Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout181 - 10/20/1998 - AMENDING THE CITY CODE PERTAINING TO EXCAVATIONS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND AMENDING THE CITY CODE BY AD ORDINANCE NO. 181, 1998 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 23, ARTICLE II OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS PERTAINING TO EXCAVATIONS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW ARTICLE IV FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVISING AND ESTABLISHING CERTAIN FEES FOR PERMISSION TO EXCAVATE STREETS WHEREAS, the City Engineer has prepared and presented to the Council a program known as the "Choice Streets System" which program is intended to improve the technical standards and regulatory authorities governing the construction and maintenance of streets and related infrastructure in the City; and WHEREAS, in an effort to cover both the costs of utility cut inspections and the increased maintenance costs caused by utility cuts, the City Engineer has proposed a revised fee structure consisting of fees to cover the administrative costs of processing applications,fees to cover the costs of inspecting streets cuts,and fees to cover the cost of offsetting the impact that street cuts have upon the life of the pavement; and WHEREAS,the Planning and Zoning Board and the Transportation Board have recommended the adoption of the program; and WHEREAS, the Council has determined that the passage of this ordinance is in the best interest of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Chapter 23, Article II of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be and hereby is amended to read as follows: ARTICLE II. EXCAVATIONS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY Sec. 23-16. Permit required; exception in case of emergency. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to make or cause or permit to be made any excavation or opening in or under the surface or pavement of any street,alley, sidewalk or other public place within the city without first having obtained and having in force a permit. (b) In the case of an actual emergency, it shall be lawful to make such excavation without a permit in order to repair utilities if a present danger to life or property exists, upon condition that an engineering inspector be notified of any such emergency excavation within twenty-four (24) hours of the commencement of work. Sec. 23-17. Application for permit; contents and conditions. Any person desiring to obtain a permit for such excavations shall make written application therefor to the City Engineer on the form prepared and provided by the city. Sec. 23-18. Fees for permits, inspections and pavement impacts. (a) The applicant for an excavation permit shall remit to the city a non-refundable application fee in such amount may be established by the City Manager pursuant to Chapter 7.5, Article I of the Code. (b) If the application for the excavation permit is approved,the applicant shall,prior to the issuance of said permit, remit to the city a fee for inspection of the work to be completed by the applicant in such amount as may be established by the City Manager pursuant to Chapter 7.5, Article I of the Code. (c) In addition, prior to the issuance of the excavation permit, the applicant shall remit to the city a pavement impact fee in an amount sufficient to compensate the city for the cost reasonably calculated to be incurred by the city because of the reduction in pavement life caused by the excavation and subsequent patching of the pavement. Said fee shall be in the amount specified in Chapter 7.5. Article IV of the Code. Sec. 23-19. Bond and insurance. Every applicant for an excavation permit shall comply with the bonding and insurance requirements set forth in §§ 15-363 and 15-364 of the Code. Sec. 23-20. Requirements for performance of work. (a) Anyone making an excavation by virtue of a permit issued under this Article shall do the work in accordance with the current version of the City of Fort Collins "Design and Construction Criteria,Standards and Specifications for Streets,Sidewalks, Alleys and Other Public Ways." (b) Occupants of neighboring properties which will be directly affected by the work shall be notified in writing by the applicant at least twenty-four(24) hours in advance of commencement of the work as to the nature and extent thereof. 2 Sec. 23-21. Permittee liable in case of nonconformance. (a) If any permit holder fails to do anything required hereunder,the City Engineer may cause the required work to be done by others, and the cost shall be charged to the holder of the excavation permit and the permit holder shall be liable for such cost. (b) The City Engineer shall notify the permittee of any defects in any excavation made pursuant to the provisions of this Article and if action to correct such defects is not taken within twenty-four (24) hours of notification, the City Engineer may take action on the performance bond to correct any such defects, and deny issuance of any additional permits until another bond has been filed as provided in Chapter 15, Article XIII of the Code. Sec. 23-22. Permittee liable for injuries to person or property. Every permit holder acting under a permit issued pursuant to this Article shall be responsible to anyone for any injury to person or property by reason of the work done under the permit and shall indemnify and hold the city harmless from any expenses, costs, claims or other charges or fees arising out of such work. The permit holder shall be responsible for adequately protecting the work, the surrounding property and the public and shall adequately safeguard the work regardless of whether any specific requirements in connection with the work are made by the City Engineer. Sees. 23-23-23-45. Reserved. Section 2. That Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be and hereby is amended by the addition of a new Article IV to read as follows: ARTICLE: IV. FEES TO RECOVER DAMAGE TO INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION 1. GENERALLY Sec. 7.5-60. Intent. The provisions of this Article are intended to impose certain fees to be collected at the time of issuance of various permits,in an amount calculated as shown herein,for the purpose of recovering costs expended by the city for the reduced life expectancy of city- owned and maintained infrastructure caused by the expected actions of the applicants for said permits in the course of completing their work. The imposition of said fees is intended to regulate the actions of permittees in limiting the damage sustained to such infrastructure,by keeping their damage-causing activities to a minimum. The revenues from said fees shall be added to funds of the city allocated for repairs, rehabilitation or replacement of the city-owned infrastructure, in order to provide for more frequent 3 repair,rehabilitation and reconstruction necessitated by the reduction in life expectancy caused by the actions of the permittees. See. 7.5-61. Fee. A pavement impact fee will be assessed as follows: Square Feet of Excavation Cost Per Square Foot 1 to 100 $3.50 101 to 500 $2.50 501 to 3,000 $2.00 over 3,000 $1.50 The pavement impact fee shall apply to open cuts of pavement surfaces for excavation only. Such fee shall not apply to pavement maintenance patches,excavations in advance of new pavement constructions,pavement reconstructions or pavement overlays. The City Engineer may reduce or waive the pavement impact fee in consideration of the permittee reconstructing or overlaying the existing pavement. The pavement impact fee established above will be tripled for streets that have been constructed, reconstructed, overlaid or have received a sealcoat within the five(5)years immediately preceding the date of the application for the permit. Section 3. That all changes to the Code of the City of Fort Collins caused by reason of this ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 1999. Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered pub ' d in summary form this 6th day of October,A.D. 1998,and to be presented for final passa on t 20th day of ober A.D. 1998. Z' ayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 20th day of Oct r, A.D. 8. t L ayor ATTEST: City Clerk 4