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ORDINANCE NO. NS-2480 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 33 AND ADDING ARTICLE XVIII TO CHAPTER 13 OF THE CITY'S CODE TO ESTABLISH A TRENCH CUT FEE TO BE IMPOSED IN CONJUNCTION WITH PERMITS FOR EXCAVATION IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana (the "City") finds, determines and declares as follows: The City owns and maintains over 400 miles of streets and public right of way, which are subject pursuant to state and federal law as well as grant of franchise, to being excavated with trench cuts for the purpose of laying of utilities, such as water, sewer, gas, electric, communication, or video signal service. This Ordinance is necessary to establish the City's authority to impose certain fees which will reduce the adverse effects that street excavations have upon the economic life of streets of the City. Such regulation of excavations in City streets to help reduce disruption of and interference with public use of the streets, help prevent premature degradation, and maintain the safe condition of the streets protects the public health, safety and welfare. The public health, safety and welfare of the City requires the enactment of this Ordinance as a municipal affair, and as a valid and appropriate exercise of the City's police power. Experience in other cities in California including Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco, as well as cities in other states including the cities of: Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Burlington, Vermont; Cincinnati, Ohio; and, Phoenix, Arizona have demonstrated that excavations in paved streets degrade and shorten the life of the surface of the streets, and this degradation increases the frequency and cost to the public of necessary resurfacing, maintenance and repair. Additionally, the Sacramento and Cincinnati studies concluded that pavement degradation occurs regardless of the quality of the workmanship in filling the excavation and restoring the pavement. In order to determine the applicability of the foregoing studies to the City of Santa Ana, the City retained Dr. M.Y. Shahin, who has previously participated in the studies for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento, to prepare a report. The report for the City by Dr. Shahin dated January 1999 and on file in the office of the Director of Public Works Agency, shows that even if pavement restoration in the trench itself is structurally adequate, excavations damage the strength and life of the Ordinance No. NS-2480 Page 1 of 7