Athens City Code

1. (1) It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, public or private utility, association, or others to make any cut or excavation in any street, curb, sidewalk, alley, or public right-of-way or to tunnel under any street, sidewalk, curb, alley, or public right-of-way in the city without having first obtained a rights-of-way construction permit, as herein required, and without complying with the provisions of this chapter, and it is unlawful to violate, or to vary from, the terms of any such permit; provided, however, any person maintaining existing pipes, lines, driveways, or other facilities in or under the surface of any public right-of-way may proceed with an opening without a permit when emergency circumstances demand the work to be done immediately, provided the permit could not reasonably and practicably have been obtained beforehand. The person shall thereafter apply for a permit on the first regular business day on which the office of the city manager is open for business and the permit shall be retroactive to the date when the work was begun; however, the city manager or his designee shall have the authority to waive emergency permits.
2. (2) No one shall cut, build, or maintain a commercial or residential driveway across a public right-of-way without first obtaining a rights-of-way construction permit from the city manager or his designee and receiving the necessary lines and grades from the public works department. Such a permit will not be issued when the contemplated driveway is to be so located or constructed as to create an unreasonable hazard to pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic.

(Code 1972, § 12-102; Code 1995, § 16-202; Ord. No. 905, 2-18-2003)