Published
Digging in an Ashton street starts with a one-page city permit — $100, a two-day locate notice, and a ten-day repair clock.
The permit for the part of the job that is not on your lot
A corridor build spends months on private paperwork — the permit path, the septic file, the power application — and then the excavator rolls up to the one strip that is not yours: the public right-of-way. A water line, a sewer tap, a driveway approach across the city’s piece of the street — in the City of Ashton, every one of those meets a one-page excavation permit first. The form’s own first condition states its reach plainly:
No excavations shall be made in any city street or right-of-way without first obtaining an excavation permit and paying the required fees.
— City of Ashton Excavation Permit, condition 1 (city-published PDF, cityofashton.com/planning-and-zoning). Retrieved 15 September 2026
The permit authorizes a named party to dig at a named place for a named purpose, and its location boxes describe the ground it covers: asphalt street, alley, in lawn, behind sidewalk, undeveloped. Note what this document is not: it is not the county’s excavation process for county roads, and it is not the county building permit — it is the city’s own condition set for the city’s own right-of-way, read here exactly as published.
The notice clocks, as printed
Three of the form’s fifteen conditions are about telling people before you act, and each has its own clock:
| Notice | Clock as printed | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| Utility locates before digging | At least two (2) business days in advance | Dig Line, 1-800-342-1585 |
| Before backfilling the trench | At least 21 hours prior | The city engineer or inspector |
| Before final paving | At least 24 hours in advance | The city engineer |
Two of those are quoted verbatim from the form. The backfill line reads, in full context: “The city engineer or inspector is to be notified at least 21 hours prior to backfilling.” Twenty-one is what the form prints — not a round twenty-four — and the number to plan around is the one on the page. The locate condition is the form’s own instruction to call Dig Line at 1-800-342-1585 at least two business days ahead; missing a notice clock is not a technicality here, because the form ties two of them directly to money, as the fee section shows.
The money: two fees, one holdback, one deadline
The form is unusually concrete about dollars — unlike the city’s building-permit application, which prints no amounts, this one states its fees:
- The base fees. $100 for work involving hard surfaces such as pavement and concrete; $50 for all other requested work.
- The size trigger. Excavations that will disturb more than 30 square yards of pavement are priced individually by the city.
- The denial split. If the application is denied, the city clerk refunds one-half of the fee paid and the city retains one-half to cover review and processing.
- The repair deadline. Final repair of asphalt surfaces within ten (10) days of the initial excavation — or the city finishes the work and keeps the permit fee.
- The holdback. The city may hold the permit fee for up to 180 days after completion, against settling; if the trench settles and the permit holder does not fix it, the city repairs and recovers from the fee — and if the fee falls short, the holder pays the difference, with any overage refunded.
Read those together and the shape of the document appears: the fee is partly a deposit against your own workmanship. The ten-day clock and the 180-day holdback mean the city does not have to chase a contractor who trenches a street and disappears — it finishes the patch, keeps the fee, and bills the difference. Winter has its own clause: temporary cold-mix paving must go in and be maintained through the winter, with final paving in the spring as soon as conditions allow.
The repair standards the signature commits you to
The form does not leave “repair” undefined. Its conditions and attached specifications set measurable standards, and they are the part a builder should read before signing, not after the trench is open:
| Requirement | The form’s standard |
|---|---|
| Surface repair minimums | 12 inches of approved pit run gravel, 6 inches of 3/4-inch crushed aggregate road base, and plant-mix asphalt matching the existing surfacing with a 2-inch minimum |
| Major roadways | Thicknesses increased to match the existing pavement structure |
| Backfill (Class “A”) | Compacted in 8-inch lifts to 95 percent of maximum density per AASHTO T 99, from above the pipe zone to one foot below subgrade |
| The top foot | Compacted to 100 percent, entirely free of rocks or stones larger than 3 inches |
| Arterial and collector streets | Backfilled with flowable fill, a mixture of sand and cement |
| The patch edge | Existing asphalt saw- or wheel-cut back 6 to 12 inches from the trench in a neat, straight line |
| The finish test | With a 10-foot straightedge across the trench, the surface varies no more than 1/4 inch |
| Sealing | The patched width plus one foot, seal coated (standard approved chip seal unless the city approves otherwise) |
These are street-repair numbers, and they belong to the city’s document — the point of printing them here is not to teach a contractor how to backfill, it is to show a property owner what the signature on this permit purchases: a trench that comes back to grade, stays there through a winter, and finishes flush enough to pass a straightedge. The form also requires barricades, signs and flagmen as the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices requires, and a minimum of $500,000.00 in general liability insurance carried by the contractor.
The permit’s own paperwork trail
Around the edges of the conditions, the form tracks itself: time received, date issued, starting date and time, area of street repair, a refund line, the contractor’s signature agreeing to the conditions and all applicable city ordinances, and — for the office — “Approved this ___ day of ____, 200__.” That year blank is printed starting with 200, and the PDF’s file properties date it to November 5, 2008: like the city’s building application, this is an old form, live on the city’s website today. The honest way to use an old form is to use it and ask: the fee amounts and conditions printed here are the form’s own, verified 15 September 2026 — whether each still matches current city practice is one question for the city clerk, whose office the signature block names. The permit is good for 30 days after issuance, so the asking happens before the shovel, not during.
Where this sits in the build
The city’s building-permit application — walked on the field-by-field page — carries checkboxes for exactly the work that runs through the right-of-way: water tap, sewer tap, curb cut, curb and gutter. Those two documents are a pair; the application says what the project is, and the excavation permit governs the street side of building it. The trench-to-footing relationship on the lot itself — why the dig is deeper than the wall it serves — is on the 32-inch frost-depth page. And once inspections start, whichever office holds the file answers to the state’s 2025 inspection-timeliness rules, covered on the 48-business-hour clock page.
Before the trench opens
- Ask, before hiring, whether your excavator has held a City of Ashton excavation permit before — and whether the $500,000 general liability policy the form requires is current. The form puts both on the contractor.
- Call Dig Line at 1-800-342-1585 at least two business days ahead. The form’s condition, its clock, its number.
- Ask the city which fee applies to your work — $100 hard surface or $50 other — and whether the disturbance crosses the 30-square-yard line that makes the city price it individually.
- Put the two clocks on the calendar the day the permit issues: 21 hours before backfill, 24 hours before paving, and the ten-day repair deadline that starts with the initial excavation.
- Walk the finished patch with the crew before final payment — a straightedge across the trench, the seal coat width, the edge cut — because the 180-day holdback exists precisely for the patch that looked fine in week one.
- If the city’s answers differ from what the form prints, get them in writing and keep them with the permit — this site helps frame that call at (208) 656-1516.
Common questions
When does the City of Ashton require an excavation permit?
Per the form's first condition: no excavations shall be made in any city street or right-of-way without first obtaining an excavation permit and paying the required fees. The form's location boxes cover asphalt street, alley, in lawn, behind sidewalk, and undeveloped ground in the right-of-way.
What does the City of Ashton excavation permit cost?
The form states its own fees: $100 for work involving hard surfaces such as pavement and concrete, and $50 for all other requested work. Excavations disturbing more than 30 square yards of pavement are priced by the city individually. If an application is denied, the clerk refunds half the fee and the city retains half for review and processing.
What notice does the permit require before digging?
The form requires the contractor to notify Dig Line at 1-800-342-1585 at least two (2) business days in advance of an excavation. Two further notices run to the city: the city engineer or inspector at least 21 hours prior to backfilling, and the city engineer at least 24 hours before paving.
What insurance does the excavation permit require?
The form's condition 11 requires the contractor to carry a minimum of $500,000.00 in general liability insurance to cover possible damages from the excavation or accidents caused by the work.
How long is an Ashton excavation permit valid?
The form states the permit is good for a period of 30 days after issuance — another reason the Dig Line call and the crew schedule line up before the permit issues, not after.
What happens if the street repair is not finished in time?
The form gives ten (10) days from the initial excavation to complete final repair of asphalt surfaces, or the City of Ashton will finish the work and keep the permit fee. In winter, temporary cold-mix paving must be placed and maintained through the winter, with final paving in the spring as soon as conditions allow.
What backfill and repair standards does the permit set?
Class 'A' backfill: 8-inch lifts compacted to 95 percent of maximum density per AASHTO T 99, with the top foot below subgrade at 100 percent and free of rocks over 3 inches. Arterial and collector streets take flowable fill. Surface repair minimums are 12 inches of pit run gravel, 6 inches of crushed aggregate base, and plant-mix asphalt matching existing surfacing with a 2-inch minimum, chip-sealed across the patch width plus one foot.
Why can the city keep the permit fee?
Three ways, all printed on the form: the repair is not completed within ten days and the city finishes the work; the required notices before backfilling or paving are not given, letting the city keep all or part of the deposit; or the excavation settles within the 180-day holdback window and the holder does not correct it — with the city recovering repair costs from the fee and billing any shortfall.
How current is this excavation permit form?
It is the form live on the city's website, retrieved 15 September 2026 — but the PDF's file properties date it to November 5, 2008, and its signature block still prints the year blank starting '200__'. The fees and conditions printed here are the form's own; whether each still matches current practice is a fair question for the city clerk before you rely on one.