TITLE
Recommendation to find that excavations are immediately required for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed; that alternatives to excavating, such as alternative routing, or construction methods, such as boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible; approve a discretionary permit to excavate in Santa Fe Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway and Willow Street, which has been slurry sealed within the previous 24 months, and in Webster Avenue between Hill Street and Willow Street, which has been repaved within the previous 5 years, in accordance with Section 14.08.060 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. (Districts 1,7)
DISCUSSION
Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company LLC (Tesoro) has filed for a discretionary permit for excavations to perform a Close Interval Potential Survey (CIPS) for their pipelines in Santa Fe Avenue and in Webster Avenue. A CIPS is a procedure that is used to monitor underground pipeline corrosion, which is done by drilling a 1/2-inch hole through the street pavement over the pipeline every 10 feet, and then inserting a probe to read and record the pipeline’s electrical potential. Afterwards, the drill holes are patched.
Long Beach Municipal Code Section 14.08.060, Public Works permit-issuance, requires that a permit for an excavation in a City street that has undergone slurry sealing within the previous 24 months or reconstruction within the previous 60 months, and is not for an emergency repair or for a new utility service connection, be deemed discretionary and subject to the approval of the City Council. The route of Tesoro’s proposed CIPS is in Santa Fe Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway and Willow Street, which was slurry sealed January 1, 2014, and is under an excavation moratorium for 24 months until January 1, 2016; Webster Avenue, between Hill Street and 25th Street, which was repaved October 1, 2012, and is under an excavation moratorium for 5 years until October 1, 2017; and Webster Avenue between 25th Street and Willow Street, which was repaved August 15, 2013, and is under an excavation moratorium for 5 years until August 15, 2018. (See the attached map for the location of the excavations.)
Section 14.08.060 further states that the City Council may authorize a discretionary permit if:
• The applicant can demonstrate that the permit for excavation is immediately required for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed until after the street’s moratorium has expired; and
• The applicant can demonstrate that alternatives to excavating, such as alternative routing; or construction methods, such as boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible.
Tesoro states that the proposed CIPS is necessary for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed until after their moratoriums have expired because the integrity of the pipelines in these two streets needs to be evaluated to determine if they meet the current standards administered by the California State Fire Marshal, and to determine if they meet Federal DOT regulations.
Alternatives to excavating in the streets, such as slant drilling in the parkway toward the pipelines, have been considered and rejected because adjacent pipelines are blocking direct access. It has been found that, to ensure accurate readings, the holes must be drilled directly over the pipeline in order to avoid reading other pipelines in the streets.
After the completion of the permitted work, as a permit requirement, Tesoro has agreed to repair any street degradation caused by or related to the excavation during the remaining period of the street moratorium to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
The Department of Public Works has reviewed the application and found the proposed excavations to be compatible with existing installations and not an obstacle to any street use or any known proposed developments. Traffic control requirements, stipulated by the Traffic and Transportation Engineering Division, will be made a part of the special conditions for the discretionary excavation permit. City approved liability insurance for the discretionary permit is on file.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Amy R. Webber on October 13, 2015, and by Budget Management Officer Victoria Bell on October 16, 2015.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on November 10, 2015 in order for Tesoro to complete the inspections expeditiously.
FISCAL IMPACT
If the discretionary permit is approved, a permit fee of approximately $2,708 will be deposited to the General Fund (GF) in the Public Works Department (PW). There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
ARA MALOYAN, PE
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER