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[Ord. No. 123, §1; Ord. No. 197, §1]
No person shall make or cause to be made any excavation in any public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way or easement, without first obtaining a permit from the city street commissioner or plumbing inspector. Such permit will only be granted when in the opinion of the officers the excavation requested is necessary, and each separate and distinct excavation shall require a separate permit.
Application for excavation permits shall be made in writing and before the permit is issued, the applicant shall furnish proof of adequate insurance and protection to the city against all claims for damages arising from the prosecution of the work; deposit with the city, a sum adequate to repay the city for its cost of backfilling and repaving, as set out below and shall pay to the city, to be turned into the city treasury, a fee of one dollar to cover the cost of the permit and a fee of six dollars to cover the cost of the inspection of the proposed excavation by the city.
[Ord. No. 123, §2; Ord. No. 197, §2]
In the making of excavations in any street, highway or public place, the excavated materials from the trenches shall be placed where they will cause the least possible inconvenience to the public. The width of excavation shall be no greater than is necessary for doing the work and sheathing and bracing shall be used as necessary, to keep the sides of the trench vertical and to prevent caving. Adequate provision for proper drainage of the areas surrounding the work shall be maintained at all times.
Excavations made in or under street, walk or driveway pavements are to be backfilled with granular material thoroughly tamped into place as hereinafter specified and the pavement surface restored to its original condition. In such locations excavated materials are to be removed from the site of the work as the excavation is made and no such material allowed to accumulate on the site.
Substitution may be made for granular backfill only with specific approval of the city street commissioner or plumbing inspector in each instance.
Approved granular backfill material shall be composed of a mixture of crushed stone or gravel and sand, free from clay lumps and trash and conforming to the following sieve analysis:
Passing 1" screen
100%
Passing ¼" screen
35 to 65%
Passing #50 screen
Not more than 20%
Total clay and silt
Not more than 10%
Other materials may be used only when they have approval.
 
Granular backfill is to be placed in horizontal layers not greater than six inches thick before compaction and shall be thoroughly compacted by mechanically operated tamping. During placement and compaction care must be taken to avoid undue segregation of coarse and fine particles.
 
Excavations in parkways, outside of the paved area of streets or walks may be backfilled with earth and all grassed areas returned to their original condition. Earth backfill is to be placed and compacted in the same manner as described for granular fills or thoroughly jetted to obtain maximum settlement and shall be maintained by the person making the excavation until the area has been stabilized in the original condition. As soon as the excavation has been backfilled, all excess excavated materials shall be removed from the area and disposed of.
 
The actual work of placing and compacting granular backfill and repaving excavated area in paved streets and walks is to be performed by the person making the excavation.
[Ord. No. 197, §3]
(a) 
No person shall receive any permit to excavate in or under any public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way, easement or any other public thoroughfare until he shall have first deposited with the city collector a sum of money calculated as follows:
For placing backfill.
Improved surfaces
$3.00 per square foot with a $25.00 minimum
Unimproved surfaces
$2.00 per square foot with a $15.00 minimum
For restoring surface.
Concrete
$1.25 per square foot
Asphaltic concrete
$1.00 per square foot
Bituminous macadam
$0.75 per square foot
Macadam
$0.50 per square foot
Unimproved surfaces
$0.00 per square foot
If the length of an excavation exceeds the width of the street on which such excavations are made, the person requesting permission to make the excavation shall, before receiving a permit, deposit with the city collector five hundred dollars for each such excavation.
 
 
The total deposit shall be an amount equal to the sum of the amount calculated for placing backfill plus the amount calculated for restoring the surface in accordance with the above schedule. A separate deposit shall be required for each separate and distinct excavation.
(b) 
The deposit so made shall be held by the city to assure the satisfactory placing of the backfill and restoration of the surface in accordance with the provisions of this article. If the person making such excavation shall delay or refuse, after due notice from the street commissioner, to place the backfill in an excavation or restore the surface of the public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way, easement or any other public thoroughfare in which the excavation was made as required under this article, it shall be the duty of the street commissioner to place the backfill or restore the surface, or both, and the expense of the placing or restoring or both shall be defrayed out of the deposit made as required by this article. The balance of the deposit, if any, after all lawful charges against it have been made, shall be returned to the person who made the deposit.
(c) 
Any person having occasion to make frequent excavations in or under the public places, streets, highways, walkways, alleys, right-of-ways, easements or any other public thoroughfare in the city, may in lieu of the deposits required in the preceding paragraphs, deposit with the city collector one hundred dollars to assure the proper placing of backfill and restoration of the surface of excavations made by him or it where such excavations shall not exceed the width of the public place, street, highway, walkway, alley, right-of-way, easement or other public thoroughfare in which such excavations are made. The deposit shall be subject to all the conditions of the preceding paragraphs.
[Ord. No. 123, §3]
All excavations shall be made in such manner as not to inconvenience or interfere with the public use or travel upon the streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks or other public places when possible. When such use is unavoidably obstructed, the person making such excavation shall exercise all reasonable dispatch in prosecuting the work so that the public use will not be obstructed beyond a reasonable time. In cases where excavations are made entirely across a public highway, and adequate detour for traffic is not available, a substantial driveway shall be maintained across such excavation until such excavation is refilled. Detours may not be established except on special permit from the city street commissioner and then only after notice to the fire department and police department. All sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, gutters, streets, avenues, alleys or public places disturbed, interfered with or injured in making any excavation, shall be restored, replaced and repaired to as good condition as they were before such excavation was made.
[Ord. No. 123, §4]
Every person who shall cause to be made any excavation in or adjoining any public street, alley, highway or public place, shall provide, erect and maintain at all times along the line of work all such barricades, signs, lights and warning signals as may be necessary to protect the public from the hazards arising from the operation and shall indemnify and save harmless the city, its officers and employees from any suits, actions or claims of any character brought because of any injuries or damages received or sustained by any person or property on account of the work or on account of or in consequence of any neglect in safeguarding the work.
[Ord. No. 197, §6]
No excavation permit shall be issued to any person unless the person is bonded with the county department of plumbing inspection or has furnished a bond approved by the Mayor of the City.