TITLE
WITHDRAWN
Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft an ordinance requiring that in the case of emergency excavations that take place on a right of way that has been constructed, reconstructed or resurfaced within the previous 60 months, or that has been slurry sealed within the previous 24 months, the right of way be resurfaced from curb to curb at the point of excavation.
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Municipal Code restricts the ability to excavate in recently resurfaced or reconstructed streets in many cases without prior city council approval. The exceptions are for emergency repairs or new service connections.
Specifically, the Long Beach Municipal Code, Section 14.08.060, reads, in part:
However, permits for excavation in a right of way that has undergone construction, reconstruction or resurfacing within the previous sixty (60) months or slurry sealed within the previous twenty four (24) months and are not for an emergency repair or a new service connection to an underground utility shall be deemed discretionary and subject to the approval of the city council.
The city council may authorize a discretionary permit under the following criteria:
A. The applicant can demonstrate that the permit for excavation in a right of way is immediately required for the general health, safety, and welfare of the city and, as such, cannot be delayed until the sixty (60) month or the twenty four (24) month period, described above, has expired; and
B. The applicant can demonstrate that alternatives to excavating in the right of way, such as alternative routing or construction methods, including boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible.
In the event of an emergency repair, the excavation takes place without the same review requirements. As a result, after the emergency repair is completed, the street is often only repaired to a minimum level. This leaves an often-unsightly patch that can potentially undermine the recent resurfacing work on the street.
While it is important to allow emergency repair excavations to take place in a prompt manner, it is also important to ensure that after the repair is completed, the investment in our public infrastructure, namely the resurfacing of streets, is also protected.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
Councilmember Rae Gabelich, Eighth District