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, boring or excavation of the parkway, are not possible; and approve a discretionary permit to excavate Spring Street at Claremore Avenue and 31st Street between Pine Avenue and Locust Avenue, which have been reconstructed within the previous 60 months, in accordance with Section 14.08.060 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. (Districts 5,7)
DISCUSSION
Plains All American Pipeline, L. P. (Plains), has filed for a discretionary permit to excavate their 16-inch crude oil transmission pipeline in Spring Street at Claremore Avenue and 31st Street between Pine Avenue and Locust Avenue (Exhibit A). A recent electronic inspection of the pipeline under 31st Street and Spring Street revealed anomalies in the pipeline’s walls that may jeopardize its safety and integrity. Plains has an obligation to excavate the pipeline, inspect it, and make the necessary repairs, if needed.
The portion of 31st Street was resurfaced on August 15, 2015, and is under an excavation moratorium until August 15, 2020. The portion of Claremore Avenue was resurfaced on August 1, 2013, and is under an excavation moratorium until August 1, 2018. Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Section 14.08.060, Public Works permit-issuance, requires that a permit for an excavation in a City street that has undergone 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.
Plains states that the proposed excavation is necessary for the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and cannot be delayed until after the moratoriums have expired because the integrity of the pipeline needs to be evaluated to determine if it meets the current standards administered by ...
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