Encroachment Permit Bond - City of Petaluma, CA in California

Brief Summary

Petaluma does not publish one bond amount for street work. The public works director sets it at the estimated cost of restoring your excavation, never below a minimum fixed by city council resolution, and the bond stays on the hook for a one year warranty after the city accepts the work. A surety bond covers that requirement without tying up cash, and contractors who dig in Petaluma often can file one general bond with the city clerk instead of a new one for every permit.

The City of Petaluma requires a deposit or surety bond before it issues a permit to excavate in a public street, alley, sidewalk or other public right of way (Petaluma Municipal Code 13.12.140). The amount equals the restoration cost estimated by the public works director, never less than the council minimum. Public agencies and utilities with lawful authority to occupy the streets, owners doing work for their own single family home, and work under a public construction agreement for a development are excused from the deposit or bond under 13.12.170.

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How to Apply for a Encroachment Permit Bond:

• Apply for the encroachment permit through the City of Petaluma Permits and Planning Hub with the location and dimensions of the excavation.
• Get the bond amount from Public Works. It is based on the director's estimate of restoration cost.
• Have the surety issue the bond on the city's Permit Bond form with the penal sum filled in.
• Submit the executed bond with the insurance documents the city requires and pay the permit fees.
• Start work within ten days of the permit date, or the permit is void under 13.12.200.
• Keep the bond in force until the city exonerates it, no sooner than twelve months after the work is accepted.

Detailed Information About the California Encroachment Permit Bond:

How the amount is set

Petaluma Municipal Code 13.12.140 ties the bond to the job. Each excavation permit application must come with a special deposit or bond in the amount of the estimated cost of restoring the excavation, as determined by the public works director, and never less than the minimum set by city council resolution. There is no single flat figure, so the penal sum on your bond comes out of the permit review.

What the bond guarantees

The bond guarantees that the permittee completes all excavation and backfilling work the chapter requires, warrants that work for one year after completion, pays laborers and material suppliers, and pays the permit and inspection fees. Under 13.12.150 the city can release the bond no sooner than twelve months after it accepts the completed work. If the public works director certifies the work was not done properly, the city can require the surety to finish it, or do the work itself and charge the bond, and the permittee owes any shortfall.

One bond for repeat work

Contractors who dig in Petaluma regularly do not have to post a new bond with every application. Section 13.12.160 allows a general deposit in a sum set by council resolution, or corporate surety bonds filed with the city clerk. If a job costs more than the general bond covers, the contractor adds enough to bring the total up to the special deposit amount for that job.

Who does not post it

Section 13.12.170 excuses three groups from the deposit or bond. The first is any public agency or public utility with lawful authority to occupy the highways. The second is work performed by or on behalf of the owner of a single family residence when the work is appurtenant to that home, although the owner still carries every other obligation in the chapter. The third is work done under an agreement for public construction tied to development of real property.

Filing

The city uses its own Permit Bond form, which runs to the City of Petaluma and its Public Works Superintendent and requires the principal to put the street back in as good a condition as before. Apply through the city Permits and Planning Hub. The encroachment permit counter is at 707-778-4303, option 6, and review takes three to five business days after a complete application. The city posts its insurance requirements and current fee list on the encroachment permit page.

What it costs

You pay the surety a premium, not the full bond amount. The surety prices it from the penal sum the city sets and from the applicant's credit, finances and work history.

Eligibility and Requirements for a California Encroachment Permit Bond:

• Obligee: City of Petaluma and its Public Works Superintendent.
• Bond amount equal to the estimated restoration cost and never below the council minimum.
• One year warranty on all excavation and backfill work after completion.
• Option to file a general bond with the city clerk to cover repeat permits.
• Exempt: public agencies and utilities with authority to occupy the streets, single family owners working on their own home, and public construction agreements for development.

California Encroachment Permit Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the California Encroachment Permit Bond: