UTILITY COORDINATION

St. Louis Revised Code tit. 25, ch. 25.74

in effect

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.010 Definitions.

25.74.010 - Definitions. All terms outlined in this section shall have the meaning herein described unless otherwise directly stated in the following ordinance. Asphalt ramping is the process of placing cold patch asphalt along the edges of a steel street plate to establish a more continuous surface for right-of-way users to traverse. Board of Public Service as referenced in this chapter shall refer to the full Board of Public Service. City shall mean the City of St. Louis, Missouri. Critical infrastructure shall mean electrical, water, sewer, gas, or other utility networks critical to public safety, communication, and transportation networks. Emergency repair shall have the same meaning as described in RSMo 67.1830(3). GIS map shall mean geographic information system map, a computer-based tool used to store, visualize, and interpret geographic data. Keyhole excavation is defined as using a coring device to cut circular hole with a maximum diameter of twelve (12) inches through the roadway pavement, sidewalk, or surface to allow the intact core of pavement to be extracted. Permanent repair shall mean any repair that is reasonably believed to not require additional revision work and meets all applicable standards adopted by the City of St. Louis. Streets Department shall refer to the currently existing department tasked with Street Maintenance until such time as its successor the "Department of Transportation" becomes effective. Temporary repair shall mean any temporary measures placed while waiting for materials or weather to facilitate proper permanent repairs. Utility provider shall have the same meaning as prescribed to "public utility" in RSMo 67.1830(9). (Ord. No. 71943, § 2, 12-24-2024.)

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.020 Coordination.

25.74.020 - Coordination. 1. The Streets Department shall, in consultation with the Board of Public Service, identify the scope and parameters of information required to be included in a long-term utility work plan and provide those instructions to all relevant utility providers within sixty (60) days after passage of this bill. 2. Utility providers operating in the City of St. Louis shall: a. Perform all necessary, planned utility work in accordance with the adopted standards outlined in Section 25.74.050 of this chapter; and b. Provide a long-term utility work plan, pursuant to Subsection 1 of this Section, to the Streets Department by January 1 of each calendar year. i. Failure of utility providers to provide their long-term utility work plan by January 1 of each calendar year shall be cause for the denial of any work permit within city limits of the City of St. Louis, until such plans have been acquired by the City. ii. No City department shall issue a permit or enter into a contract related to right-of-way work to a utility provider who is in violation of this section. This provision shall not limit issuance of permits in cases of work necessary for preservation of Public Health, Safety, or other emergencies as approved by the Board of Public Service. 3. The Streets Department shall, in partnership with Information Technology Services Agency ("ITSA"), the Board of Public Service ("BPS"), and the Planning and Urban Design Agency ("PDA"), develop and maintain a GIS map of planned City right-of-way maintenance, including but not limited to construction, reconstruction, and repair overlaid with long-term utility work plans received from utility providers by January 1 of each calendar year. a. The Streets Department shall solicit updates of the utility providers' long-term utility work plan(s) quarterly for the determination of project(s) completion, delay, or rescheduling and shall update the GIS map accordingly. 4. The Streets Department shall, in consultation with the Board of Public Service, develop and make public a Citywide paving and sidewalk plan by July 1 of each calendar year. Such paving and sidewalk plan shall include but shall not be limited to plans for any City repaving, reconstruction, and basic roadway improvements for the following fiscal year, including anticipated project timelines. The Streets Department and Board of Public Service shall further develop and make public a list of completed roadway restoration work from the previous five (5) years. (Ord. No. 71943, § 3, 12-24-2024.)

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.030 Moratorium on utility work.

25.74.030 - Moratorium on utility work. 1. There shall be a moratorium on utility construction for a term of five (5) years immediately following any City repaving, reconstruction, or other complete right-of-way project. a. This section shall not include emergency repairs as defined in this chapter. All excavations made and materials placed under emergency conditions shall be considered temporary repairs. Utility Providers shall make permanent repairs that meet adopted standards within eight (8) weeks from the issuance of the excavation permit in connection with an emergency repair (see Exhibit A to Ord. No. 71943, proposed updated excavation permit language). Utility providers may submit a written request to the Streets Department for an extension due to weather conditions or extenuating circumstances beyond their control. This section shall, regardless of the age of the pavement, not be construed as to hinder work for the following reasons: new construction, establishing new service, to mitigate any interruption of essential service, or any work that is mandated by City, state, or federal law. b. Upon denial of an application for a right-of-work permit due to a violation of the five (5) year moratorium outlined in this Section, the applicant shall, if applicable, submit evidence of emergency conditions as defined in Section 25.74.030, subsection a. If the Board of Public Service issues a permit under emergency conditions, The Board of Public Service, in coordination with the Streets Department, may include further expectations (see Exhibit B, as provided by Nashville's Department of Transportation) of right-of-way restoration based on their project. (Ord. No. 71943, § 4, 12-24-2024.)

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.040 Responsibility of repair.

25.74.040 - Responsibility of repair. Utility providers shall have sole responsibility of the repair of the right-of-way after excavation, and must make repairs in alignment with the adopted standards of the City of St. Louis as outlined in Section 25.74.050 of this chapter, unless Utility Providers are able to perform work within one (1) year prior to scheduled City repaving, reconstruction, or other complete right-of-way project in the same location, in which case the utility provider shall restore the right-of-way with appropriate backfill materials for roadway or right-of-way type (asphalt patch vs. concrete joint to joint or full lane width repairs) and patch that location with appropriate materials (asphalt patch vs. concrete joint to joint or full lane width repairs), including street markings like crosswalks or bike lanes; but shall not be required to repave the entire block or combine patches. (Ord. No. 71943, § 5, 12-24-2024.)

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.050 Adoption of standards.

25.74.050 - Adoption of standards. The Board of Public Service shall adopt the same standards for repair and reconstruction related to excavation as St. Louis County. Upon issuance of an excavation permit, the Streets Department shall provide these standards to the applicant in a format similar to Exhibit C to Ord. No. 71943. These standards shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following provisions: 1. For restoration of pavement that is five (5) years and older, joint to joint or full lane width, as appropriate, of a right-of-way cut must be restored to adopted standards. Exceptions for keyhole excavations may be made on a case-by-case basis by the Streets Department. 2. Backfilling material under a patch must meet adopted standards. 3. The full block shall be repaved if more than twenty (20) percent of the block is to be patched in non-continuous sites along the block, but only that work location shall be repaved if twenty (20) percent is in a continuous location. 4. If the work occurs solely on one (1) side of the street or in one (1) lane, but travels down block for longer than twenty (20) percent of the block, the full lane shall be repaved joint-to-joint or full lane width, as appropriate, for the type of roadway. 5. Steel plates shall be pinned in place. Asphalt ramps shall be required any time a steel plate is on the roadway and not within a closed lane of traffic. This shall apply to all lanes of traffic (bike lanes, parking lanes, and driving lanes) and sidewalks. Asphalt ramps shall be maintained as needed during the duration of utility work. 6. Patches that are created by the same utility provider that are ten (10) feet or less apart shall be combined into one (1) larger patch, exceptions for keyhole excavations may be made on a case-by-case basis by the Streets Department. 7. Any impacted road fixtures and right-of-way shall be restored in-kind and to their original condition, to the extent possible. If a road fixture is made of a certain material, the same material shall be used for the restoration. a. This requirement applies to all affected road fixtures and rights-of-way, including, but not limited to, curbs, sidewalks, and medians. 8. All concrete cuts used for restoration shall be restored joint-to-joint. (Ord. No. 71943, § 6, 12-24-2024.)

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.060 Fees associated with permitting.

25.74.060 - Fees associated with permitting. Except as otherwise provided by state law applicants for an excavation permit shall be subject to the following fees and conditions: Applicants for an excavation permit must provide: 1. A valid business license with the City of St. Louis; 2. Plumbing related excavations will require a plumbing permit from the Building Division; 3. Non-plumbing related excavations will require a permit from the Board of Public Service; 4. A one thousand five-hundred-dollar ($1,500.00) deposit, refundable one (1) year after issuance of the permit and after a final inspection; 5. A ten-thousand-dollar ($10,000.00) surety bond; 6. Five-hundred thousand ($500,000.00) in liability insurance, naming the City of St. Louis as additionally insured. Fees associated with cuts under twenty (20) feet in length: 1. One-hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) per repair, permit good or thirty (30) days from start of work. Fees associated with cutes over twenty (20) feet in length: 1. One hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) per block; 2. Twenty dollars ($20.00) per day per crew inspection fee for day the excavation is open. Excavation permit allows for blocking one (1) lane of roadway. If additional lanes need to be blocked, there will be additional fees of thirty dollars ($30.00) per days for a traffic lane and twenty dollars ($20.00) per day for a parking lane. If meters will be blocked, the following meter rental fees apply excluding Sundays and City holidays: 1. One time twenty-five dollar ($25.00) application fee. 2. Ten dollars ($10.00) per meter per day. (Ord. No. 71943, § 7, 12-24-2024.)

St. Louis Revised Code § 25.74.070 Penalties for non-compliance.

25.74.070 - Penalties for non-compliance. At the sole discretion of the Director of Streets or their designee, upon the determination that any contractor is found to be in violation of any provision of these sections, that contractor shall forfeit their deposit if the violation is not rectified within thirty (30) calendar days. The Director of Streets shall provide this notice to the contractor in writing. Three (3) such violations shall be cause for debarment and will prohibit that contractor from receiving excavation permits within the City of St. Louis. (Ord. No. 71943, § 8, 12-24-2024.)

Source: City of St. Louis, Missouri, Revised Code of the City of Saint Louis, 2020, Annotated, and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/mo/st._louis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT25BUCO_CH25.74UTCOFetched: 11/1/2026