Chapter 1
STREET EXCAVATIONS
Sections:
7-1.06 Backfilling and resurfacing specifications.
7-1.08 Liability of permittee.
7-1.10 Bond or deposit required.
7-1.11 Exception to bonding requirement.
7-1.13 Safety precautions and liability insurance.
7-1.14 Moratorium against street excavations on newly improved streets.
7-1.15 Moratorium, permits—Required.
7-1.16 Moratorium, backfill and resurfacing requirements.
7-1.17 Coordination of public utility excavations.
7-1.01 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, “street excavations” shall mean the opening, trenching, excavating, repairing, installing, adding to, removing, or otherwise altering any portion of any public street, alley, sidewalk, curb, gutter, or driveway, or any other facility existing within a public right-of-way area for any purpose whatsoever.
For the purposes of this chapter, “Director of Public Works” shall also mean such other duly authorized designee, including the City Engineer or such persons authorized by the Director of Public Works to administer the requirements of this chapter.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965; as amended by § 2 (Exh. A), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.02 Permit required.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to make or cause to be made any excavation without having first obtained a permit therefor as herein provided. A written application for a permit shall be submitted on a form provided by the Director of Public Works prior to the commencement of work. The Director of Public Works shall grant or deny the permit. The permit, if granted, shall be on such terms and conditions as specified by the Director of Public Works in said permit. Permits shall be secured at least two (2) days before the work is commenced, except in the case of emergencies. The permit shall provide a time limit within which the work shall be completed and shall be void if not completed within the dates specified unless an extension of time is granted, in writing, by the Director of Public Works.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.03 Appeals.
Any person may appeal any decision or requirement of the Director of Public Works by filing a written appeal as provided by Chapter 4 of Title 1 of this Code. No work shall be done by the appellant pending the final determination of the appeal.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.04 Emergency excavations.
In the event of an emergency which requires an immediate excavation, a public utility company or a licensed contractor may make an excavation provided the person or firm making the excavation obtains a retroactive permit within four (4) hours after the next opening of the City offices.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.05 Required inspections.
Each phase of the work for which a permit has been granted shall be approved before proceeding with the succeeding phase of said work.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.06 Backfilling and resurfacing specifications.
All street excavations shall be backfilled and resurfaced by a qualified licensed contractor and inspected by City staff to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works. All work shall be done in compliance with the current edition of the public improvement standards the City adopted and enforced at the time of the street excavation, and all applicable safety orders, rules, and recommendations of the State Division of Industrial Safety. Specifications for backfilling and resurfacing of street excavations shall meet the requirements within the current edition of the City’s Standard Details adopted and enforced at the time of the street excavation.
Permittees shall be responsible for settlement of backfill and resurfacing of the excavation for a period of one (1) year following the date of final resurfacing, and upon notification by the City shall make repairs within five (5) days to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965; as amended by § 3 (Exh. B), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.07 Inspection and fees.
All work shall be done under the inspection and to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works. The Council shall establish, by resolution, a schedule of fees for the inspection of excavations, for surveying, or for any work in and on any public right-of-way or on other public property. No fee shall be required of any public agency, except that such agencies shall obtain a permit for excavations, and the work shall be subject to City inspection. Public utilities shall not be considered public agencies for the purposes of this chapter.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.08 Liability of permittee.
The permittee shall be responsible for all claims, demands, and liabilities for damages caused by any work herein permitted or caused by the permittee’s failure to perform his obligations under the permit or by performance in a careless or negligent manner.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.09 License requirement.
A permit shall not be granted unless the applicant holds a valid City business license and is licensed by the State as a Specialty Contractor in accordance with Section 7058 of the Business and Professions Code.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.10 Bond or deposit required.
When required by the Director of Public Works, no permit shall be granted until a corporate surety bond is filed with the Director of Finance in a minimum amount of One Thousand and no/100ths ($1,000.00) Dollars or such other amount as may be specified in the permit by the Director of Public Works. Said surety bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of any work the permittee may undertake on such public streets for the protection of the City and against damages to any street, sidewalk, or structure, or materials therein. Said bond shall be in favor of the City and shall be approved by the City Attorney as to form and sufficiency. In lieu of the above requirement, the permittee may deposit or may be required to deposit with the Director of Finance a cash bond in such amount as may be prescribed by the Director of Public Works. This cash bond shall be in the form of a letter of credit, passbook, certificate of deposit, cashier’s check, or money order. The cash bond shall be in the name of the City of Watsonville only and held by the City. If the permittee fails to comply with the provisions of the permit, the City may declare a forfeiture of the cash bond, or any portion thereof, and use the proceeds of such cash bond to complete the permitted work. The cash bond shall be refunded by the Director of Finance when all the work done by the permittee under the permit has been completed and approved by the Director of Public Works.
In the event the permittee fails to comply with the requirements of the permit, the Director of Public Works shall give written notice to the permittee of noncompliance with such requirements, specifying the deficiencies in such compliance. Should the permittee fail to correct such deficiencies and complete the permitted work within five (5) days from receipt of the notice, the cash bond shall be declared forfeited. Upon such forfeiture, the City may use the proceeds of the cash bond to complete the permitted work. Any additional cost to perform this work will be charged to the permittee. The City reserves the right to do any and all work necessary to bring the right-of-way into a safe condition. Such portion of the cash bond, if any, remaining after the payment for all work done by the Director of Public Works hereunder shall be refunded to the permittee, and such refund shall be accompanied by a statement of disbursements by the Director of Public Works in performing the work in the place and stead of the permittee.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965; as amended by § 4 (Exh. C), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.11 Exception to bonding requirement.
Whenever any excavation is made directly by any public utility, public agency, or any crew of workers employed directly thereby, at the discretion of the Director of Public Works, he may waive the requirement for a performance bond as required by Section 7-1.10 of this chapter.
(§ 1, Ord. 94 C-M, eff. January 21, 1965)
7-1.12 Establishing datum.
The datum of the United States Geodetic Survey is hereby adopted as the datum for the City.
(§ 1, Ord. 119 C-M, eff. June 23, 1966)
7-1.13 Safety precautions and liability insurance.
It shall be the duty of the applicant for any street excavation, and upon receipt of a permit, to perform the work in a safe manner, and to make the excavation and work area accessible to fire hydrants, and to provide safe and adequate crossings over the excavation for vehicular traffic, bicyclists, and pedestrians where such access exists or is otherwise required by the Director of Public Works. The permittee shall be responsible for establishing traffic control in accordance with California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) or such other traffic control standards as may be required by the Director of Public Works or identified on the permit. If the permitted work is located on an arterial or collector street, the permittee shall submit a traffic control plan that is stamped and signed by a licensed civil engineer for review by City staff prior to issuance of the permit. The permittee shall be required to file with the City such certificates of liability insurance with minimum limits as determined by the City, with insurance provisions as may be identified on the permit or otherwise required by the Director of Public Works. All permittees shall be solely responsible for all liabilities associated with their work carried out in performing excavations within City streets.
(§ 5 (Exh. D), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.14 Moratorium against street excavations on newly improved streets.
(a) It shall be unlawful to excavate City streets that are subject to a moratorium against such excavation due to the completion of new street resurfacing, new construction, or reconstruction in accordance with the following schedule:
(1) Excavations are subject to a moratorium pursuant to this chapter and shall not be permitted within a period of three (3) years from the date of issuance by City of a notice of completion on City streets that have received a surface treatment consisting a slurry seal, cape seal, “3-layer” pavement surfacing, or such other pavement maintenance where such improvement does not exceed one inch (1”) in depth.
(2) Excavations are subject to a moratorium pursuant to this chapter and shall not be permitted within a period of five (5) years from the date of issuance by City of a notice of completion on City streets that have been newly constructed, or resurfaced and reconstructed where such resurfacing or reconstruction improvement exceeds one inch (1”) in depth.
(b) The Director of Public Works may grant an exemption to the street excavation moratorium pursuant to this chapter and may issue permits for excavations in accordance with additional backfill and resurfacing specifications as may be identified in the permit for such excavation and pursuant to the public improvement standards adopted by the City for excavation backfill and resurfacing within City streets subject to a moratorium.
(§ 6 (Exh. E), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.15 Moratorium, permits—Required.
It shall be unlawful to trench, cut, dig, make or cause any excavation in any City street subject to a moratorium pursuant to Section 7-1.14 unless the permittee shall have first obtained a permit to do so. Any person or party, including a public utility, who is required to excavate a City street subject to a moratorium against such excavation 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.
(§ 7 (Exh. F), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.16 Moratorium, backfill and resurfacing requirements.
Backfill and restoration of streets subject to a moratorium pursuant to Section 7-1.14 shall include additional backfill, resurfacing, surface grinding, aggregate base, sub-base repairs, and striping or other related work as needed, and may include up to full-width surface restoration of the City street as may be required by the Director of Public Works and identified on the permit for such excavation. It is expressly understood that the act of excavating a recently maintained, reconstructed or constructed City street diminishes the life of the pavement and deteriorates the condition of the City street, and any permittee requiring an excavation on a City street subject to a moratorium pursuant to Section 7-1.14 shall be required to comply with such additional backfill and resurfacing requirements as adopted by the City in its public improvement standards that are deemed necessary to restoring the condition of the City street to as close as practical to the condition as existed prior to such excavation.
(§ 8 (Exh. G), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)
7-1.17 Coordination of public utility excavations.
It is the City’s intent to proactively coordinate with all parties, including privately owned or public utility companies, that operate and maintain underground utilities within City streets, either subject to permits issued in accordance with this chapter, or by franchise or otherwise. Public or privately owned utility companies shall coordinate with the Director of Public Works in advance of any planned work to maintain or extend existing underground utilities or install new underground utilities to minimize the damage to City streets that may be caused by multiple excavations within City streets, or damage caused by excavating newly constructed or recently reconstructed or resurfaced City streets. On an annual basis each January, all publicly or privately owned utility companies operating underground utilities within the City shall prepare and submit to the Director of Public Works a list of City streets that are subject to planned utility work for the ensuing two (2) year period or shall provide notice that no utility work is planned for such period. Notice shall subsequently be provided immediately upon a determination that unanticipated utility work has been planned, and a tentative schedule submitted therefor. To the greatest extent practical, based on the planned utility work information provided to the City, the Director of Public Works may coordinate the scheduling of street maintenance and resurfacing work with planned utility work; however, permittees remain solely responsible for compliance with the provisions of this chapter regardless of the City’s scheduling of its street maintenance and resurfacing or reconstruction projects.
(§ 9 (Exh. H), Ord. 1486-26, eff. April 9, 2026)