§ 26-30. Public and private utility; special provisions and general permits.

All public and private utilities, as defined in Section 26-29, are hereby granted a general and continuing permit to perform maintenance and emergency repairs as may be required to maintain their service, without the issuance of a formal permit or the payment of a fee, except as provided for in Subsection (1) of this section, and subject, however, to the notice requirements of Subsection (3) of this section.

(1)

A formal permit will be required by a public or private utility without the payment of a fee when:

a.

Installation or repair of a service will cause damage to an existing roadway or disrupt a previously permitted or grandfathered driveway access or other permitted feature in the City right-of-way.

b.

In cases where an emergency repair causes damage to an existing roadway, an after-the-fact permit will be issued the next business day (See Section 26-38).

(2)

Any work other than installation of a wooden or concrete pole and overhead wires that a utility proposes to accomplish in the City right-of-way that will be accomplished within six (6) feet of an existing roadway or any other previously permitted features within the City right-of-way will be brought to the attention of the City Manager or designee, for a determination as to possible effect on the roadway or other permitted features and whether the issuance of a permit is required.

(3)

A permit will not be required when a public or private utility will perform work in the City right-of-way that will not cause damage to any City-owned or permitted feature within the right-of-way, provided, however, that the City Manager or designee is duly noticed in writing by the public or private utility that such work will be in progress and when completion is anticipated.

(4)

Request for permits as prescribed by Subsection (1) of this section with the exception of an emergency repair permit (see Subsection (5) of this section) will be as prescribed by the Section 26-31 application procedures. No fee will be required. Insurance and bonding requirements as outlined in Section 26-32 are waived for a public or private utility; however, a subcontractor for a public or private utility shall be required to obtain such insurance and bonding, and the public or private utility shall submit evidence of such insurance and bonding to the City Manager or designee prior to the commencement of work by a subcontractor.

(5)

Emergency repair of a utility as prescribed by Subsection (1)b of this section may be accomplished immediately and a permit request in a written form outlining the type of work to be done, and the location may be obtained the next business day from the City Manager or designee.

(6)

It is not the intent of this section to restrict a public or private utility in any way from performing their service to the public as required and regulated by the public service commission or applicable law.

(7)

Construction standards and specifications as outlined in Section 26-35 hereof shall be incorporated into all work accomplished for a public or private utility by its own personnel or contracted out to City or State licensed contractors. A concrete slab is not required when repairing roadways; however, the utility will assure and certify to the City that the base being installed as a result of excavation within a right-of-way conforms to City standards and has been compacted to a density not less than 98 percent of density as determined by the AASHTO test method T-180.

(Code 1999, § 16-21.1)