Chapter 12.04
STREET EXCAVATIONS
Sections:
12.04.010 Permit – Required – Bond – Prerequisites to installation – Liability.
12.04.020 Permit – Application.
12.04.030 Applicant to pay cost of resurfacing.
12.04.050 Safety precautions and liability insurance.
12.04.060 Supervision by city engineer.
12.04.070 Backfilling and resurfacing specifications.
12.04.090 Precautions against damage to surrounding property.
12.04.100 Moratorium against cuts on newly improved streets.
12.04.110 Moratorium, permits – Required.
12.04.120 Moratorium, restoration requirements.
12.04.010 Permit – Required – Bond – Prerequisites to installation – Liability.
A. It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to make any excavation in or under the surface of any street, alley, sidewalk, public way or public place in the city without first obtaining a permit to do so from the city engineer or building inspector of the city and depositing with the city engineer or building inspector, upon receipt of such permit, a bond to defray the cost of restoring the surface to its former condition; provided, however, that any public utility company or licensed contractor need not make such deposit provided a bond in the amount sufficient to restore area determined by the city engineer, approved by the city attorney, shall be filed with the city guaranteeing proper replacement and repair.
B. The following shall be prerequisite to installation under this chapter:
1. Installations must be in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the public works department of the city.
2. Approval must be endorsed in writing on the plans prior to issuance of the permit.
3. An application fee paid in accordance with the current fee schedule.
4. A bond must be posted in an amount as determined by the public works department to be sufficient to cover restoration of the area to its original condition if the work shall be unsatisfactory and not meet the specifications. This bond may be a surety bond, cash, cashier’s check or money order in favor of the city.
5. Applicants shall execute a hold-harmless agreement guaranteeing that the city and/or its officers and employees shall not become liable for any injuries or damage occurring by reason of the installation of the permit and agreeing further to indemnify the city, its officers and employees for any liability which may be determined to exist. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 1044 § 2, 2017; Ord. 601 § II(5), 1982; Ord. 589 § II(28)(a), 1981; Ord. 158, 1958; Ord. 41, 1955; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-201)
12.04.020 Permit – Application.
A. The application for the permit required in this chapter shall be in writing and addressed to and filed with the city engineer or building inspector. It shall state clearly the nature, extent, and location of the excavation proposed to be made, and the purpose for which the same is to be made. When the applicant has complied with this chapter, the city engineer or building inspector shall issue the permit.
B. Such permit shall set forth the time for the completing of the work. The time for such commencement and such completion may be extended by the city engineer only upon good cause shown for such extension. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 601 § II(5), 1982; Ord. 589 § II(28)(b), 1981; Ord. 41, 1955; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-202)
12.04.030 Applicant to pay cost of resurfacing.
All applications for a street excavation permit shall pay to the city, as provided in SMC 12.04.010, and if work requiring an excavation permit is begun without a permit, application fee shall be doubled as a penalty and to compensate for the extra staff time involved in inspecting completed or partially completed work. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 1044 § 2 (Att. B), 2017; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-204)
12.04.040 Report of permits to street superintendent – Collection of resurfacing costs.
Repealed by Ord. 2025. (Ord. 1044 § 2 (Att. B), 2017; Ord. 601 § II(5), 1982; Ord. 41, 1955; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-205)
12.04.050 Safety precautions and liability insurance.
It shall be the duty of the applicant for an excavation permit, on receipt of the same, to make such excavation in such manner as to provide free access to all fire hydrants and to provide safe and adequate crossings over such excavations for vehicular traffic and for pedestrians, should such crossings, in the judgment of the street superintendent, be necessary. Suitable barriers shall be constructed about the excavation for the prevention of accidents and adequate lights shall be continuously maintained thereon from the period of sunset to sunrise and, further, each applicant shall be required to file with the certificate of liability insurance with minimum limits as determined by the risk manager based on the scope of work, workers’ compensation insurance with at least statutory limits, and automobile liability insurance. Certificates will include waiver of subrogation endorsement in favor of the city, its officers, agents, employees and volunteers and include language holding the city harmless from any and all liability in connection with said excavation. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 601 § II(5), 1982; Ord. 589 § II(28)(c), 1981; Ord. 41, 1955; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-207)
12.04.060 Supervision by city engineer.
All excavations, backfilling, and resurfacing shall be made under the supervision and to the satisfaction of the city engineer or building inspector of the city and shall be conducted in such manner as to do the least possible damage to contiguous lands and improvements. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-203)
12.04.070 Backfilling and resurfacing specifications.
All such excavations shall be backfilled by the applicant to the specifications of the city and resurfaced by a qualified licensed contractor and inspected by city staff to the satisfaction of the city engineer. Specifications of the city for backfilling excavations and repaving are as follows:
A. Open cut trenches may be backfilled with the materials excavated on local city streets. No material which is deemed unsuitable by the superintendent of streets or city engineer shall be made a part of the backfill, including broken pavement or earth which has a moisture content greater than optimum. Where materials excavated are deemed unsuitable for backfill, imported materials approved by the superintendent of streets or city engineer shall be used.
B. Backfill of an open cut on any city street shall be compacted per city specifications and verified by compaction tests conducted by a licensed geotechnical engineer or backfilled with control density fill (CDF) in lifts not exceeding six inches. Other means and methods may be approved by the superintendent of streets or city engineer prior to issuance of the permit.
C. All public utility excavations must be covered with a layer of temporary hot mix asphalt surfacing at least one inch in thickness immediately upon completion of the backfill, and such surface maintained by the permittee until permanent repair is made. Permanent pavement repair must be made within thirty days by removing the temporary patch by saw cutting twelve inches from edge of trench base section and replacing with permanent pavement a minimum thickness equal to the depth of existing adjacent pavement section or as directed by the city engineer. Other means and methods may be approved by the superintendent of streets or city engineer prior to issuance of the permit.
D. Permittees shall be responsible for any settlement of their trenches for a period of one year following the date of final repaving and shall make repairs during this period as directed by the superintendent of streets or city engineer. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 601 § II(5), 1982; Ord. 41, 1955; Ord. 1, 1954; prior code § 10-206)
12.04.080 Street access.
No city street shall be blocked or closed incident to street excavation or opening unless prior permission is obtained in writing from the city engineer on a form approved by the city engineer, accompanied by an application fee in accordance with the current fee schedule. Each separate day on which violation of this section shall exist shall be a separate misdemeanor. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 304, 1966; prior code § 10-405)
12.04.090 Precautions against damage to surrounding property.
No street surface shall be broken or excavated unless adequate precautions, acceptable to the city engineer, have been forwarded to ensure that there shall be no flying dust, dirt or debris arising from the excavation which shall lodge on properties or structures adjacent to or in the vicinity of such work and that there shall be minimal disruption of or danger to business or residential activities in the area. Each separate day on which violation of this section shall exist shall be a separate misdemeanor. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023; Ord. 304, 1966; prior code § 10-406)
12.04.100 Moratorium against cuts on newly improved streets.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to cut or open the surface of a public street that has been newly constructed, reconstructed, slurry or cape sealed, overlaid, or improved within the previous five years for recently paved/overlaid streets and three years or recently slurry-sealed streets, commencing from the date of acceptance of the improvements.
B. No permits shall be issued to excavate or cut in a public street that has been paved/overlaid in the past five years or slurry sealed in the past three years except in the case of emergencies, or when the city engineer grants an exemption. An emergency shall be deemed to exist if the work is necessary for the preservation of property; or an urgency affecting the health and welfare of the city’s residents or businesses occurs; or in the case of failed pipelines or utility services that affect public security or public safety.
C. The city engineer may grant exemptions to the moratorium for emergency repairs and/or for the installation of critical infrastructure and/or facilities where other alternatives to installation are not practical or feasible as provided in subsection B of this section, or for the installation of needed critical infrastructure or facilities (including, but not limited to, communications infrastructure) where no other alternatives to cutting a street subject to the moratorium exist. When granting exceptions, the city engineer may impose reasonable conditions, including requirements that installation occur utilizing methods such as boring which have a lesser impact, to ensure the rapid and complete restoration of the street and the surface paving.
D. If a street subject to the moratorium is cut for any reason, the extent of required repairs for the damages caused by such cut shall be in accordance with SMC 12.04.120. If the city engineer determines that restoration of the street is not appropriate at a particular time for reasons relating to weather or other short-term complications, the city engineer may order a delay and/or the posting of bonds to ensure completion of the work when proper conditions allow for the restoration work.
E. The decision of the city engineer in granting exemptions may be appealed in writing to the city council by filing with the city clerk a written notice of such appeal, setting forth the specific grounds thereof. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023)
12.04.110 Moratorium, permits – Required.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to trench, cut, dig, make or cause any excavation in any street subject to the moratorium pursuant to SMC 12.04.100 unless the person shall have first obtained a permit to do so.
B. Any person who is required to repave a street shall obtain a permit and shall be responsible for the full cost of plan preparation, plan review, construction inspection, material testing, bonding, and all other expenses related to the work.
C. Permit applications, fees and requirements shall be subject to all conditions established in this chapter. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023)
12.04.120 Moratorium, restoration requirements.
A. Street restoration for streets subject to the moratorium may include repaving, surface grinding, base, subbase repairs, and striping or other related work as needed, and may include up to full-width surface restoration of the street.
B. The city engineer may allow horizontal directional drilling instead of street cuts to minimize street surface restoration.
C. The following requirements are established for street restoration work:
1. Recently Paved/Overlaid Streets. Final resurfacing shall include the grinding of existing surrounding pavement and repaving at a minimum depth of two inches. For trenches perpendicular to traffic lanes, the permittee shall grind ten feet on either side of the trench line, and for the full width of any traffic lanes (including parking lane) that have been cut. For trenches parallel to the traffic lanes, the permittee shall grind the entire width of the traffic lanes (including parking lane) for the full length of the trench with a minimum of ten feet on each end per city engineering standards or as directed by the city engineer.
For trenches other than those perpendicular or parallel to traffic lanes, the city engineer shall establish appropriate limits of paving. At the discretion of the city engineer, full-width slurry seal may be substituted for overlay in residential areas. The placement of the surface course of the repaving shall be by a self-propelled, automatic-leveling, multiple-width paving machine.
2. Recently Slurry-Sealed Streets. Slurry seal shall be applied to the patched area no sooner than thirty days and no later than ninety days after completion of the pavement repair. For trenches perpendicular to traffic lanes, the permittee shall slurry seal ten feet on either side of the trench line and for the full width of any street that has been cut. For trenches parallel to the traffic lanes, the permittee shall slurry seal the entire width of the traffic lanes (including parking lane) for the full length of the trench, with a minimum of ten feet on each end per city engineering standards or as directed by the city engineer. For trenches other than those that are perpendicular or parallel to traffic lanes, the city engineer shall establish appropriate limits of resurfacing.
3. Transverse paving joints shall be perpendicular to the direction of travel, and longitudinal paving joints shall not be permitted in vehicle wheel paths. Work shall meet all applicable construction standards and city standards. The city engineer may modify the scope of work stated above, including increasing the restoration requirements as he/she shall deem reasonable to fully restore the street to the condition in which it existed prior to the cut.
4. Except under subsection (C)(2) of this section, pavement improvements shall be completed within thirty days of the completion of the work or project that required the pavement cut. If the city engineer determines that restoration of the street is not appropriate at a particular time for reasons relating to weather or other short-term factors, the city engineer may order a postponement until proper conditions allow for restoration work. (Ord. 2025 § 2, 2023)