Excavation Permit

A permit is required for all construction work and temporary traffic impacts within the public street or sidewalk area, referred to as the public right-of-way. The following materials are required to be submitted for an excavation permit:

Example projects that require an Excavation Permit

• Installation of new or repair of existing improvements, such as street curbs, gutters, sidewalks, or underground utilities.

• Install a new water meter, water service line or sewer service line.

• Install a new small cell wireless communication facility

• Install a fiber optic network facility

• Any shoring, or temporary support for a structure or trench

• Temporary traffic control

• Placement of scaffolding or cranes

• Minor or temporary relocation of existing improvements

Permit Required

An excavation permit can be issued as a stand-alone permit for projects where construction is entirely within the public right-of-way.

Often times, an excavation permit is issued in tandem with a building permit where a portion of construction activity is within the public right-of-way. 

Cost

Typical permit fees (includes inspections):

• For Minor Excavation Permit: $300 to $8,000
• For Major Excavation Permit: Based on infrastructure construction costs of:
  • 3.5% + $24,000 if over $0.5 million in cost
  • 4.5% + $3,750 if between $50,000 up to $0.5 million in cost
  • 7.5%  if under $50,000 in cost

Timeline

Typical Time to Receive Permit: 3 to 6 months

Process 

1. Submit your excavation permit application online.
2. City staff will conduct a Completeness Review of your permit application in 5 business days to confirm you have provided all necessary information. If you are missing any required information, City staff will provide you comments regarding the missing information.
3. You will need to reply to the City's comments and provide any missing or revised information and resubmit online.
4. The City has 5 business days for completeness review to confirm you have submitted all missing or incomplete information. If additional reviews and resubmittals are required due to missing or incomplete information, each additional cycle of completeness review is 5 business days. 
5. Once your application is determined to be complete, City staff will begin Code Compliance Review of your permit. City staff will review your application for compliance with City, State, and Federal codes and provide comments and corrections within 6 weeks. If any corrections are required, then you will need to resubmit directly to your assigned Land Development Engineer.
6. Once you have resubmitted, City staff will conduct code compliance review within 6 weeks to confirm all comments have been addressed. Each subsequent resubmittal review is 6 weeks. 
7. Once your permit is code compliant, City staff will contact you with the fee amount owed based on the information you submitted.
8. Once confirmation of payment is received, City staff will issue your excavation permit to begin construction. 
9. At least 3 days prior to construction, the contract must contract their Public Works Inspector to schedule a pre-construction meeting at 650-903-6311. The Public Works Inspector will review with the contractor how to schedule inspections.
10. Upon a successful final inspection by the Public Works Inspector, the permit will be final and complete.

Requirements

State Contractor's License 

Provide the Contractor State License number and the proof of the contractor's City business license.

Plans of the Work

For Minor Projects, the plan sets must include:

1. Location, size, and pipe material of the proposed utility services.
2. Location of City mains in the street if the proposed utilities are to connect to or cross over, or under, City mains.
3. Existing curbs, sidewalks, and driveways that will be impacted by the proposed work.
4. Existing trees, utility vaults, boxes, and other structures within 10' of the proposed work.
5. Location of existing traffic signal facilities (e.g. detector loops, conduits, etc.) that may be impacted by the proposed work. 

For Major Projects, the plan sets must also include Civil Engineering plans prepared in accordance with Section R, except for telecommunication projects. 

Civil Engineering Plans

For projects where underground utility lines are proposed to be installed parallel to the street, the following is required:

1. The plans are to be drawn on 24" x 36" sheets at a scale of 1" = 20' with 1.5" borders and minimum 0.12" text height. Note: Final set of plans for City signature must be at this scale.
2. One-half scale review sets may be submitted on 11" x 17" sheet at a scale of 1"=40'. Add a scale bar on all plan sets.
3. Plans must accurately show all surface and subsurface improvements on both sides of the street including all utilities, such as underground electrical lines, telephone lines, gas lines, fiber optic lines, storm drains, sewer laterals, water services, etc. The utility owner, number of lines, and size of lines are to be shown.
4. Include the existing improvements based on as-built plans, surface field survey, and other available information to accurately show all surface and underground improvements.
5. Any interim or preliminary drawings must include the name and license number of the licensed Civil Engineer responsible and shall include a notation indicating status (e.g. "preliminary" or "for plan check review only"). Civil Engineers may place their stamp on interim or preliminary drawings to satisfy the requirement of including their name and license number. 
6. Final plans must be stamped and signed by a State of California registered Civil Engineer. Each sheet must be signed and stamped by the registered Civil Engineer. Plans prepared for California PUC-regulated telecommunication carriers are exempt by State Law from this requirement. 
7. City title block (signature block) is required on the first sheet of plans. A city revision block is required on all sheets.
8. Plans must be prepared in accordance with City Standard Design Criteria, and City Standard Provisions.

Traffic Control Plans

A traffic control plan is required for all work that impacts traffic on an existing street.

1. For routine work, such as the installation of a water or sewer service at midblock, a simple traffic control plan can be drafted (see example in the excavation permit application).

2. For work crossing a signalized intersection, the work must be completed in phases. Traffic control plans shall show the existing lane striping, traffic flow pattern with directional arrows, medians, delineators (cones), signs, and other warning devices for each phase of work. Congested intersections may require the contractor to hire Police Officers to direct traffic.

Insurance and Bonds

Insurance Requirements

All work completed in a City public street or right-of-way requires proof of adequate insurance.

The contractor to provide an insurance certificate with the following:

• $2 million General Liability per occurrence insurance limit
• $4 million General Aggregate Liability Insurance limit
• $1 million Automobile Liability insurance
• $1 million Pollution insurance
• $1 million Workers' Compensation 

Provide a Commercial General Liability Endorsement and an Automobile Liability Endorsement naming the City as an additional insured. The contractor's insurance coverage shall be primary coverage at least as broad as ISO CG 20 01 04 13 with respect to the City and the City's officers, officials, employees, and volunteers. Any insurance or self-insurance maintained by the City shall be in excess of the contractor's insurance and shall not contribute to it.

Bond Requirements 

• A faithful performance bond may be required. The amount of the bond shall be equal to 100% of the approved construction estimate for the work. 
• The surety (bond company) must be listed as an acceptable surety on the current Department of the Treasury's Listing of Approved Sureties on Federal Bonds, Department Circular 570, which is available at www.fiscal.treasury.gov. 
• The bond amount must be below the underwriting limitation amount listed on the Department of the Treasury's Listing of Approved Sureties. The surety must be licensed to do business in California.
• Additional bonds or different types of bonds may be required by a franchise or encroachment agreement/permit for the proposed work. 

Permanent Plans and As-Builts

Prior to approval of excavation permit, the Public Works Department will approve and sign the original Civil Engineer Plans.

Xerox Mylar Set

The applicant must provide 10 black-line copies and one (4 mil) 24" x 36" Xerox Mylar set of the signed original Civil Engineer Plans prior to approving the excavation permit. The project Civil Engineer will retain the signed original. 

As-Built Plans

As-built plans shall be submitted to the City within thirty (30) days after completion of the work. These as-built plans will need to be on electronic media, such as a CD or disk in AutoCAD format, and the sheets must be provided as individual PDF files.