of this title, it is unlawful for anyone to place, remove or replace any item within the public right-of-way or on public property or to do any work in the public right-of-way or on public property without first having obtained a permit, City contract or franchise right to do so. Permits are issued by the City Engineer and are not transferable; but a contractor may act as the agent of an owner in obtaining a permit and complying therewith. Permits issued under this title shall not be construed to change, lengthen or in any sense or manner given an indeterminate permit or franchise to any public utility or other agency or firm over and above any right or franchise with which it may possess at the time the permit is issued or thereafter. (Ord. 1626)

52.10.020 Permit application.

Applications for permits shall be made on forms provided or approved by the City Engineer. The applicant shall complete the application in such a manner that all information required by the City Engineer is provided and is true and correct. Failure to so furnish the information prescribed shall be grounds for rejecting the application until it is complete.

52.10.030 Contractor qualifications.

Permits to perform work pursuant to this title will be issued only to contractors licensed by the State of California. Prior to the issuance of any permit, the applicant shall file and maintain with the City a valid and current policy or policies or sufficient certificate or certificates evidencing said policy or policies of liability insurance covering all operations of the applicant and/or his contractor, agents, employees and subcontractors, and whether liability is attributable to the contractor or to the City. The policy or policies shall contain an endorsement naming the City as additional insured and providing that the coverage is primary insurance and not contributing with other insurance available to the City, and shall protect against such risks and shall be in such form as shall be satisfactory to the City Attorney, with the following minimum limits:

52.10.032 Performance bond.

Prior to the issuance of any permit required by this title, the applicant shall provide the City with a financial deposit guaranteeing completion of the work in accordance with the requirements of the permit. Such faithful performance bond shall be a cash deposit, or as alternatives, a surety bond, letter of credit or deposit agreement approved as to form by the City Attorney. A surety bond may be for the specific project or an annual and continuing bond filed with the City and covering the cost of several projects. A person may use an annual and continuing bond for more than one permit, providing the aggregate bonded amount of the permits outstanding does not exceed the total amount of the bond.

A. The amount of the performance bond shall be 100 percent of the estimated cost of the work to be performed as approved by the City Engineer.

B. In the event the permittee fails to complete the work covered by the permit, the City Engineer may cause the work to be done and the faithful performance bond described herein shall be used to pay the cost involved. Any portion of a deposit made to the City to cover the cost of such work which is not used to complete the project shall be returned to the person who made the deposit.

52.10.034 Payment bond.

Prior to the issuance of any permit required by this title, the applicant shall provide the City with a financial deposit to satisfy claims of material suppliers and of mechanics and laborers employed by the permittee on the project. Such payment bond shall be a cash deposit, or as alternatives, a surety bond, letter of credit or deposit agreement. A surety bond may be for the specific project or an annual and continuing bond filed with the City and covering the cost of several projects. A person may use an annual and continuing bond for more than one permit, providing the aggregate bonded amount of the permits outstanding does not exceed the total amount of the bond.

A. The amount of the payment bond shall be 50 percent of the estimated cost of the work to be performed as approved by the City Engineer.

B. In the event the permittee fails to pay any material supplier or mechanic or laborer employed by the permittee on the project, the City shall, after having received proper and legal notice of such nonpayment, use the payment bond described herein to make such payments as are required by law.

52.10.040 Permit time.

Permits to perform work pursuant to this chapter shall be valid for a period of time prescribed by the City Engineer, but not to exceed six months from the day issued. The expiration of the permit shall terminate all work activity and/or encroaching operation and no work will be permitted or accepted without the applicant having acquired further formal City approval.

A. The renewal of a permit or an extension of time for completion of a permit may be conditioned upon the payment of an additional permit fee.

B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to an encroachment for utility purposes for a public utility which holds, at the time of the application for the permit, a valid franchise authorizing the use of streets, highways, or roads in Coronado for a public utility installation.

52.10.050 Plans and specifications.

All permit work shall be performed in accordance with plans and specifications for the project approved by the City Engineer and any special provisions or conditions included in the permit as issued, and shall be done to the satisfaction of the City Engineer or his authorized representative. Permits shall make reference to the appropriate standard specifications and drawings applicable to the job, and, where appropriate, these may be the only plans and specifications required. When specific plans and specifications for the project are required by the City Engineer, they shall be prepared by a civil engineer registered to practice by the State of California.

52.10.052 Inspection.

Permit work will be inspected by the City Engineer or his authorized representative, and it is the responsibility of anyone doing work under this title to arrange for such inspection. The permittee shall notify the City Engineer’s Office 24 hours before work is to commence and before the time set for a scheduled inspection, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. If any work, including that for public agencies, requires inspection other than during regular City working hours, the permittee shall pay the wage and other expense of the inspector at the rate determined by the City Engineer. Work completed without the required inspection will not ordinarily be accepted by the City. City inspection of public utility company construction shall be limited to location, pavement removal and replacement, backfill and traffic safety measures. Inspection of utility structures and other utility owned installations shall be the responsibility of the owner.

52.10.060 Traffic control around the work site.

Permittee shall place and maintain all necessary barriers, guards, lights, signs, flagmen and watchmen to adequately control vehicular and pedestrian traffic around the work site and to advise the public of detours and construction hazards. Such control devices shall be installed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer; and where the permittee fails to satisfactorily control traffic and warn of safety hazards he may cause additional control devices to be erected at the expense of the permittee.

52.10.062 Prosecuting the work.

Work for which a permit is granted shall be prosecuted with due diligence so as not to obstruct the street or travel thereon or otherwise interfere with the regular use of the public right-of-way or other public property more than is reasonably required to perform the work. Failure to prosecute the work to the satisfaction of the City Engineer shall constitute grounds for canceling or suspending the permit.

52.10.070 Storage of equipment or materials.

A permittee or other person may not store equipment or materials at the work site or elsewhere in the public right-of-way or on public property without separate approval from the City Engineer. Failure to obtain such approval shall constitute authority for the City Engineer to order the removal of such equipment or material at the expense of the permittee.

52.10.080 Warranty.

The permittee shall be deemed and held to warrant any and all work against all defects in materials and workmanship performed pursuant to the requirements of this chapter for a period of one year from the date of acceptance by the City Engineer. In particular, the permittee shall be deemed to have agreed to pay any additional and extra costs to the City made necessary by the refilling or resurfacing of any trench involved in the work; provided, that the earth fill sinks or a depression occurs within one year from the date the work was accepted by the City Engineer.

52.10.090 Suspension or cancellation of permit.

Whenever the City Engineer issues a directive suspending or canceling a permit, the permittee shall immediately cease all work until authority is granted to proceed or a new or revised permit is issued. The permittee will, however, maintain all traffic control and warning devices around the work site as may be necessary to direct and protect the public until their removal is authorized by the City Engineer.

52.10.100 Work done without a permit.

Any work for which a permit is required by this title that is done without having obtained such a permit shall be promptly halted when so directed by the City Engineer, and any permit subsequently issued for the performance of such work shall be subject to the fee penalty prescribed in CMC 52.10.110. As an alternative to halting work underway until a permit has been obtained, the City Engineer may direct that work already done be removed or corrected at the expense of the responsible persons. When so ordered, those responsible for the unlawful work shall promptly comply with the instructions regarding removal or corrective action.

52.10.110 Fees.

No permit required by this title shall be issued until the applicant has paid the prescribed fee or made the required deposit to cover the cost to the City for work associated therewith. The City Engineer shall determine the fee to be charged in accordance with the following schedule:

A. Where the work to be done does not require preparation and approval of separate plans and specifications and drawings, the total fee is to be computed on the basis of a flat charge for the individual items of work such as curbs, gutters, sidewalk, driveways, subgrade preparation, paving sewer connections, manholes, catch basins, pipe installation and backfill. The amount of such flat charge shall be established by resolution of the City Council.

B. If the City restores the pavement after the permittee’s backfill operations, a fee will be charged computed at a rate per square foot of surface established by resolution of the City Council.

C. Where the work to be done requires preparation of specific plans and specifications for the job and their approval by the City, the City Engineer may either use the method prescribed in subsection A of this section to compute the permit fee or establish that the fee shall consist of the actual expenses accumulated by the City for investigation, plan checking, permit processing, inspection and other work associated with the project. In the event the actual expenses option is selected, the City Engineer shall require the applicant to deposit with the City the estimated total of such expenses to be incurred, and the salary costs and other expenses of the City shall be charged against the deposit. Whenever it appears that total City costs may exceed money remaining on deposit, the City Engineer shall require that an additional deposit be made before the work may proceed, and no project shall be accepted by the City as completed until the permittee has deposited sufficient funds to defray any remaining City costs associated with the job. When the permit fee consists of actual City costs incurred, any money remaining on deposit after all City charges have been paid shall be returned to the permittee.

D. Where a work or installation is commenced, carried on or completed prior to obtaining a permit required by this title, charges prescribed by this section shall be doubled, and such doubled fee shall be in addition to any other penalty prescribed by law.

E. When a permit application is received which requires an investigation to determine its feasibility or requirements for approval, the City Engineer may estimate the cost to the City in making such an investigation and require that the applicant either pay this amount as an investigation fee or deposit this sum as an advance on an actual cost fee prior to undertaking the necessary investigation.

52.10.112 Refunding permit fee.

In the event a permittee requests a refund of a permit fee either prior to commencing any work or prior to commencing the project, the City Engineer shall determine whether or not it is in the public interest to allow the permittee to abandon the work. If it is determined to be in the public interest, the City Engineer may cancel the permit and refund that portion of the permit fee or deposit in excess of the costs which the City has incurred in connection with the project to the date of cancellation.

52.10.120 Effect of chapter upon other permits and fees.

The permits and fees provided by this chapter are only for the construction and inspection of work specified by this title of the Municipal Code. The provisions of this code and other ordinances of the City relating to permits, fees, charges and inspections in connection with other work at locations outside of public rights-of-way and on public property are not affected by this chapter. The fees required by this chapter are distinct from the connection fees and service charges imposed by other provisions of this code and other ordinances. The fees imposed by this chapter for permits which is by or on behalf of public agencies, except the cost of inspection performed on an overtime basis, are waived, and the permit for such work which is required by this chapter shall be issued without payment of the fees imposed hereby.