Gilbert Town Code 66-8: the permit to dig a street or alley for a water or sewer connection

The permit and the restoration duty. Subsection (a) makes it a class one misdemeanor to dig up or cause to be dug up any sidewalk, street or alley to connect with the town's potable water, irrigation, effluent delivery or sewer systems without first getting a permit from the building official. It reaches the permit holder too. Someone who has a permit but fails to replace the sidewalk, street or alley in its original condition is guilty of the same offense, and so is anyone who violates other provisions of the chapter or interferes with town officers doing their duties.

Tampering and unauthorized connections. Subsection (b) makes it unlawful to tamper with town utility property, to connect or reconnect to it without the town's authorization, to keep a meter from measuring accurately, or to divert utility service. Subsection (c) adds a presumption: if a bypass device is found on the meter, the meter was altered, or the person occupies the premises and benefits from bypassed equipment, the law presumes the violation was intentional. The presumption shifts only the burden of going forward with evidence, not the burden of proof.

Access and cost. Subsection (d) bars covering or blocking valves, valve boxes, meter boxes and similar fixtures. The town may remove obstructions at the customer's expense. Subsection (e) sets, for tampering with, damaging or bypassing a water meter, a $100 tampering fee for each occurrence for each day the violation continues, plus the reasonable cost of the water used. Subsection (g) lets the town discontinue, suspend or refuse service to anyone who tampers with or obstructs the water or sewer systems. Subsection (f) says the town corrects violations and bills the customer, owner or occupant on the next water statement.

• Building official: the town official who issues the permit under this section. Chandler names the City Engineer for its sewer permit. Ask which office handles your job.
• Effluent delivery system: the town's reclaimed water lines.
• Original condition: the code does not define it. The town's permit conditions decide what restoration must look like.
• Tampering fee: the official fee in 66-8(e), not an HQ price.

Anyone who digs: an owner, a general contractor, or a plumber. The permit duty attaches to the person who digs or causes the digging, so a contractor who digs for an owner needs the permit whatever the contract says.

A commercial building adds a second water service. The contractor needs to cut the street to reach the main. That takes the building official's permit before the first cut, and the street goes back the way it was.

A sewer lateral repair that stops at the property line. If the dig stays on private property, 66-8(a) does not ask for a permit. The plumbing permit rules for the repair still apply. Whether the pipe run crosses into the alley or sidewalk is the question to answer first, so measure it.

The edge case: the permit holder who leaves the patch to someone else. The offense covers a permit holder who "fails to replace the sidewalk, street or alley in its original condition". A cut restored badly, or not at all, is a misdemeanor risk on the permit holder even though the permit was valid.

1. 1Decide whether the work touches a sidewalk, street or alley. If it does, plan for the 66-8 permit.
2. 2The contractor or owner doing the dig applies on the One Stop Shop portal (OneStopShop.gilbertaz.gov), which lists engineering permits, or calls Development Services at (480) 503-6700 or onestopshop@gilbertaz.gov to confirm the permit type. 66-8(a) names the building official as the issuer.
3. 3Have the restoration plan in hand before the cut, including who will patch and to what standard.
4. 4Call Arizona 811 before you dig.
5. 5Never adjust, bypass or reconnect a meter yourself. Ask the town.

• "A plumbing permit covers the street cut." 66-8 calls for a permit from the building official for the dig itself.
• "The patch is the town's problem." The permit holder must restore the surface.
• "Turning the water back on myself is harmless." Reconnecting town property without the town's authorization is unlawful under 66-8(b), and if it involves the meter, the fee is $100 per occurrence per day plus the water used (66-8(e)).
• "Every city issues this permit the same way." Chandler sends sewer taps to the City Engineer, and Glendale writes its rule into its interference section.