[Adopted 1-4-1977 by Ord. No. 248]
[Amended 6-13-1996 by Ord. No. 354]
From and after the adoption of this article, it shall be unlawful for any property owner or any person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above to dig, open up, excavate or operate heavy machinery and equipment of any type likely to cause road damage on any Patterson Township road or street without strictly complying with the provisions hereinafter established. As used herein, "heavy machinery/equipment" shall mean any motor vehicle or other vehicle, tractor, trailer or tractor-trailer combination, having a gross weight in excess of 10 tons; however, this does not include the driving of vehicles hauling food or household goods, public utility vehicles, fire-fighting equipment, garbage and rubbish vehicles or school and public transportation buses.
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348; 6-13-1996 by Ord. No. 354; 5-8-2003 by Ord. No. 399]
Any property owner or any person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above desirous of digging, opening up, excavating or operating heavy equipment likely to cause road damage on any Patterson Township street or road shall first deposit, at their own expense, with the Township of Patterson a performance and maintenance bond, in the amount as set by the Board of Commissioners, so as to ensure the proper performance and maintenance of said work and the prompt and proper repair of road surface damage caused by said act or acts. Said property owner or person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above shall also obtain a permit executed by the Patterson Township Street Commissioner prior to digging, opening up, excavating or operation of any heavy equipment over said Township road or street. The cost of the permit is $200. The required performance and maintenance bond shall be posted in the amount of $100,000 per mile/per road for the portion of the road to be used. In all cases, the minimum amount of the bond shall be $100,000. The bond must be posted in sufficient time to allow a representative of the Township to inspect the road before the requested usage begins.
[Added 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
Permit fees shall be as set by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.
In addition to the provisions of § 164-8 above, the digging, opening up, excavating or operation of heavy equipment over said roads and/or street shall be subject to the following conditions and procedures:
A. 
The excavation of or for any service line, the laying or replacing of any service line and the backfilling for the same shall be at the expense of the property owner or person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above performing the above-enumerated act or acts.
B. 
No ditch may be left open for a period of more than 48 hours.
C. 
All backfilling must be thoroughly tamped with proper backfill.
D. 
Each property owner, as well as any person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above, performing some or all of the above-enumerated acts shall jointly and severally be responsible for furnishing barricades, flares, lights and the operation, placement and maintenance thereof in and about the work area for the protection of the public.
E. 
Where an opening is made on any paved Township street or road, the surface thereof must be restored as follows:
[Amended 12-10-2015 by Ord. No. 454]
(1) 
On any road that has been paved within three years of the date of opening or excavating, the restored surface must be the entire length of the opening plus 25 feet on each side of the opening for the entire width of the road.
(2) 
On any road that has been paved more than three but less than six years prior to the opening or excavating, the restored surface must be the entire length of the opening plus 10 feet on each side of the opening for the entire width of the road.
(3) 
On any road that has been paved more than five years prior to the opening or excavating, the restored surface must be the entire length and width of the opening plus one foot (minimum) on each side of the opening or as directed/marked by the Township after field review.
(4) 
All restorations must be performed in strict accordance with the applicable Street Excavations Pavement Restoration Standard Detail, available at the Township Office, and/or specifications and directions of the Township Engineer. It is the responsibility of the individual completing the restoration to contact the Township to schedule a field review prior to completion of any road restoration.
F. 
All the above work must be completed within 96 hours of the street opening or road damage.
G. 
Each property owner, as well as any person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above, shall notify all other affected utility companies (i.e., gas, electric, telephone) prior to excavation.
H. 
In the event that an emergency arises during street excavations that threatens the safety and welfare of adjoining property residents and/or the general public as determined by the Street Commissioner, police or fire personnel, or other authorized Township official, operations may be suspended at the work site and necessary steps taken immediately to remediate the emergency. The Township Solicitor and Board of Commissioners will be notified of the situation as promptly as possible.
[Added 12-10-2015 by Ord. No. 454]
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
Instead of making individual deposits for performance and maintenance bonds for each opening, excavation or operation of heavy machinery by a public utility, it shall be lawful for said public utility to post a bond in such amount as shall be approved by the Township Commissioners to guarantee faithful performance in accordance with this article, but the posting of such bond shall not prevent the Township of Patterson from instituting a suit in assumpsit against said utility for the cost to the Township of making the necessary repairs caused by failure of the public utility to comply with the terms of this article.
A. 
The bond provided for in § 164-8 above shall be returned to the person, property owner, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above the said deposited bond one year after the repair work has been completed, on the condition that all street and road repairs have been properly made and maintained. If, in the sole discretion of the Township Commissioners of Patterson Township, it becomes necessary during this one-year period to provide further repairs or maintenance to the specific work area for which said bond was posted, then said property owner or person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above shall, within 15 days from the receipt of written notice from the Township Secretary, place the said portion of the street or road in proper condition. Upon failure to do so, the cost of said repairs or maintenance shall be deducted from the bond.
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
B. 
If said street or road is not repaired in accordance with the provisions herein established, then said bond shall be forfeited to the Township to the extent necessary to cover the cost incurred by the Township in making said repairs.
C. 
In all cases where the cost incurred by the Township in either making said repairs or maintaining said repairs exceeds the amount of the bond, then the property owner or person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above so damaging the street or road shall be liable to the Township for the actual cost of repairs, which cost of repairs may be filed against said property owner or person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above in the same manner as any Township municipal lien or may be recovered by the Township in an action of assumpsit.
D. 
When the bond posted is done so regarding the operation of heavy machinery/equipment on the road, the bond will not be released until:
[Added 6-13-1996 by Ord. No. 354]
(1) 
A written certificate of completion has been provided to the Township Secretary by the obligor, to be followed by a final inspection by a Township representative of the subject road;
(2) 
Ninety days have passed since the receipt of the written Certificate of Completion by the Township Secretary (Note: if the 90th day is a weekend or holiday, then the next regular business day will be considered the 90th day for these purposes); and
(3) 
All other conditions and criteria relevant herein have been met.
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
Any property owner or person, firm, partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above violating the terms of this article shall be subject to a fine of not more than $600 plus costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days.