ORDINANCE NO. 1285
AN ORDINANCE CREATING AND ENACTING CHAPTER 5.28 OF THE TORRINGTON MUNICIPAL CODE, 2024 REVISIONS, RELATING TO PERMITS – UTILITY WORK WITHIN CITY RIGHTS OF WAY.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TORRINGTON, WYOMING:
Section 1. That Chapter 5.28 entitled “Permits – Utility Work Within City Rights of Way” of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Torrington, Wyoming, be created and enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 5.28.010. Permit—Required.
A valid Right of Way (ROW) Permit shall be required of any and all persons performing any utility work within a City ROW or Easement. All work shall comply with the latest edition of the Wyoming Public Works Standard Specifications as adopted and amended by the City. For work within State Highway ROWs that are within the City’s jurisdiction, check with the State Highway Department regarding their requirements.
Sec. 5.28.020. Permit—Defined.
A ROW permit is authority granted to the permittee to whom it is issued to perform permitted utility work within a City ROW or Easement.
Sec. 5.28.030. Permit—Application.
At least two (2) business days prior to doing any utility work within a City ROW or Easement, a ROW permit application must be completed in full and submitted to City Hall with the appropriate permit fee. Permit applications are available at City Hall or online at the City of Torrington website: www.torringtonwy.gov under Departments>Building Department>Forms & Permits>Right of Way Permit. The application must completely describe the utility work to be done and the location(s) of the work. If work is performed outside of normal City business hours within the City ROW due to an emergency, the contractor/individual performing the work shall submit a completed permit application with the appropriate permit fee to the City on the City’s next business day.
Sec. 5.28.040. Permit—Fee.
The standard permit fee for a ROW permit at a single specific location shall be $100, and for locations that extend past a single location, the permit fee shall be $100 plus $1 per lineal foot of the proposed work within the ROW or Easement. The City reserves the right to waive the permit fee for contractor’s performing work for the City. No refunds will be granted for work that is not completed.
Sec. 5.28.050. Permit—Execution.
Once a ROW Permit has been obtained by the permittee, they must abide with all relative City ordinances including Section 13.24.100 “Utilities - One Call” of the Torrington Municipal Code. The permittee may not call in more than the number of locations that the permittee can reasonably expect to complete within the One Call period, which is typically two weeks. Where any permitted work will potentially conflict (cross over) existing City utilities, the depth of the City utility shall be determined by pot holing prior to the permitted work taking place. The City’s utilities shall be protected and mandatory clearances shall be maintained during and after the permitted work is performed. When the permitted work has been completed, the permittee shall call the City’s Engineering Department for inspection prior to backfilling any trench and shall make any repairs to the ROW or Easement as directed by the inspector. Surfaces over all trenches shall be restored to their original condition or better.
Sec. 5.28.060. Permit—Working Hours.
Permitted work will take place between the hours of 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday excluding all recognized City holidays. In an emergency situation the work may take place at any time.
Sec. 5.28.070. Appeal of Right of Way Permit Denial.
Any applicant who is denied a ROW permit by the City may appeal to the City Council within 30 days after the date of the denial. If denied, all permit fees will be refunded to the applicant.
Sec. 5.28.080. Utility Contractor.
A Utility Contractor will only be issued a ROW Permit if they are in compliance with all applicable sections under Chapter 5.24 “Contractor’s Licenses” of the Torrington Municipal Code.
Sec. 5.28.090. Violation—Penalty.
Any individual, representative or responsible party of any business, firm, partnership, corporation, LLC or other entity violating any of the provisions of this chapter, where no other penalty is provided, shall upon conviction thereof be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined in a sum not to exceed $750.00, plus costs of prosecution for each offense and each day of violation shall be considered a separate offense.
Sec. 5.28.100. Damages to City Utilities.
Any permittee that causes any damage to existing City utilities shall be liable for the cost of the repairs to those facilities, the cost of the loss of revenue for the commodity provided, plus a fine of $5,000.00.
This ordinance was passed and approved by the City Council of the City of Torrington on March 5, 2024. All ordinances are available for viewing Monday through Friday 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. at City Hall located at 436 E 22nd Ave., Torrington, WY.
Public Notice No. 8910 published in the Torrington Telegram on March 8, 2024.
