Note: The legislative history of this Chapter, except where specifically noted at the end of a section, is as follows: Ordinance No. 63410-A, passed September 22, 1924.
CROSS REFERENCES
Sewer, water and gas connections, Charter § 163
Public improvements by contract or direct labor, Charter § 167
Duty to keep streets open, in repair and free from nuisance, Charter § 173
Excavation liability, RC 723.49 et seq.
Power to erect gas and electric works, RC 743.34
Digging, excavating and piling earth on streets, RC 5589.10
Street cleaning once each thirty days from March 1 to October 31, CO 131.04
Construction and improvement contracts, CO Ch 185
Injuring new pavement before completion, CO 501.04
Unguarded street excavations, CO 501.05
Stone or cement obstructing air or water supply to tree planted in highways, CO 509.06
Permit to open streets or alleys for water connection extensions, CO 531.47
Sewer and water connections for property owners abutting newly paved streets, CO 541.09
Unnecessary obstructions by railroads, CO 631.06
(a) Except as provided in division (g) of this section, no person shall make an excavation or opening or remove any pavement in any highway, lane, road, street or alley of the City, without first obtaining a street opening permit. Before a person, including a corporation, private utility or public utility may receive such a permit, such person shall file with the Director of Public Service an application on the form provided by the Director. This application shall set forth and include the location, kinds and extent of the pavement desired to be taken up and the number, purpose and size of openings or excavations which are desired or necessary. At the time of application, applicant shall pay a non-refundable fee in accordance with a fee schedule fixed from time to time by the Board of Control in order to recover the City's costs related to street opening.
(b) In the event the scope of the project is revised during the course of the work, the Commissioner of Engineering and Construction may recalculate the fee based on the actual size of the excavation in accordance with the fee schedule fixed by the Board of Control.
(c) In the event that a street opening permit is not issued or is revoked before an excavation has been made, the entire fee shall be refunded to the applicant, except for an amount fixed from time to time by the Board of Control to cover the city's cost of processing the application.
(d) Prior to being issued a street opening permit, permittee shall submit a performance bond either:
(1) In the amount of the estimated cost of backfilling and restoring the excavation to be made by the permittee, as estimated by the Commissioner of Engineering and Construction; or
(2) An umbrella bond in the amount of $250,000.00. Any person providing an umbrella bond will be deemed to have met the performance bond requirements of this section for the duration of the performance bond.
(e) After the fee and deposit required by this section have been paid, the Director may issue the permit applied for. The permit shall state the exact time the opening or excavation is to be made, the probable length of time required for the work to be done and the repair made, the character of the pavement, including its base, and the character of the work necessary for the satisfactory relaying of the pavement.
(f) All excavations shall be restored by permittee according to regulations promulgated by the Director of Public Service. Any regulations promulgated by the Director shall be effective thirty (30) days after publication in the City Record.
(1) If the Director determines that the permittee has failed to make restorations according to the Director's regulations, the Director may, by written notice, order the permittee to make restorations according to the regulations. The permittee shall have thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of written notice to make the appropriate restorations.
(2) If the Director determines that the permittee has failed to make restorations after thirty (30) days from the permittee's receipt of notice, the Director may draw, from the permittee's performance bond, funds sufficient to make the restorations according to the Director's regulations.
(g) In an emergency, a person may make an excavation or opening or remove pavement in any highway, lane, road, street or alley of the City, provided that the person notifies the Director in writing of the emergency, including a description of the nature of the emergency, and applies for a street opening permit within seven (7) calendar days of making the opening. The appropriate street opening fee shall accompany the application. Any person failing to notify the Director as provided in this division (g) shall be charged the regular permit fee plus an additional fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) to cover the City's administrative costs of identifying and inspecting the street opening made without a permit. As used in this division (g), "emergency" means a condition that (i) poses a clear and immediate danger to life or health or of a significant loss of property; or (ii) requires immediate repair or replacement in order to restore service to a user.
(h) The street opening permit shall identify the time period in which the street opening must be closed. The Commissioner of Engineering and Construction or his designee will determine this time period based upon the size and nature of the opening.
(1) If the work is not started within the time designated in the street opening permit, the permit may be revoked by the Commissioner of Engineering and Construction.
(2) If the work has been started but not completed within the time designated in the street opening permit, the permit may be revoked by the Commissioner of Engineering and Construction. If the permit is revoked, the Director may charge all accrued restoration charges to the permittee. Should the permittee fail to pay all accrued restoration charges within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of notice, the Director may draw, from the permittee's performance bond, funds sufficient to restore the highway, lane, road, street, or alley according to the Director's regulations.
(3) If a street opening permit is revoked by the Commissioner of Engineering and Construction, a new permit must be secured before any further work can proceed.
(i) A permittee, in accepting and acting under a street opening permit, agrees to assume full responsibility for injury and damage to persons and property incurred because of any settlement of a restored area, and further agrees to pay all costs involved in reconditioning such areas. If any settlement in a restored area occurs within a period of one year from date of completion of the permanent restoration, it shall be considered as conclusive evidence of defective backfilling. Any expense incurred by the City in correcting such settlement shall be paid by the permittee.
(j) A permittee shall carry on the work authorized by the permit in such manner as to cause a minimum of interference with traffic. The permittee shall use a traffic control plan that meets the minimum requirements in the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, as amended, or is otherwise approved by the Director.
(Ord. No. 1170-03. Passed 7-16-03, eff. 7-23-03)
Notwithstanding any provision of the Codified Ordinances to the contrary, no permit for temporary occupancy or obstruction of the street or sidewalk shall be required for repairs to premises for damages caused by vandalism pertaining to windows, doors, entranceways or other vandalism affecting the access to and immediate security of the premises, but only if said repairs are made within five (5) days of the vandalism.
(Ord. No. 2644-91. Passed 3-9-92, eff. 3-17-92)
(a) All markings made within the public rights-of-way of the City in accordance with Revised Code Sections 3781.25 through 3781.32 shall be removed within ninety (90) days after placement in the public right-of-way.
(b) The contractor or other person whose notification resulted in the marking of the public right-of-way shall be responsible for removing the marking in accordance with division (a) of this section.
(Ord. No. 2248-94. Passed 6-19-95, eff. 6-28-95)
(a) Purpose and Intent. The purpose and intent of this section is to:
(1) Regulate the cumulative and repetitive impacts to the public right-of-way from the construction, reconstruction, installation, repair and maintenance of equipment and facilities located in the public right-of-way;
(2) Minimize pavement degradation;
(3) Maintain the structural integrity of roadway services; and
(4) Maintain a smooth riding surface for all modes of traffic.
(b) After any public street has been constructed, reconstructed or repaved under City or other governmental contract or accepted under ordinance passed by Council, the pavement surface shall not thereafter be cut or opened for a period of five (5) years.
(c) The Director shall grant exceptions to the prohibition contained in division (b) of this section in order to facilitate development on adjacent properties, provide for emergency repairs to subsurface facilities, provide for underground service connection to adjacent properties or to allow the upgrading of underground facilities in accordance with rules promulgated by the Director and published in the City Record. When granting exceptions, the Director may impose conditions appropriate to insure the rapid and complete restoration of the street and paving surface. Repaving may include surface grinding, base and sub-base repairs, or other related work as needed, and may include up to full-width surface paving of the roadway.
(d) If the Director determines that final repaving of the street is not appropriate at that particular time for reasons relating to weather or other short term problems, the Director may grant a delay until proper conditions allow repaving.
(Ord. No. 1242-A-07. Passed 10-8-07, eff. 10-11-07)
No person, firm or corporation shall allow lamp posts, telegraph poles, telephone poles or other structures projecting above the surface of streets or sidewalks to remain there for a period of more than thirty days after the time when such posts, poles or other structures cease to be used for the purpose for which they were authorized and permitted. However, existing posts, poles and other structures that may be projecting above the surface of streets or sidewalks after May 14, 1951, shall not be required to be removed, unless the Director of Public Service orders them to be removed, in which case they shall be removed within ninety days after the date of the order.
Any post, pole, or other structure left in any street, sidewalk, treelawn, or other public right-of-way in violation of Section 503.03 may be removed by the Director of Public Service and stored pending return or disposal of the object. The owner or person responsible for such object removed pursuant to the authority of this section shall pay all costs incurred by the City for such removal, transportation, storage and disposal. If the owner or person responsible does not retrieve the object removed within fifteen (15) days of notice of removal, such object shall be deemed abandoned and may be disposed of or sold in the manner provided by Section 181.18 of the Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976. Any proceeds of any sale shall be applied to reimburse the City for its costs.
(Ord. No. 2354-93. Passed 12-13-93, eff. 12-17-93)
All lamp posts and all shade or ornamental trees, hereafter placed in any of the streets of the City, shall be placed within and not more than one foot from the outer line of the sidewalk of such street; provided that the Director of Public Service may, at his discretion, permit the planting of a second row of shade trees on sidewalks of not less than twenty feet in width. The second row of trees shall be at least twelve feet from the line of the street.
No person, firm or corporation shall erect or construct or cause to be erected or constructed any fixture for any guy line, wires or other electrical conductors of any description whatever upon the streets, avenues and alleys within the City, without first having obtained a permit therefor under a valid and existing ordinance from the Director of Public Service, under the penalty provided in Section 3103.99(c) of the Codified Ordinances.
(Ord. No. 299-74. Passed 4-1-74, eff. 4-8-74)
All applications for permits to erect poles in the streets and alleys of the City shall provide that the City may use the poles to be so erected and attach thereto the necessary crossarms, wires or other electrical appliances, as may be deemed necessary for the police and fire signal service of the City. No permit shall be issued by the Director of Public Service for the erection of such poles for which the application and permit do not provide for the privileges required by the City, as herein contained.
(Ord. No. 117-A-49. Passed 2-27-50)
(a) Every person or entity, including the City of Cleveland, who is the owner or occupant of a pole located within a street or right-of-way in the City of Cleveland shall permit, upon reasonable terms and conditions and the payment of reasonable charge to the owner or occupant, the attachment of any wire, cable, facility or apparatus to its poles by any other person or entity including the City of Cleveland; provided that:
(1) the attaching person or entity is authorized by the City of Cleveland or otherwise permitted by law to make the attachment; and
(2) the attachment will not unreasonably interfere with the services and operations of the owner or occupant of the pole; and
(3) the attachment will not create a safety hazard as defined by the National Electric Safety Code; and
(4) the pole is used only for service within the City of Cleveland, or the pole supports a conductor having a voltage of less than twenty-two thousand volts.
(b) Such terms and conditions, and such charges, as are established in tariffs approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio or in the case of the City of Cleveland, those terms, conditions, and charges established pursuant to Section 523.23 of the Codified Ordinances, as they may be amended from time to time, shall be deemed to be "reasonable terms and conditions" and "reasonable charges" for the purposes of subsection (a) above.
(Ord. No. 1989-90. Passed 8-23-90, eff. 8-31-90)
(a) No person, firm or corporation shall lay or construct or cause to be laid or constructed any subways, conduits, ducts or pipes in the streets, avenues or alleys within the City without first having obtained a permit therefor under a valid and existing ordinance from the Director of Public Service, under the penalty provided in Section 503.99(c).
(b) No person, firm or corporation shall lay or construct or cause to be laid or constructed any subways, conduits, ducts or pipes in any public grounds or in any real property of the City, without first having obtained a permit therefor under a valid and existing ordinance from the director of the department having the supervision and control of such public grounds or real property, under the penalty provided in Section 503.99(c).
(c) Any company or individual so placing wires underground in any street, alley or public ground of the City shall, upon written notice from the proper authorities of the City that a sewer or water main is to be repaired or constructed in such manner as will necessitate the moving or altering of any conduit of the company or individual, move or alter the same at his or its expense, so as to permit the constructing or repairing of the sewer or water main where ordered. Should any such person or company fail to comply with such notice the conduit may be altered or moved by the City and the cost and expense thereof recovered from the person or company.
(Ord. No. 117-A-49. Passed 2-27-50)
All companies and persons engaged in the manufacture and sale of gas in the City to the City or the inhabitants thereof, and occupying the public streets, lanes, alleys, avenues and grounds of the City, with mains, pipes and apparatus for the distribution of such gas shall, when requested by the Director of Public Service, either file in the office of the Director accurate maps and plans for all such public streets, lanes, alleys, avenues and grounds, showing the location, depth and size of such mains and pipes, together with all street boxes, safety valves, gauges and apparatus or every kind in the streets and public grounds, or shall allow such access to their own records, and shall furnish such data as shall enable the Director to make or cause to be made such maps and plans as are hereinbefore described. No permits shall be issued to any such company or person to lay any pipes, mains or apparatus in any of the public streets or grounds of the City until such company or person has first filed with the Director an accurate plan of the streets and public grounds in which such mains, pipes and apparatus are to be laid, showing the location, size and depth of the same.
No gas meter used for measuring gas furnished by any gas company to any individual, company or corporation within the City, shall be disconnected or removed by any person not an officer or employee of the gas company owning the same, without permission in writing from the Director of Public Service.
No person shall hereafter place any main gas pipe along any street, lane, alley or public ground, nearer than fifteen feet to any shade or ornamental trees thereon, unless such person shall first obtain from the Director of Public Service a written permit to do so.
The Director of Public Service may give written notice to any gas company, which has or may hereafter lay down any gas pipe, to remove the same forthwith, so as to comply with the provisions of Section 503.10.
(a) Barriers, barricades or standard guard railings shall be provided for guarding open manholes, hand holes, gratings or excavations. Visual warning devices shall at all times be provided for such barriers, barricades and guard railings. Such warning devices shall be visible to vehicular traffic at least 200 feet from such openings. Testing equipment shall be provided and a standard procedure established by the employer, contractor or person in charge to determine the presence of air contaminants or a deficiency of oxygen.
Air contaminants or oxygen deficiency shall be controlled, minimized or purged by one or more of the following methods:
(1) Removal at source by local exhaust ventilation;
(2) Removal by general ventilation;
(3) Removal by dilution ventilation; or
(4) Respiratory equipment furnished by the employer which provides protection equal to or greater than that approved by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, where there are air contaminants or where there is a deficiency of oxygen in the air. The air or oxygen supplied to a supplied air helmet shall be of the positive pressure type. The air supplied air helmets or other supplied air breathing apparatus shall be filtered.
Ladders shall be provided for entering or leaving a manhole, vault or other similar underground area.
The fixtures to which lamp sockets and plugs are attached will in all cases, be explosion-proof, vapor-proof, moisture-proof and dust-proof. All extension cords shall be made of heavy duty cord. All lamps shall be guarded.
(b) Where safety equipment is provided as outlined in subsection (a) hereof, it shall be the responsibility of the employee or employees working at or in the manhole to use that equipment.
(c) No person shall move or remove any barrier, barricades or standard guard railings, as provided in subsection (a) hereof, except where necessary to complete any work in and around such opening and only by persons authorized to work at the site of the opening.
(d) The employer, contractor or person in charge of work in and around any open manholes, hand holes, gratings or excavations, and their agents on the job, shall at the conclusion of work for that day, where feasible, replace any covering previously removed during the course of the work, or if not practicable, then by securely placing a temporary barrier across any such opening, and provide the visual warning devices required by subsection (a) hereof.
(e) However, the aforementioned provisions requiring the testing for air contaminants or oxygen shall not apply to any open hand holes, gratings or excavations that are less than five feet in depth.
(Ord. No. 769-76. Passed 4-12-76, eff. 4-12-76)
(a) Whoever violates divisions (a) or (g) of Section 503.01 shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Every violation is a separate offense and every day of violation constitutes a separate offense.
(b) Every person, firm or corporation violating Section 503.03 shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00). The existence of a single post, pole or other structure in the streets or sidewalks contrary to the provisions of Section 503.03 constitutes a separate offense. Each day that such post, pole or other structure is allowed to exist in the streets or sidewalks contrary to the provisions of Section 503.03 constitutes a separate offense.
(c) Whoever violates any provision of Sections 503.05 to 503.07 shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and imprisoned for not more than sixty (60) days or both. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which an offense occurs or continues.
(d) Whoever violates Section 503.09 shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
(e) Every day a gas company neglects or fails to comply with the notice provided for in Section 503.11 it shall be fined ten dollars ($10.00).
(f) Whoever violates Section 503.12 shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first offense. A subsequent offense by the same party in the same area of responsibility shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). Any further offense by the same party in the same area of responsibility shall result in imprisonment for not less than three nor more than ten days.
(Ord. No. 1170-03. Passed 7-16-03, eff. 7-23-03)